Crisis of the Music Industry
As the music industry enters the 21st Century, there are a variety of crises and issues plaguing different aspects of the medium. While some, such as the Napster on-line piracy debate, are prominently discussed due to their serious legal and economic implications, other issues lay hidden and remain largely ignored by both the public and the industry. Often such covert issues are in fact the most important, reflecting the true nature and struggles of the medium of sound recordings.A prime example of the latter is the industry's current ethos of music as product and as mass-marketable commodity. Although seemingly unavoidable in nature, a tie between sound recordings and profit-driven corporations has resulted in the horrible mismanagement of the concept of "music as an art form". Mismanagement is evidenced through the following: (1) major labels have strategically spawned a homogeneous "web" of manufactured, disposable, albeit immensely popular music for their profit-driven benefits and,(2) in doing so have chosen to neglect their own "non-marketable" artists and ignore up-and-coming "non-marketable" talent. The music industry, as a result, has become anything but a forum for artistic expression by placing its focus on an arti
In a world of manufactured recording stars (where young, undiscovered talent is put together strategically to make picture-perfect groups, "plastic" songs are pre-written, pre-arranged and pre-produced by faceless, anonymous production teams and the extent of a star's musical ability is determined by his or her ability to sing and dance at the same time), there is little room for any authentic emotion or creative or expressive ingenuity - the artistic essence is completely lost. Songs are often shallow in their emotional scope and usually present feelings, people and situations in a one-dimensional model. The lyrics, once considered a form of poetry, are usually second or third in importance behind the melody or catchy "hook". The goal is to make the music as easy to swallow as possible, in order to appeal to the lowest, simplest common denominator. Nothing is ever challenging to the ear, and nothing ever shows any real complexity. Culture and society gain nothing new except fluffy, meaningless entertainment that glorifies the importance of image and sex, while It is needless to say that music, like all forms of media, acts as an agent of socialization. It influences the young immensely, seeping into the ways they act, what they say, how they say it, and, worst of all, what they believe. It has come to the point where the music industry must take a closer look at what it is ma
Some common words found in the essay are:
, music industry, artist account, current ethos, major labels, sound recordings,
Approximate Word count = 935
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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