The Furture of Music Business

Like so many times in the past, the music industry is at a crossroads. With the rapid growth of technology, the music business is being forced to evolve at an equally rapid pace. Depending upon which side of the industry fence one is standing, there are different opinions about whether these changes are advantageous or detrimental. The artist or the singer-songwriter most often views these changes to be very encouraging and beneficial, while the major industry executives find themselves losing business. There are several factors involved that contribute to this change and ultimately to the future of the music business. The future lies in more ownership due to digital downloads and distribution through the Internet, the accessibility of recording software, home studios to create quality records, and the ability of artists to have sole ownership of their publishing. These changes allow artists to establish their own corporations and record labels.

"Amid a continued decline of sales of compact discs, U.S. digital music sales will climb to about $2.5 billion annually by 2011, more than doubling from about $1 billion in 2006." (Hau, 2007) The majority of the population is now accessing their computers to download their favorite songs as opposed to making a trip to the store in order to buy the complete album. This practice allows artists to generate income, even if they are at a lower level of exposure. This capability could drastically change the mode in which money is circulated within the industry.

Knab and Day (2004) state:

In today's popular music environment there are more records being released every year than ever before. The cost of recording and manufacturing over the last two decades has decreased dramatically, so there is more music being recorded and competing for the attention of a consumer than ever before.

Major record labels are taking an enormous financial hit due to the artists recording, producing, and digitally distributing the records themselves. The major labels rely on CD sales for most of their revenue, which is heavily in decline. Since 2000 CD sales have dropped 20 percent from a peak of 13.4 billion.(Howe,2007) Artists have many more resources at their disposal. Recording software such as Pro Tools and Logic are making the home studio more efficient and fostering the concept of the artists managing their own work. This creates revenue