media essay
Essay on Music Industry
Question- How important is technological convergence for institutions and audiences within a media area which you have studied?
Technological convergence refers to the availability of media products across a wide range of platforms. The iPad, smartphone, Xbox and laptop are all examples of this. They bring together different technologies in one place. For example, a smartphone allows you to call and text, listen to music, take photos, browse the internet, play games, find your location, watch TV, book a taxi or even a flight and use social media apps to constantly stay involved in this technological universe which we are all slowly adapting to. As technology changes so does the media industry. This essay will assess its significance to music institutions such as Universal Music Group and Warp and discuss how important convergence is to audiences.
The music industry has been hugely shaped by the development of new technology and this has been demonstrated through its four main areas; production (making the music), distribution (getting it out there), marketing (advertisement) and consumption (the intake of an audience of a product.) For example, in 1980 CD’s were created; by 1988, sales of CD’s overtook those of vinyl and by 1997, the creation of mp3 revolutionised how music is consumed through the creation of the first peer-to-peer software, Napster. Napster was the first internet service where people could share audio files, most typically music for free. This was largely successful because broadband was introduced into the UK in 2000 and in 2001 Apple launched the iPod and iTunes.
The competition between major record conglomerates which combine to own about a 75% share of the music industry, is more or less evenly distributed between Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group. They also own smaller labels and run them under their company, this is known as horizontal integration. Although, these smaller
Question- How important is technological convergence for institutions and audiences within a media area which you have studied?
Technological convergence refers to the availability of media products across a wide range of platforms. The iPad, smartphone, Xbox and laptop are all examples of this. They bring together different technologies in one place. For example, a smartphone allows you to call and text, listen to music, take photos, browse the internet, play games, find your location, watch TV, book a taxi or even a flight and use social media apps to constantly stay involved in this technological universe which we are all slowly adapting to. As technology changes so does the media industry. This essay will assess its significance to music institutions such as Universal Music Group and Warp and discuss how important convergence is to audiences.
The music industry has been hugely shaped by the development of new technology and this has been demonstrated through its four main areas; production (making the music), distribution (getting it out there), marketing (advertisement) and consumption (the intake of an audience of a product.) For example, in 1980 CD’s were created; by 1988, sales of CD’s overtook those of vinyl and by 1997, the creation of mp3 revolutionised how music is consumed through the creation of the first peer-to-peer software, Napster. Napster was the first internet service where people could share audio files, most typically music for free. This was largely successful because broadband was introduced into the UK in 2000 and in 2001 Apple launched the iPod and iTunes.
The competition between major record conglomerates which combine to own about a 75% share of the music industry, is more or less evenly distributed between Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group. They also own smaller labels and run them under their company, this is known as horizontal integration. Although, these smaller