Remember the days when you had to go buy those shiny discs (which, if you looked at them wrong, would get a scratch)? Or how about burning discs from a friend because it didn’t make sense to pay for something that you could acquire for free? Technology has almost made cavemen of compact discs, and as for records (big black CDs for turntables, for those of you born in the ‘90s), they’re all but extinct.
Technology’s effect on the music industry is supersized compared to other industries because it’s so easy to download and share music for free. When Napster hit the scene, record labels and artists were, justifiably, in an uproar. Their sales took huge hits and it wasn’t due to a lack of interest – it was because people didn’t want to pay for music if they could get it for free. Napster was a game changer, no doubt about it, but they started off in the wrong direction. The concept was groundbreaking, and these pioneers of the online music world had struck gold; however, they stepped on the toes of music giants and eventually were dismantled. But they opened the door for a new age of music listening and, around the turn of this century, the music industry began to realize the benefits they could reap from embracing online music sales.
Early stages
How it works
Adapting to demands is key to future success
* * *
"Listening to Music" image courtesy of Shutterstock.
