Choose ONE of the following titles to answer “Instead of unleashing a torrent of successful niches, the internet has actually made blockbusters bigger than before” (hup Imusienews.com/permali what might aspiring musicians do about it? 2013/09/25/lies) Why is this, and Apple acquired Beats Music and Electronics for £3 billion earlier in 2014. Explore the relationship between the two and discuss what this deal might mean for major record companies into the future. Music industry news is mostly concerned with how music companies continue to adapt to selling music and music services online. Evaluate two recent innovations in music business practice from the perspective of musicians: in what ways are they empowered or disempowered by the examples you select? More than one million vinyl records have been sold in the UK in 2014. What does the, admittedly very limited, return of vinyl tell us about the relationship between music users and digital music? The end of the ipod is the clearest indication that the Downloads market i declining. Discuss whether music is devalued or not when we are happy to rent access to, rather than own, recordings. The UK-based Youtube-based video-broadcasting company SBTV is a prime example of how social networking furnishes entrepreneurial opportunities. Discuss reasons why ‘mainstream’ television is so slow to respond to unmet music demand . ‘Big Data’ can identify emergent trends in music listening but the danger is that, empowered by the reliability of data analysis methods, music companies are likely to produce only that music which fits prevailing trends. Does this mean music users get what they want or want what they get? Discuss.