Week 7 - The Recording Industry

The recording industry definitely isn't what it used to be to new artists. It used to be that recording artists needed a major record label to gain any fame or money from their music. The Internet has revolutionized what it means to be a musical artist just as it has changed any other form of media including TV, radio, newspapers, and books.

I'm not convinced that it's a negative thing that artists don't need the help of major record labels. Recording companies are in the business because they make enormous amounts of money off of the talent of others. As an artist, I wouldn't want to be dependent and indebted to people that are really only concerned with how much money I am going to make them. And now, it's becoming more and more common for artists to take a more independent route with their musical careers. The Internet is the greatest resource available to them because it gives the potential to reach millions of people for not a lot of money.

I think record labels are definitely moving in the wrong direction by always playing it safe and only signing artists that fall into the category that everyone will love. I get really bored of the same pop music on the radio and the same song format for everything. That's the reason why I don't listen to the radio very often. I can find more interesting and different music by searching on iTunes or the Internet or other sources for new songs and artists to listen to. New artists would be crazy not to utilize the Internet as their main source of publicity.