Glee over the new direction of the music industry

The music industry is perhaps one of the most volatile segments of industry, experiencing rapid changes throughout its history. In order to survive up until now, adaptation has been absolutely vital.

Early classical composers like Beethoven and Mozart struggling to survive, relying on patronages from wealthy families to commission their work. Early dissemination and sale of music was in the form of sheet music, but it was not until the late 19th century that a centralized publishing house emerged in New York City (Tin Pan Alley). The impetus for the growth of the industry was the sale of over 1 million copies of the song, “After the Ball,” in 1892.

Thomas Edison’s development of sound recording devises in 1877 marked a new beginning for the music industry, and Emil Berliner’s launch of disc recordings under his company, Victor Talking Machine Company, helped to popularize newly recorded music.

With the availability of sound recordings, the sales of sheet music shrank drastically, and by the 1920s, it only represented 15% of music revenues. Growth occurred in the industry until 1923 when a new threat came – the radio. From the 1930s through 1950s six major labels dominated the scene – Decca, Mercury, Capitol, RCA/Victor, EMI, and CBS Records.

The music industry again made another turnaround in 1948 when CBS Records introduced the LP to the world. The 1950s marked resurgence in musical consumption with the popularity of rock and roll. The music industry thrived from the veracious teenage music consumers and disk jockeys were paramount in the promotion of new music on their radio shows. Fierce competition among labels ensued to secure the coveted new song slots on popular radio play lists.

Shift in musically tastes and introduction of new genres like reggae, funk, and disco, in the 1970s, led way to the development of independent record labels, siphoning profits from the major labels and marking decline in the industry.

The early 1980s again represent a further turning point in the music industry with the debut of MTV in 1981 and the introduction of CDs in 1983. Indeed, video did “kill the radio star,” and music aficionados looked toward the latest music videos to satiate their music hunger. The most popular videos on MTV translated into high sales of CDs and singles, producing big profits for record labels and their most popular artists.

This model of music videos (and radio play) translated into high CDs sales and consequently big profits for the record labels, but 19-year-old Shawn Fanning’s development of Napster in 1999 as well as the bevy of other “free” music downloading websites changed the face of the music industry forever.

With the ability to stream music literally “at the click of a button,” record labels’ profits are dwindling. File-sharing has never been easier and despite threat of lawsuits, illegal downloading remains rampant. What does the future of the music industry hold?
As I mentioned before, the industry is cyclical. As new technology is developed, changes occur, and in order to survive, the industry has to be willing to change. The inception of the itunes store was a step in the right direction – the first true acknowledgment of the changing musical landscape.

But what next? Just as the radio promoted new songs in the 1920s and MTV brought visual enhancement to musical releases in the 1980s, television shows seems to be the new vehicle for musical promotion.

Every cable TV show promotes downloading artists’ songs that have been featured in the program. Though specific downloads have varying levels of success. One new Fall show has stood out among the rest. Glee.

FOX’s new Fall show, “Glee” chronicles the trials and tribulations of a misfit group of high school singers on the road to the show choir nationals. As a singer, I can appreciate the show’s vocals, as a fashionista, Emma’s amazing wardrobe, and of course, the storyline – it is funny, lighthearted, but at times, serious. Not surprisingly, the show has been consistently the #1 itunes download - I highly recommend it. Of course, the best part is the actual singing. The cast does an amazing job singing a wide range of songs, covering everything from Journey’s, “Don’t Stop Believin’” to Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies.” The songs from the mash-up episode (“Halo / Walking On Sunshine” and “It's My Life / Confessions, Pt. II”) are particularly great. In fact, currently eight of the show’s songs are in the top 100 itunes downloads – an amazing accomplishment. Notably the songs “Don’t Stop Believin;” and “Walking on Sunshine” from the 1980s have sprung back into popularity, due in part to the shows success.

For the music industry to continue to grow and profit, they need to embrace new methods of promoting music and gaining revenue, and I think the new mode of dissemination will be through popular television, but I guess we will just have to wait and see.