Thursday, October 31, 2013

For my final post I really just wanted to vent......... I think todays big music is dragging us down it really makes no sense and really has very slim connectivity! I hope by doing the research that I am doing for this final paper and with my degree I can help the music industry turn around and help not only the artistry that singer/songwriters display but also the integrity and realness of music to come back again! I believe this world has lost its meaningfulness, its heart and needs to get it back and I don't think that anything brings back love and takes away pain and is more real than a good song!!

Wednesday, October 30, 2013


http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1013819218792#page-2 - This article on peer to peer file sharing has great information that can help me with my research showing just what the music industry is going through with all the file sharing.
With all of this information and battling within the music industry what exactly is my position and what will eventually be my argument?? Will it be that the integrity of the music industry is gone and is too much about the money which in turn has left the great artists getting nothing for their artistic talent?? Or maybe it will be that most artists have lost their own integrity which in turn has helped the music industry collapse?? Or will I focus more on the streaming of music on the internet and how that may just be the problem?? Either way I see that I have my hands full and can go many many ways which I suppose cant be a terrible thing!
http://www.nodepression.com/profiles/blogs/will-hoge-never-giving-in?xg_source=activity - "When you stare death in the face, fit in in the Texas Music scene, write a song that Taylor Swift never sees, have a Number 1 song on the Country charts, have a major automaker from Detroit want your song, and are about to release a new album(Never Give In/Thirty Tigers) you are not only busy but also  also a breath of fresh air in the singer/songwriter world. That’s Will Hoge". - Will Hoge has great music and a seemingly honorable approach to the music world. His integrity is something I look up to and I hope to use Will as a role model of my research.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

In this post I really wanted to thank Lauren for her add to my blog. She has opened up my eyes to how I may go about writing my final paper and gives way to more. I believe with the information on how much an artist has to go through it will help my argument and give great support when my readers read my paper that it matters that we change how the industry is rolling right now.

Lauren's Ideas

You could go more into the artistry behind the music. You said that really interesests you, but you could really expand on that and go through the whole process of writing a song, recording it, getting it produced, getting it out into the world, and promoting it. All of the work it takes to make theses songs a reality is what desreves the credit and the money. These artists spend weeks upon weeks pouring over one single song, and then people just stream it or look it up on youtube, and the artist never feels their appreciation, which would be most felt in a monetary value. But really go through the whole process of what it takes to make a song happen. Otherwise you have a lot of great arguable topics. This is a good topic because of how current it is, and it is something people are really struggling with and trying to fix.

Monday, October 28, 2013

http://www.economist.com/node/9443082 - This new Article I found has new information for myself and seems to focus on the question: what are record companies trying to do to fight back against the changing technology and piracy? What seems to be their answer is what is called a "360 contract" which gives them a percentage of live show sales, merchandise, and promotion. The question that arises from me is I understand that with the changing industry the record companies must do something but is this too much for the artists? With the already tough road for artists and their earnings is this still a terrible position for them?
http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/global/5770394/music-industry-margin-growth-worst-among-media-entertainment - This article in Billboard shows graphs and information on the music industry and how it has the worst growth margin within all the entertainment sectors. This article got me really thinking and only helps my thought that the music industry needs to change and if the music growth is so small then how must the artists (whom seem to be on the bottom of the totem pole) be doing and how can the see any support lately?http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/21/business/media/as-downloads-dip-music-executives-cast-a-wary-eye-on-streaming-services.html?_r=0 - This article I found from the New York Times asks many questions and seems to find that the music business is a cracked egg on the pavement with not many signs of repairing itself due to the fact that its hard to pin point exactly where the problem is although most will point to online streaming its not a for sure thing that its the problem. Either way its seems like I have my work cut out for me along with many of the others within the music industry.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Is this new way of technology driven business opening up doors for the record company's and artists to finally get along?!                                                                                       http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1609466/pat-green-finds-artistic-integrity-compatible-with-corporate-muscle.jhtml - Pat Green is a country music artist from Texas and gives a great view of how an artist can thrive in working with the record labels within the industry. Something great to work with!                                                                                            http://www.examiner.com/article/artistic-integrity-and-the-new-music-business-a-match-made-heaven - This article from Examiner is awesome because it shows the point that artists can connect with fans like never before and can offer songs straight to them but reminds us that there is really no revenue to work with when using these areas.

please stop the streaming

There are some artists like Zoe Keating who see online streaming like spotify which started in Scandinavia and has grown to the largest online streaming service as a great way to get your music out there and be discovered and artists need to view this as a good thing and not want it as a revenue creator. But the issue here as brought up by David Byrne in his article that if online streaming continues this way there will virtually be zero revenue for artists and on top of that this streaming is not a great way to get new artists out there and supported for there music to grow. This in a nut shell again is the issue we are attacking and needs to be fixed very soon.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”
Bob Marley - now we all know that big business and money runs the world by maybe we should see things in a bigger picture and focus on the art of music and what it really means to us. Music can heal a broken heart, make you smile, and help you dream. Lets stop taking the artists dreams and taking the appreciation from what they do from them. We must find a way to refocus on the revenue coming in and get the artists what they deserve and not just money but development and support!
Where will the music industry be in 20 years? This is a huge question and seems to rest merely on individual thought. This question is a bigger question that opens the door to smaller ones. We must ask all that we can to help the music industry survive and create new ways to help the artists be grow and create.                                                                                                                                   Passman, Donald S. All You Need to Know about the Music Business. ; Eighth Edition. N.p.: Free, 2012. Print. - A great book teaching much of what is the music business

Thursday, October 24, 2013

David Byrne article

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/oct/11/david-byrne-internet-content-world - This article by David Byrne for The Guardian is an excellent take on the new music world and gives eye opening facts about todays internet and music streaming. I feel this reading will help me tremendously on my quest for answers to this tornado of problems that is the music world today. My question to this article only is there a answer to these issues and the internet taking the art away from the industry?!

Record labels

Today I read a great article from the Music Business Journal about record labels trying to survive and how the JOBS act may just be able to help. Will the JOBS act really help? I want to look deeper into this idea because record labels have always been the source for artist development and in my opinion mean a great deal to the music world. Although there are some artists that make it on there own through self promotion and such on the internet the percentage of success is still much lower then that of an artist that is backed by a record label.                             http://www.examiner.com/article/artistic-integrity-and-the-new-music-business-a-match-made-heaven- This was a very interesting article peace and has got me thinking deeper then before! there seems to be a very fragile side to this whole new business thing!

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Who am I hoping to reach out to with all of my research? - I think my research is reaching out to all areas of the industry I really think anyone interested in honorable business or music of any kind can get a feeling that we need to change or better the industry for the artist its just now finding ways to do so.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

I don't want to just focus on how the music business for artists and labels seems all doom and gloom so I really want to ask myself how can this technical world that seems to be the music industry today possibly have some positives for it? Or how can we pull things from this new form of the industry to create a better living for these artists an bring back the art?            http://www.thembj.org/2012/07/diy-musicians-alone-together/- The Music Business Journal from Berklee College of Music has been a great way to find awesome information on the music business and leads on where the music business just might be leading itself.
How did I choose my topic? I chose my topic for many reasons first of all I really enjoy music not just listening to music but the artistry behind the music and the meaning within the lyrics. Secondly I am very interested in the business aspects of music and when I say this I don't mean I want to be the richest man selling other peoples art no I want to support the artist and be on the road and at shows and bring back the integrity and passion for the art of music not just for the greed of money which seems to have many artists starving these days.

Monday, October 21, 2013

Why is my issue worth researching? Music has always been important and its very important not to lose the artistry and the integrity of music and honor in the business itself. As well lets not forget the fact that the music industry is crumbling and many artists are not making what they deserve nor are new artists able to be found because of the movement of internet file sharing and internet radio. http://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/jeremy-gilbert/capitalism-creativity-and-crisis-in-music-industry- This article by Jeremy Gilbert gives us a deeper look at the industry crisis.
How does my research connect to academics? There are many ways my research connects to academics. First of all its music which is studied all of the world in many different forms. Business seems to make the world go round these days I only wish there seemed to be more honor in it and not just who will make the most cash. Other ways it connects to academics is the study of music history and how the industry has changed and how we may just be able to use history to come back to the basics and really enjoy the art within the music these artists are creating.

Monday, October 14, 2013

music business crises 10/14/13

Today I simply wanted to address my question: What are the issues in today's music business world, how are these issues affecting the artists and what exactly is being done to address these issues? By asking these questions maybe I can get a deeper understanding of the music business and quite possibly find my own solutions to the industries issues. My hope is also to be able to find the feelings of artists and their takes on the industry they are working in.                                                    http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/defining-the-music-industry-crisis.html - This link was a great place to start for me. Chris Purifoy brings up some great points on the music industries crises to think about. The 11 issues are great to think on and I will take them into account along the way. The apple issue really surprised me and I could really see how that could be an extreme issue for an artist