BIMM Dublin

Current Developments in
the Music Industry

Louis Younge

1086777

BA in Commercial Modern Music

Alan Duggan

3rd May 2017 (Due: 4th May 2017)

Today’s music industry is not as simple as it once was. The game is changing at an unprecedented

rate, and could change drastically in the blink of an eye. The technological age in which we live is

leading this change, and from the point of view of music consumption, convenience is key. Spotify

and other streaming platforms have dominated the market, practically killing CDs as a viable income

source and razing the income musicians see from recorded music. Social situations are reflected in

musicians’ careers, and with the rise of social justice and change, the industry is evolving.

Technology is also influencing the live music industry in a myriad of ways, especially on the world’s

biggest stages. The two current developments within the music industry which most sparked my

interest were the elimination of inequality and the long-overdue push for racial/ethnic diversity in

classical music and the incorporation of virtual and augmented reality (hereinafter referred to as

VR/AR) into how music is consumed and experienced, and these are the two topics around which I

will base this essay. These are both topics which are extremely relevant and current in today’s music

industry, and are changing the direction of the development of music and how we will consume it.
In 2016, Niantic released ‘Pokémon Go!’, a game for smartphone which exposed the world to a new

type of gaming experience: Augmented reality. The entire wold seemed to go wild for this game,

with Kat Brewster of The Guardian (2016) referring to it as “not just another mobile game and it’s

not another Pokémon game – it’s an entirely separate beast on the cusp of something vast; a

glimpse into the future of widely accessible augmented reality” This concept, which incorporates

real-world components into a digital experience or vice versa, opened up a whole new conversation

regarding how technology is used and consumed

AR is by no means a new concept. In fact, the earliest realisation of the technology was in 1968 when

Ivan Sutherland created the first head-mounted display system. The system featured translucent

displays, one for each eye, on which simple wire-frame computer generated drawings could be

shown. The Sword of Damocles, as it was named, had to be suspended from the roof of the lab and

was largely useless, but it was the precursor to an industry which saw over $3 billion in investment in

2017 (Digi-Capital, 2018).

AR has been used from time to time in the music industry since the turn of the millennium, mainly

by virtual alt-rock band the Gorillaz in their live shows. In 2006, at the forty-eighth annual Grammy

awards, they performed their hit ‘Feel Good Inc.’ and fans were mesmerised watching the cartoon

monkeys strut around the stage. They were soon joined by an incredibly life-like, yet virtual,

Madonna singing her own ‘Hung Up’. Madonna herself then appeared and performed the song live

with a real band, but the crowd was amazed by the virtual display they had just witnessed.

In 2012, AR reached new heights when Coachella’s main stage was the backdrop for a show

featuring Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and none other than the late Tupac Shakur. Such an event was

unfathomable to most, and yet there he was, a slightly transparent and glitch yet very lifelike version

of the rap legend. Of course this opened the door to many possibilities: Could Michael Jackson finally

perform his ‘This is It’ tour? Could we go to see Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald in a smoky jazz

bar, or might Beatlemania come back into fashion? We could potentially even go to see Pyotr Ilyich
Tchaikovsky conduct his own music. This, more or less, is how the situation currently lies regarding

AR in the live music scene: speculation about how we can use it to its full potential. However, the

technology available could completely change the industry. Performers could no longer have to

travel to play to fans across the globe. For example, a DJ in Los Angeles could play a live set to

hundreds of clubs around the world, interacting with the crowds in real time.

Virtual Reality (VR), while similar in concept to Augmented Reality, has a totally different set of uses

and functions. Like AR, it combines the physical and the virtual, but instead of virtual objects

entering the real surroundings, the user is immersed in a virtual environment. The most popular use

for VR is to three-hundred-and-sixty degree video, so one can sit on their couch and be transported

to a beach in Hawai’i or a rollercoaster moving at breakneck speeds. The most common medium for

consumption of VR material is through a smartphone and a special headset, but rooms exist with

screens on all four sides, so that the user can be free of the somewhat unnatural headset.

This technology allows for the potential to change music videos entirely, where the viewer could be

an integral part of the video itself and previously unachievable effects could be made possible. The

main interest, however, is for people to experience live shows at any time. In May 2018, the first VR

music app was launched. The app is called MelodyVR, and as a startup it has raised seventy million

dollars. MelodyVR works on Oculus Go and Samsung GearVR platforms and allows users to make

one-off payments for VR videos of today’s biggest artists. Footage has been captured from sold-out

stadium shows, festivals and VIP sessions, and the company plan to start streaming concerts and

offer virtual tickets to otherwise sold-out shows. CEO Anthony Matchett said “We’re hugely excited

to provide music fans across-the-globe with amazing, immersive VR performances from the world’s

most recognisable and loved artists.” (Jones, 2018)

This development, should it become a mainstream method of consuming music, could have a

number of implications on the music industry. It could become the main way that people see live

shows and do huge damage to the live music industry, just like Netflix is harming cinemas’ revenue.
It could be a great development for artists, both signed and unsigned. 360˚ cameras are now readily

available, the market leader being the Samsung Gear 360, which retails at well under €200. Small

unsigned bands could upload VR recordings of their live shows to their websites, or stream across

the world to their loyal fans. Apps could be created to present small bands to a bigger audience, in a

similar fashion to Spotify’s playlists. The complex nature of these videos would also make it harder

to pirate them, meaning it could be a viable revenue stream for all involved. However, its success

relies on the success of Virtual Reality as a concept, and VR itself seems to already be fading since

Oculus launched their Rift headset in 2016, so unless there is a surge in the use of VR and the sale of

VR headsets, this may not be a safe bet in terms of the industry’s biggest future developments.
Inequality is as certain in humanity as death and taxes. As long as we are conscious of ourselves and

others, inequality, or at least perceived inequality, will continue to divide, restrict and trouble us as a

species. Whether it be the alpha male in a Neanderthal colony or a twenty-first century bully, some

people are perceived to be better, more able, more capable or in some way superior to others, and

likewise, some will be seen as inferior. This can be seen in the countless times throughout history

that minorities have been persecuted or treated unfairly. For example, American slave-owners saw

their slaves as nothing more than an investment or a possession, based purely on the colour of their

skin. Likewise, the Nazi regime convinced the German people of the 1930s/40s that Jewish people

were somehow less desirable than the beautiful Aryan race, and so should be treated accordingly. As

crude as these examples may seem, they are clear illustrations of how inequality can be totally

normalised. Nowadays, particularly alarming cases of inequality include racism, sexism and

homophobia.

A survey conducted by the League of American Orchestras found that eighty-six percent of

orchestral musicians in the United States of America are white, with the remaining fourteen percent

being made up of black, Latino and Hispanic musicians (Doeser, 2016). Obviously this is an

overwhelming majority and is massively disproportionate to the cultural diversity seen in the

population of the country, with most cities now having a ‘minority majority’. As Esther C. Cepeda

(2008) put it, “Check out covers of classical music CDs, and you won’t see a lot of brown faces”

The main reason for this is the market which consumes classical music. For centuries, orchestral

music has been seen as the music of the upper classes, and not for the simple minds of the working

classes. Due to the societal inequality that is only starting to disappear, minority was, until recently,

synonymous with second-class and very few people from ethnic minorities were treated equally as
citizens. This in turn led to a vicious cycle of lower quality education, lower salaries and poorer

quality of life. Because of this, people of ethnic minorities were rarely exposed to classical music,

and therefore very few were interested or inspired by it. However, these barriers are no longer an

issue as access to classical music is as easy as tapping on a Spotify playlist on one’s morning

commute or a lunchtime concert in a concert hall. The problem is that, however accessible the music

may be, I have never walked into an orchestra rehearsal and felt I was different, or gone to a concert

in the National Concert Hall and seen more than a handful of the ‘brown faces’ Cepeda speaks of.

The same problem is evident in the composing world. Since the eighteenth century, black composers

have been largely pushed to one side. Gaudeloupe-born Chevalier de Saint-Georges taught Marie

Antoinette to play the violin, and was a prolific composer of the early classical period. He was clearly

in the right circles to be launched into orchestral greatness and his music is comparable to that of

early Beethoven, but due to the fact that he was not white, his name has been largely forgotten.

Scott Joplin was the first black composer whose name is recognised in most circles is ragtime pianist

and composer Scott Joplin, who composed pieces such as ‘Maple Leaf Rag’ and ‘The Entertainer’

George Walker was the first black American composer to be awarded the Pulitzer prize for music

(excluding Joplin’s posthumous recognition in 1976), and this did not occur until 1996, almost two

centuries after Saint-Georges died.

This problem is being combatted in multiple ways. The main way is that children are being exposed

to classical music in schools from a young age, in the hope that the next generation of young

classical musicians will be as diverse as the classrooms they learn in. Orchestras themselves are also

leading the charge, with most having some kind of outreach program. The Boston Symphony, for

example, run the ‘OrchKids’ program, which offers free instruments and tuition to about one

thousand Boston children every year. Closer to home, Dublin Institute of Technology’s Ballymun

music Programme currently run in six primary schools in disadvantaged areas of Dublin, in the hope

of exposing children, who may not have the brightest prospects or the most favourable
circumstances, to the possibility of music as a way to break the cycle, and this project has worked

wonders, with many of its participants going on to study music at third level institutions such as the

DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama or the Royal Irish Academy of Music. (DIT, no date)

Musicians from cultural minorities have taken action themselves for this cause. Many black classical

musicians are active on social media, to give the next generation someone to look up to, someone to

grow up wanting to follow in the footsteps of. A spectacular example of this is New York violist Drew

Alexander Forde, who goes by the name of ThatViolaKid on social media. His YouTube channel is an

account of his life as an alumnus of the Julliard School of Music, and his videos, which go between

instrumental tips, talks about life as a musician in New York, and trivial day-to-day video blogs, have

amassed him twenty-seven thousand subscribers and almost one and a half million views. His

YouTube bio states “The truth is, Classical music is not just for rich, old, white people, and I’m gonna

show you why!” (Forde, 2018) Forde’s comment sections are filled with words of appreciation and

thanks from inspired young musicians, some of whom are certainly caught in the vicious cycle of

poverty and poor education, and who may see his example as a way to break that cycle. As Benjamin

Hooks put it, “Black men who have succeeded have an obligation to serve as role models for young

men entrapped by a vicious cycle of poverty, despair, and hopelessness.” (Hooks, 1986)

As I have shown above, the aforementioned developments in today’s music industry are both

current and important. If classical music fails to diversify, the small audience it attracts will

eventually shrink into nothingness, and so through the use of outreach and early exposition to and

appreciation of classical music we hope to eliminate the barriers standing in the way of all those who

miss out on it, and on a huge resource and a career for some. As a classical musician myself, I have

seen first-hand the great work being done, and lives being changed as a result. On the other hand,

VR and AR do not have as much to do with the performers themselves as with the consumption of

music, both live and recorded, and might just change the way music is sold commercially. In an
increasingly technological era, this development makes it easier than ever for consumers to see their

favourite performers live, and will enhance live performances everywhere. I firmly believe both

developments are positive ones, and will enhance the music industry, and music in general, in the

years to come.
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