This is a collection of papers presented to participants in the Rethink Music conference presented in association with the Berkman Center for Internet and Society and Harvard Business School.
Extract from first paper Rethinking music: a framing paper
The music industry has been in a state of significant flux for more than a decade as music consumption has shifted online. From one perspective, this shift marks the downfall of the recording industry. Fans have little incentive to buy albums when they can instantaneously illegally download songs from peer-to-peer file sharing networks and other sources. And, the attention of consumers is increasingly drawn from music to an enormous and growing array of competing media and entertainment products. According to an NPD group study, in the third quarter of 2010, only 16.5% of American Internet users over the age of thirteen purchased music. When fans do purchase music, they would rather download individual tracks priced at $.99 than full-length albums at ten times the cost. As a result of all these factors and more, the value of the global recorded music industry has declined by one-third since 2004.
On the other hand, the digital revolution brings new opportunities for growth and innovation in music distribution. There are now over 400 licensed digital music services worldwide, with thirteen million tracks licensed for digital use. Since 2004, the value of the US digital music market has increased by over 1,000% to around $4.6 billion. New companies, like Rdio and Mog, give consumers an alternative to piracy by allowing them to stream the music of their choice on-demand. A large percentage of the subscription and advertising revenue from these services goes directly into the pockets of artists, songwriters, labels, and publishers. Smaller artists, music’s new middle class, are leveraging social networking platforms to reach out to a global fan base. Through do-it-yourself distribution tools, artists can cut out middlemen and distribute music directly to their fans, earning more in royalties than they could have under traditional recording and publishing deals during the heyday of the compact disc. Some artists even raise money directly from their fans to support the production of new music.
To survive the digital transformation, all players in the music industry are rethinking music. Labels are rethinking their business models. Digital companies are rethinking channels of distribution. Artists are rethinking their relationships with fans and traditional sources of revenue. And, lawyers, academics, and policymakers are rethinking the legal landscape in an effort to meet the needs of creators and consumers in the digital age.
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Photo from Creative Commons: Flickr: Curious_Gregor
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