At the turn of the century, the music industry faced a cataclysmic downfall at the hands of the World Wide Web. Once an impenetrable vanguard of American innovation and the largest representation of the country’s culture and continued artistic endeavors worldwide, the industry of empires like Motown and Capitol Records was blindsided by the growth of internet downloads via file… Read more →
Tag: music
Inspiration or Imitation: The Intellectual Property Conundrum
Ed Sheeran is facing a lawsuit alleging that his smash hit “We Found Love” is a rip off Marvin Gaye’s iconic single, “Let’s Get It On”. This isn’t first time a popular artist has been accused of borrowing from the past. Fans noted the striking similarities between “Some Nights” by the indie rock band, Fun, and Simon and Garfunkel’s, “Cecilia”.… Read more →
Artists Don’t Get Paid To Do The Superbowl, So Why Do They Perform?
The NFL Championship Game, better known as the Super Bowl, is an American institution. The event has garnered the highest ratings in TV history multiple times, taking 18 of the top 20 spots for a single program, according to Nielsen. In many ways, its popularity has been bolstered by the appearance of high profile celebrities during the halftime show as… Read more →
The Uncertain Future of Music
Centuries ago, music was used as an expression of cultural customs or commissioned by the wealthy for the purpose of entertainment. That is still true today, however, at the turn of the last century, thanks to inventions like the phonograph and radio, music became much more than personal art, it became business–a largely successful one, to be sure. By the… Read more →
Would Soundcloud’s Subscription Service Harm or Hurt Indie Artists
Last week it was revealed that the online music streaming service Soundcloud resolved its issues with Sony Music Entertainment, and would again have access to content from the latter’s artists and musicians through a recent licensing deal. The two powerful entities sparred over a reported lack of proper compensation, similar to the issue many have cited with YouTube (to which… Read more →
Who Cares About Sound Quality?
In the last month of 2015, Digital Music News released a study showing that most music listeners consume content through streaming sites, like Pandora, Spotify and the like. That is no surprise, given the popularity of such services in recent years, which some have attributed to a decline in piracy. One of the most attractive things about these services, despite… Read more →