No one can tell how old music, as an artistic expression, is. While some scholars argue that man created rhythm and other aspects of music, others note that it is Mother Nature’s creation and gift to humanity. The evolution of musical instruments is as impressive as their diversity, tone, texture, and purpose. More interesting, however, is the influence of technology on the music industry, especially in the 21st century.
Demise & Re-Birth
In most cases, you can tell how old a person is by paying attention to the music he or she cares about. Although there are exceptions to this rule, the older generation sees the emerging music trends as death to the industry. For instance, computer generated instrumentals are killing the creativity that comes with putting together a beat using raw talent. Moreover, bands have shrunk as a result of this as one person can handle the drums, the piano, the violin, and the guitar tunes with the help of a simple software program.
The level of clarity and creativity that is attained with the aid of these tech-beat creators is however superior, giving way to the notion that technology is reinventing music, not killing it. The same cannot be said about the distribution aspect. The music industry is no longer raking in record sales that it experienced in a couple of decades ago. In fact, free online downloads, music video streaming and other forms of tech-supported music distribution channels make it difficult for the record companies to transform sales into profits.
Drumming Up New Paths & Widening Access
Technology has attracted numerous challenges in the music industry. This does not, however, mean that the industry is coming to its knees any time soon. Record sales are low, but concert ticket sales for muse the 2nd law tour and other tours are up like never before because of the ease of sharing music and vouching for particular artists. A concert is, therefore, likely to be well attended if a particular music track has attracted a huge number of online views and comments. Additionally, artists and music promoters are subsequently turning the publicity awarded by the free downloads into profits through merchandise sales and product endorsements at the concerts.
Technology Has Brought Music Closer To The People
With today’s technology, innovative-manufacture practices have lowered the cost of stereos. For this reason, you can consequently afford a car music system or a memory stick that connects via Bluetooth the same way it connects to your phone or computer. In addition, home theaters are today obtainable at affordable prices, granting the world access to a superior music experience.
The internet factor further improves the accessibility given that nearly all communication devices are designed to have quality music attributes as value adding features – none of which would be possible without tech advancements.
Massive data storage servers are today’s custodians of generations of music genres. It is possible to play music from any era provided that someone took his or her time to upload it on the internet. Besides these, people are also loading up their unique compositions and transforming into overnight superstars without the help of influential record labels and producers – a matter that is also changing the music platform in ways that we may have never deemed possible.
