Assignment Two Peer Commentary

How Has the Music Industry Swiftly

Modernised Using Technologies That Go
Against Traditional Industry Methods?

Luke. J Langley
University of North Carolina Charlotte

Background/ Introduction
Is it possible for you to become a global luminary or YouTube sensation and be idols
like Against the Current within the six month to a year? Throughout human history,
almost since human life began, music has been a significant part of peoples lives
influencing their day to day activities and lifestyles. It is almost impossible to avoid as
music is everywhere we visit from singing around camp fires, hearing the London
orchestra play a Christmas concert in the Royal Albert Hall to hearing global sensations
such as Taylor Swift play in huge stadiums that hold thousands of people; everybody
loves some kind of music. Obviously today music is not the same as it was in medieval
times, music is not even the same today as it was a year ago because peoples tastes
and music genres change all the time. Music would not be popular without mediums for
it to be produced, recorded and shared. Over the last fifteen years the music industry
has undergone significant change. With the rise of social media, digital downloads,
streaming services and video sharing websites an overwhelming number of artists are
becoming successful quickly without the need for an initial record label. Some artists
have even released videos that have gone viral overnight. Against the Current is one of
the bands that have taken this approach and have only signed to record label Fueled
By Ramen in early 2015. Throughout this paper I will be researching how the music
industry has changed in a way that gives more people the opportunity to produce music
and where the music industry is likely to head in the future.
The focus for my research will evolve around music artists who all have different levels
of success from their own starting source including Against the Current, Taylor Swift,

Commented [1]: I appreciate the way you executed

this intro. I think the use of a question is a great hook. It
gets the reader thinking deeper about what he/she are
about to read. Jeremy

Commented [2]: I like how your introduction is very

descriptive. For example, you explained how social
media is an asset for new artist to sell and promote their
music or how social media has changed how artist
becomes famous without having an actual label. It gave
valuable information for readers.
Christina Cao

Alex Day and Wade Johnston. I will be enquiring into the different routes it is possible to
take to become successful in the music industry whether it be from taking the traditional
path of getting a record label to notice like Swift did with Big Machine Records
(Cubbison, L. 2015) or take advantage of technologies such as YouTube for example,
like what Against the Current have achieved (Langley. 2014). The research I conduct
will discover more about how the music industry has shifted away from physical album
sales, to digital downloads, to streaming services and even back to vinyl records all
within a very short space of time. I want to discover what it is like for a music artist
starting up in the music industry today and how this differs from when veterans in this
industry such as Bon Jovi and The Rolling Stones started. An overall statement for my
research is How Has the Music Industry Swiftly Modernised Using Technologies That
Go against Traditional Industry Methods?
Before proceeding further into this paper it is vital that I outline my relationship to the
topic I have chosen and consequently any biases I may have. I have spent my teenage
years seeing social media services such as Instagram, SnapChat and Twitter grow and
find that I am a naturally techy person who has always had an interest in gadgets and
the latest computer software. When Apple Music launched earlier in 2015 I instantly
downloaded the beta and was extremely keen to test it out. The reason I am
acknowledging this is because I am up to date on all kinds of technologies I sometimes
believe they are better than older technologies such as CDs when in actual fact, some
people prefer to have a physical copy of their music. Although I will try my hardest to
take a neutral factual view on the technologies I discuss in my essay, I may sometimes
come across as bias. Another bias I may have is I am a considerable fan of most the
musical artists I discuss in this paper including but not limited to Taylor Swift and
Against the Current and consequently some readers may believe I have written in a way
which highly regards their work.

Commented [3]: I would not consider "techy" as real

word. You should use a different word.
Christina Cao

Commented [4]: I like that you included possible

biases that you may have. Especially because the
reader may not be a fan of the artist you talk about.
Way to be consistent.
Ryann Tate

Literature Review
Over the last 15 years the most major factor that has changed the music industry is the
internet. With the launch of services such as YouTube, iTunes and Spotify music has
become more easily available to the general public at a much cheaper cost.
Unfortunately, the internet also has a negative side. It has created a way that file
sharing has been made significantly easy. On the 29th of January the file sharing
website Mega Upload, owned and operated by multimillionaire Kim Dotcom, was raided
and shut down due to the US government. Some people even believe that Dotcom is
one of the Worlds Largest Pirates (All Things Considered 2012) making huge
amounts of profit through the work of others. Ever since a long legal battle has been
going on as Dotcom, any many of his followers, believe that he did not actually do
anything illegal. Swift, Adele and many other artists believe that music streaming
services, such as Spotify are significantly harming album sales and are almost as bad

Commented [5]: I like the way you started your

literature review. These services have definitely altered
the industry. This statement is very true and helps
understand what your trying to say throughout the lit
review. Jeremy

as music pirating services because the revenue they generate is so small nobody can
possible earn a living from it. On the controversy, Spotify argue that it is vital to provide
free streaming services following a freemium model, supported by advertisements, in
order to attract fans who will then pay for the service and consequently will be able to
pay artists more in the long run. All these services are making it hard to value music in
this digital world. People are willing to pay larger sums of money in order to gain higher
quality music files. This is one reason why vinyl record sales are increasing dramatically
and are actually more successful today than they were in the 1960s and 1970s when
they peaked.
YouTube is arguably one of the fundamental resources that has caused
such a huge change in the music industry. YouTube has over 1 billion users, thats
almost one third of the internets population and every day hundreds of millions of hours
of content is viewed (YouTube 2015). This has provided a huge market for people who
do not necessary have record labels to start producing music and actually have a
chance of getting noticed and become successful. Alex Day, Against the Current and
Wade Johnston are all examples of people with these characteristics. Before Christmas
2009, Day decided that he wanted to have a shot at gaining the UK Christmas number
one chart spot and consequently produced a song he called Forever Yours. At first his
song was not very successful in traveling up the charts however, after doing lots of
promotion and releasing the same fundamental song just as lots of different versions to
take advantage of a chart loop whole, Days song charted at position number four on
Christmas Day. Despite the fact Day did not reach his goal, he proved that the music
industry is changing because he proved that you no longer need huge financial supplies
or record labels to achieve a top ten position in the Christmas charts.
Against the Current are an indie/ pop/ rock band who similarly arrived at their
success through the promotional platform YouTube. The observations conducted by
Langley in Assignment One show progress of how Against the Current have come from
a band that are no longer in a basement and instead are in a pleasant living room.
(Langley, 2015, Lines 326-327). Against the Current are now conducting a world tour
stopping at over fifteen different countries and will contain performances in over 45
unique venues. It was only 2015 when Against the Current signed to a record label
(Langley 2015). Cayaris article follows a story of a teenager named Wade Johnston
who takes the view that YouTube has replaced the way ancient way music was
produced, shared and. The idea that a character with no experience or financial backing
is explored (Cayari 2011).
Change is a word that is distributed and echo by a significant number of people in the
modern music industry. In the video Big Think (2012, April 20), John Legend, a 38-yearold music icon from Springfield Ohio, identifies that there has been a breath-taking fall in
sales of records in the recent past. Legend believes that this has led to a compelling

Commented [6]: You should add in how they promoted

their music. Did they use social media or perform small
concerts? This would give more to the reader or
someone who wants to promote their music.
Christina Cao

loss in revenue for record labels who accordingly are making less profits. To combat
this, record labels want to encompass terms into contacts that grant them access to
profits earned through other streams such as touring and merchandise sales. This
previously was not the case as record labels knew that good music artist would
generate physical record sales providing them with a steady income. In Cloonans
article Rethinking the Music Industry (2007) Cloonan suggests we should no longer
think of it as just one industry and instead break it down into separate industries
including the recording industry. The article points out that the world has changed
significantly due to high levels of globalisation through technologies such as the internet
and consequently the industry has naturally changed.

Entering The Conversation

After reading through all my sources and carrying out necessary research it has
become clear to me that the music industry needs a change in order to be profitable for
future music creators, listeners and anyone else involved in the music industry. Due to
album sales falling in the face of music piracy (Cubbison 2015, p1) it is clear to me
that people no longer want to purchase music. Although streaming services in the likes
of Spotify and the more recent Apple Music have helped please music consumers,
many producers feel that streaming services are little better than the music pirates
(Cubbison 2015). Streaming services, with perhaps the exception of YouTu be, also do
not necessary make it easy for new independent music producers, such as Against the
Current (Langley 2015) to become noticed and achieve their big break. I believe that it
is possible to adapt and create new technologies, using ideas and technologies that
already to push forwards the music industry in order to create more advanced tools that
will benefit everyone involved and provide foundations for future development.
Individual Youtubers, such as Day do not necessarily have the essential skill set
or budget required to start out producing a band that can record high quality songs
(TEDxYouth 2013). In a band you typically need a vast range of instruments and tools
including drum kits, guitars, pianos and technical studios full of expensive equipment.
To purchase all this equipment would cost thousands of dollars, which the average
person can not afford (Sherman 2105). The only other current alternative to purchasing
all this equipment is to hire recording studio time however, this is also hugely expensive
typically costing over $100 an hour. Even if someone did have all this equipment, due to
peoples incredibly busy schedules and expensive travel costs generated by rising oil
prices, it can be incredibly difficult to locate people all in one place at the same time. To
combat these issues, I am proposing that a new only studio is launched which will
include several tools, that are discussed below.

Commented [7]: Overall, i like how you gave examples

in your Lit Review. You explained really well how
internet websites such as YouTube has changed the
music industry. As reader, I have never put thought
about how YouTube and social media could change
how people can get known for their music.
Christina Cao

Commented [8]: I like the way you included the fact

about the cost of the equipment. As a musician I
understand these cost. I think including this is good for
readers by giving them more understanding about what
musicians go through. Jeremy

The online studio, due to its very nature of being online, would allow people to be
located anywhere in the world and, as long as they have a computer with high speed
internet access, produce music with their friends and/ or band mates. The online studio
could potentially work like an online chatroom, such as a Skype video call, but also have
the ability to stream sound from instruments to a central computer, or server with high
processing power capable of recording all the audio streams simultaneously. In order to
reduce costs for the client, these computers could be owned by the organisation that
hosts and developed the online studio however, still be affordable for this organisation
because they can be shared by many people all with memberships to the online studio.
Computers function 24 hours a day 365 days a year however, one group of humans will
not constantly be recording music therefore, when people in the United Kingdom are
sleeping, people in Australia could be using the online studio to record their music and
vice versa.
One of the main features of the online studio is its ability to allow new and upcoming
artist to record music over the internet instantly. The system provided by the online
studio organisation should then be able to mix and master the recorded audio into a
song and allow the composers to name it and eventually produce their own EP or
album. I believe that it is vital that the system allows producers to publish and share
their music and consequently would recommend there be the ability to publish high
quality finished works onto a new special streaming platform. This streaming platform
could also contain music already produced by existing record labels and artists similar
to the music that can be found on todays streaming services. Music videos, lyric videos,
exclusive messages and other content could also be features added to this platform.
To cover the costs for the organisation providing the online studio and music streaming
services, I would recommend a membership be required to access the services.
Depending on which services the individual requires, different price points should be
charged. It also makes sense to offer a group package as to take advantage of the
recording music services, you need a whole band. This will help the organisation
increase their revenue as it provides an incentive to purchase the service for more
people as they feel they are getting a better deal. Shown below is a table of my
recommended pricing model:
Package
Trial

Cost Per Month

Free but limited to one
month.

Description
Access to all the services
offered.

Commented [9]: I suggest including how much it would

cost to use 'only studio". Also, how much cheaper it is
then having to rent out an actually studio. This would be
useful and appealing information if you wanted to
promote 'only studio'.
Christina Cao

Commented [10]: I like how you included this chart. It

adds a different perspective on the paper. It gives you
something different to look at making the paper less
"boring." Jeremy

Individual Listener

$9.99

Ability to stream music.

Group Listener

$15.99

Ability stream music for up

to five people.

Individual Producer

$29.99

Ability to stream music

and produce music using
the online studio.

Band Producer

$49.99

Ability to stream music

and produce music using
the online studio for up to
five people.

Commented [11]: This chart is very informative. I think

that it is very beneficial for the reader to have this
information. Well done.
Ryann Tate

Obviously further research will need to be carried out to discover information such as,
how much licensing for very successful artists content will cost for streaming, the
development costs of the online studio and the costs of purchasing and running the
expensive server hardware needed to power all these services especially the online
studio however, I believe these prices are realistic due to comparisons with competitor
prices of streaming services and my knowledge/ experience with server hosting. My
knowledge involves the creation and maintenance for different computer game servers
making sure all the hardware and software runs seamlessly and effectively without any
downtime.
In distinction to my research I believe that the new online studio system I am
proposing will help to modernise the music industry and solve the problem of artists not
receiving high enough pay through the current streaming services. The problem the
industry is currently facing is that people are no longer prepared purchase the music
they consume however; they will quite happily pay a much cheaper alternative of a
monthly subscription. The problem for the consumers is these subscriptions do not
currently generate enough revenue to pay artist the revenue they deserve (Cubbison
2015). As Cayari outlines in her article The YouTube Effect: How YouTube Has
Provided New Ways to Consume, and through the vast number of videos uploaded to
YouTube everyday, we know that thousands of people enjoy producing their own music.
Presently the only way to record high quality professional music is to either purchasing
expensive equipment or renting recording studio time, I trust that people will be keen to
lower their production costs and consequently will likely pay a high price, outlined
earlier, for the online studio software.

Commented [12]: I've noticed that you use a lot of

jargon in your writing. Eliminate all the jargon from your
paper. I think it will be beneficial to keep an elevated
tone throughout your paper.
Ryann Tate

In the long run, after the costs of the severs are covered through large volumes of
people purchasing memberships for the online studio producer, it will be much easier to
cover the running costs for resources resembling servers and music licences. This
means that disposable revenue will be extremely high and consequently more revenue
can be paid to artists who produce music for the streaming service. This will lead to
artists becoming happier because they will now be earning more than they did from
previous streaming services and consequently can cover the cost of paying the monthly
producer membership as well as having large profits for themselves. Music consumers
will be satisfied because they have a cheap streaming service they can use to
consumer their music and the organisation providing the online studio will be jubilant
due to a large revenue stream and consequently, in theory, the music industry should
be modernised and more profitable for every party.
Unfortunately, comparable to any contemporary idea, there are some potential
complications that may arise from online performing in the music industry. One of the
main concerns would be how cost effective the new online studio would be without a
significant volume of users paying membership fees. This is for the reason that
compulsory licenses and expensive servers hardware and software are required.
Despite the fact I have considered that this issue would slightly be offset by the
membership charges acting as a deterrent to unwanted users, it would still be
challenging to monitor the online studio for clients uploading copyrighted content, poor
quality music or other unwanted content. The system would not be effective or user
friendly if it just got filled with lumber content. A final concern is that if the client has a
lackadaisical internet connection it may make recording music a hard frustrating
process. The client would also likely have to acquire at least one instrument in order to
record songs.
In order to try and offset some of these issues, the online studio could also provide
some extra services for example, allowing producers to rent out the physical
instruments they purchase to other aspiring members of the site. This will likely provide
an incentive for more future music producers to sign up. Bands could also setup a
profile page where they can sell tickets to their concerts, merchandise and more. This
would create even more revenue streams for the music producers and, if the online
studio organisation took a percentage of their sales, profits would be generated for them
too. Although this is technically a form of advertising, I believe this will move forwards
advertising because it will be more specific to what people actually want to see and
consequently will not feel like advertisements.
Overall, after reviewing the sources I consulted, I believe that the idea I have proposed
could seriously push forwards the future of the music industry and provide some
valuable incites into helping combat the issues of music privacy and pay outs for artists

Commented [13]: How exactly does artist get revenue

for using 'only studio"? You should explain how artist
received revenue. Include how much more profit you
would get compared to using spotify.
Christina Cao

being too low. Although I believe further research still needs to be carried out, I hope my
work will point the industry in a good direction for years of success.

Conclusion/ So-What?
Throughout this paper I have researched the reasons how and why the music industry
has changed from physical album sales towards more digital formats including
downloads and streaming. This included concerns artists have about the amount of
money they earn as well as how artists starting out today, are typically taking different
paths to the traditional record label lead industry. I also felt it necessary to propose
suggestions for where I believe the music industry is likely to head to in the future and
why I support these ideas. Today I discovered that less bands and artists are signing to
record labels in order to achieve their big break and become known, instead they are
relying more upon services such as YouTube and social media sites, such as Twitter, to
publicise themselves and build an audience. Due to technologies such as the internet,
artists are having to undergo other methods to create loyal fans who will purchase their
music rather than simply using a piracy service. After taking into account the changes
the music industry has undergone and the requirements new artists have I announced
an idea I had for a new online studio which would allow people who would like to
produce music to collaborate fast and efficiently over the internet to record songs. The
online studio makes it cheap and easy for people to find the necessary musical
resources they require and to publish their music to a potentially huge audience all
paying a subscription to generate more revenue than existing streaming services.
I feel that my contribution is vital to the future of the music industry as I believe it
combats the problems the industry is currently facing of rising piracy and current
streaming services not being able to afford to pay artists the money they deserve and
the demands for more people wanting to be able to produce and publish their own
content. Without the music industry undergoing some kind of change like what I have
proposed, piracy will likely continue to increase and consequently existing artists will no
longer be able to afford to produce the work we know and love. We also face the fear
that fantastic new artists could easily go undiscovered therefore some valuable music
contributions may never be heard. The topic of the the music industry is momentously
critical for the reason that every culture throughout the worlds history has listened to
music of some degree for thousands of years. Throughout this time huge developments
have been produced to help achieve this music being shared for example we have gone
from social gatherings to physical shops and now online content that can be accessed
by over 1/3 of the worlds population instantly (Internet Users 2015). According to Knight
and Rickward (2001), their research has suggested that music can also help with
relieving stress and other medical issues. Music also produces happiness for millions of
people everyday and the global power celebrities have as role models inspiring young
teenagers and helping them through difficult times and in some cases also potentially

Commented [14]: This conclusion is a good summary

of the paper. I like the proposal included here as well. I
think the length of the summary is good because it
doesn't leave the reader empty. Jeremy

Commented [15]: This entire sentence is a complete

paragraph. For the readers sake, please throw in a
comma or a period somewhere. I think your paper
would be better understood if you did.
Ryann Tate

helping to prevent suicides do to the relatable songs they produce. This is why I believe
it is essential for research to be constantly engaged with into the development of the
music industry so that more spectacular content can be produced and accessed by as
many people as possible throughout the globe helping to supply people with the audio
they need for their health and happiness.
There will always be more research that can be undertaken in order to allow the
music industry to continue to grown and advance by becoming accessible to everyone
on the planet no matter where they are. Questions I believe that should be asked is how
can we take the online studio idea I have proposed and make it more educational and
accessible to people with disabilities for example blindness. Would it be possible to
develop tools using technology that can teach someone who is visually impearled how
to play an instrument and share their content with the world? I also fantasise that it
would be intriguing to research into how we can use technology to make music
accessible in some kind of form to death people. Obviously death community will never
physically be able to hear music, but perhaps technologies could be developed that
produce musical vibrations so that they can listen to music through vibrations rather
than sound. The imagine that the possibilities of music are endless therefore I hope that
research into this industry can always be undergone in a way that benefits as much of
the global population as possible.

References
Big Think. (2012, April 20). How is the music industry changing? [Video file]. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa4YuL-jGL8.
Cayari, C. (2011). The YouTube Effect: How YouTube Has Provided New Ways to
Consume,
Create, and Share Music. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 12(6).
Cubbison, L. (2015). Will Taylor Swift and Spotify Ever Get Back Together? Top
Intellectual
Property Developments of 2014, 38-41. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
Internet Users. (2015, October 30). Retrieved October 30, 2015, from
http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users/
Knight, W., & Rickard, N. (2001). Relaxing Music Prevents Stress-Induced Increases in
Subjective Anxiety, Systolic Blood Pressure, and Heart Rate in Healthy Males
and Females. Journal Of Music Therapy, 254-272.
Lam, C., & Tan, B. (2001, August 8). The Internet is Changing the Music Industry.

Commented [16]: Your very verbose. Nothing wrong

with it, but you tend to waffle on a lot. You could be
more concise for the reader's sake.
Ryann Tate

Communications of the ACM, 62-68.

Langley, L. (2015, October 9). Assignment One Against the Current. Lecture.
Sherman, C. (2015, September 23). Valuing Music in A Digital World. Forbes. Retrieved
October 15, 2015.
Sydell, L. (2012, January 20). Four Views On Megaupload. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
TEDxYouth. (2013, January 16). The Future of Music: Alex Day at
TEDxYouth@SanDiego [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYt4gismyiI.