How has the internet changed the Music Press?

How has the internet changed the Music Press?

There are many different ways that the internet has changed Music Press and these are the key ones that have changed it for the better, making it easier for new artists to get recognition and fame.

Online Sales
Before the internet was as big as it is today, selling a product over the internet was incredibly difficult. This meant that big companies were not very interested in selling products over the internet and did not see the use, however due to entreprenerus it meant that websites were created that made the selling of CDs easier which helped create a new way of getting a product from the musician and to the audience. The internet has also had more changes in the online music selling world as Napster (which is still operational today) was once a peer-to-peer network which meant that people could join the network and share or download music from others. This meant that more independent artists,or hard-to-find music could be shared among friends, but as this grew in size and popularity it meant that bands and artists got upset over their lost avenue and the peer-to-peer network was eventually shut down due to copyright of songs. The Napster incident actually began to make people have to pay more for albums due to the loss in money due to the peer-to-peer netwroks sharing songs between eachother without having paid for it. ITunes was eventually created which gave people the option to buy just a single from an artist instead of the entire album and as the internet increases in size today there are even more ways of optaining music online.

Websites
In the early days of the internet websites were not as advanced as they are today and often did not have anything special on them, such as graphics, however as technology evolved eventually to the stage it is at today. Websites have altered the face of music marketing  due to the ability for an artist to direct their fans to one website means that there is an ability for them to build their own community and share information about an album or single. All of this did not exist before the World Wide Web. Along with advertising through websites there are still more traditional routes such as the paper, TV, radio commercials and so on however it means that independent artists cannot get the same amount of publicity as artists with a music label and this makes the internet a great place for independent artists to advertise their product.

Social Media
There have been many social media sites around however the earliest most important one would be Myspace when it comes to music marketing. At the height of Myspace's popularity many bands were on the site trying to get fans to buy their album or go to tours. The site meant that bands and artists could interact with their fans and try to bring in more fans on the way. Myspace eventually had a fall in popularity and artists ended up going on sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to show fans their music and interact with them. This shows that as technology evolves it shows that music belongs on social media and how it has a huge impact on music marketing.

The main reason for music magazines leaving print form is due to the accessibility that information is on the internet. Information that would only be in a music magazine is now on the internet, where it is easily acquirable. This meant that the loss of money from print media meant that more jobs were being lost in the newspaper industry therefore meaning the cost efficient method would be to make magazines solely online

Conclusion
The internet has a lot to do with the internet now then it ever has before, and it will only increase in the coming years. Many bug companies are taking less risks with artists nowadays, therefore meaning that new artists are using sites such as YouTube to prove themselves and create a fan base for themselves. Having a social media account means that artists are more likely to interact with fans which means that the experiences and connection with the fans and vice versa is sometimes more important for a music artist.