Technology's Impact on Music

Thom Yorke is considered to be an innovator in the music industry. One of his innovations came in 2007 with the release of In Rainbows. Radiohead offered its fans a unique option: “a pay-what-you-want download”. This created considerable buzz at the time.  In a recent article, in The Guardian, Yorke seems to have new insight regarding the pay-what-you-want model.

Yorke said that at the time, Radiohead felt that they “were subverting the corporate music industry with In Rainbows”. In hindsight, he feels that they actually played into the “hands of Apple and Google…” (Adams, 2013).  Yorke continues by expressing concern that these technology companies are effectively stealing from artists in order to keep their stock price up.

There is little question that most people would agree that illegal downloads are theft. But how should the music industry harness the impact of technology? Fast Internet and highly efficient digital media encoding technology, such as what is demonstrated in MP3s, have created a permanent shift in how most music is purchased. According to an article on the Rolling Stone's website, Steve Jobs worked tirelessly to negotiate with the major labels to sell individual songs for only 99 cents. Warner’s Ames stated in the same article, "His stock went from $8 billion to $80 billion and ours went in reverse."

The shift to digital has been solidified and there is no chance of going back. The upside is that digital technology means never having to be inconvenienced by changing the side of the record; infinite songs are right at your fingertips.  Music is portable and inexpensive, but at what cost? Will there come a point in time when the last great song is commercially released? A bleak view, perhaps, but it appears that technology is making it difficult for the music business while simultaneously benefiting the technology companies. The fact is, the music industry must find a way to fairly compensate songwriters and performers in the digital age, or artist may become extinct.