Understanding How the Internet has Changed Music

When Napster exploded into the media spotlight in 2000 with lawsuits from musicians such as Metallica, people began to realize how the internet has changed music forever. Suddenly, with the advent of Napster and other programs like it, music could be shared and swapped between fans like never before. Though the inevitable issues with copyright infringement and unlicensed piracy became the forefront of the conversation, the greater issue was that the listeners and consumers had taken control of their musical tastes and were stealing the business away from the corporations who had controlled the music industry for decades. Throughout the 1990s many music fans were unhappy with the rising costs of CDs while the actual expenses for record labels to make CDs decreased. What happened over the course of that decade was that the fans of the music took to piracy rather than pay what they felt were exorbitant costs for albums that were often purchased for only a single popular song.

Once the dust had settled from the legal battles and various copycat programs that continued to allow illegal file sharing even after Napster was shut down, what the record industry realized was that it needed to adjust to the new market and embrace how the internet has changed music and not fight it. This was ultimately achieved through the proliferation and popularity of increasingly inexpensive forms of digital media players such as the iPod and other MP3 players. The record industry realized that fans no longer wanted to be limited to buy an entire album for a single song, and so most albums were broken down into their constituent songs and made available for individual download. Fans could then legally purchase only the songs they wanted at a reasonable price and enjoy the music they loved in their own way.

The future of music seems tied to the future of digital distribution of media. As high speed internet has become increasingly prevalent, many musicians have realized they can record and produce their own music on relatively inexpensive hardware and music programs. Their self-produced records are than easily distributed to new and established fans over the internet, completely bypassing the record industry. If this will become the new norm for bands that are starting off is yet to be seen, but one interesting indicator could be that in October, 2007 popular music group Radiohead released their album In Rainbows over the internet, and allowed fans to pay however much they wanted to for the album. The digital release was very successful and has been heralded by many within the industry as a sign of things to come, and a powerful reminder of how the internet has changed music.