While The Music Industry Was Sleeping

While The Music Industry Was Sleeping

by Michol Mae
October 24, 2011

Music has and always will be significant to the people of this world. It affects cultures and impacts society in ways never foreseen by our ancestors. The impact of music and technology has been felt around the globe and continues to raise questions for the listener, the artist and the professionals in the industry. I took a strong interest in this topic because of my background in classical music, my love of music of all cultures and my side projects as a solo artist. My interest and love for both technology and music drove me to start seeking solutions to many issues.

Music has and always will be significant to the people of this world. It affects cultures and impacts society in ways never foreseen by our ancestors. The impact of music and technology has been felt around the globe and continues to raise questions for the listener, the artist and the professionals in the industry. I took a strong interest in this topic because of my background in classical music, my love of music of all cultures and my side projects as a solo artist. My interest and love for both technology and music drove me to start seeking solutions to many issues.

When Thomas Edison recorded the first voice in 1877 and received a patent for his new technology, the music industry was born. Recording could be made and distributed for use from the late 1800's to the early 1900's. Radio came on the scene in the early 1900's and many feared the worst, concerned that recording would become obsolete. While there was a steep decline with the introduction of the radio (and also the Great Depression) eventually the radio helped record sales by offering more exposure to new artists and types of music. There is a tendency today to use this justification as it pertains to the internet. While the exposure is certainly greater with the internet the radio was not a format that could be instantly downloaded and copied or played on demand.

The music industry fell asleep and stayed slumbering contently, it was not 9/11, Enron or the Dot-Com bust that caused this sleeping giant to miss the triple convergence, it was arrogance or stubborn refusal to accept change. In an industry where technological advances drove profits it is a shocking conundrum. According to the NY Times in 1992 a federal law passes to allow consumers the right to use audio tape players to copy music for person and noncommercial use only. This law was designed to deal with Cassette tapes, CD players, digital recorders and other emerging technology's excluding internet file sharing. Considering the fact that the audio cassette was popular from the 1970's to the 1990's and the CD was released in 1982 there is at least a 10 year gap in which many people were already copying music for personal use before the industry took action. In December 6th 1999 A&M records and 17 other record companies filed suit against Napster charging that more than 20 million users of the Napster system were engaged in copyright infringement, in addition they charged Napster with “contributory” and “vicarious” copyright infringement because it was aware of the users piracy and encouraged it. Napster tried to use the 1992 law in it's defense claiming it extended to computer hard drives, however, this interpretation is overly broad. The copyright law that states that that copying digital audio files for personal and non-commercial use only even extending this to the hard drives does not constitute the right to share the files with others. 

The music industry countered with the example that it would be considered illegal to make a copy of a CD and give it to a friend and copying an MP3 from the internet, servers and hard-drives is the same premise. Once again the industry reacted too late, the MP3 was out of the hat in 1998, Napster had over 20 million users before the industry took action. At the very least the industry should have been aware and actively investigating the possibilities this new format would unlock. At the very least they should not have waited until 20 million users were on the Napster system before taking action, they should have made themselves more educated and aware of all emerging technologies.

The music industry has fallen behind technology since the first digital format was made public. By the time the industry woke up and saw the effects of the technology they were too late to implement any pro-active methods and became engaged in a game of catch up and cops and robbers. They have relied on archaic lawful systems to uphold their business without a look toward the future. They were ill prepared for door that Napster opened and have struggled ever since to regain some sort of control over their domain. The industry seems to focus all of it's collective energy attacking systems as they threaten the industries bottom line instead of looking forward and implementing more pro-active approaches. One thing is certain the music industry will never be the same, in fact it will continue to change, and if the industry can not look ahead and embrace technology they will be replaced with a new industry of pioneers that have learned the value technology has to offer.

References;
Bargfrede, Allen, and Cecily Mak. Music Law In The Digital Age. Berklee Pr Pubns, 2009.
Litman, Jessica. Digital Copyright. Prometheus Books, 2006.
Friedman, Thomas L. The World Is Flat, A Brief History Of The Twenty-First Century. 3.0. Douglas McIntyre Ltd., 2009. 3-232.
Baldauf, Kenneth J., and Ralph M. Stair. Succeeding With Technology. 3rd. Cengage Learning, 2009.
Harman, Amy. "Powerful Music Software Has Industry Worried ." New york Times 01 Mar 2000. n. pag. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. .
Clausing, Jeri. "Online Music Industry Tells Congress to Leave It Alone." New York Times 25 Mar 2000. n. pag. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. .
Pfanner, Eric. "Music Industry Braces for the Unthinkable." New York Times 23 Jan 2011. n. pag. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. .
"A Question on Music Piracy." New York Times 22 Sep 2000. n. pag. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. .

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