“Every album from Number Two to
Number 10 sold fewer than half of the equivalent albums last year; for example,
Beyonce has sold 702,000 copies compared to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' The Heist last year at 1.7 million, and Eric Church's Outsiders has sold 642,000 compared to Bruno Mars' Unorthodox
Jukebox at 1.6 million” (Knopper). As we’ve
already discussed in class movie sales are at an all time low and now the music
industry is also taking a hit due to multiple reasons. What used to be the era
of illegally downloading music has come to a change. The new hype is to stream
music using music streaming apps such as Pandora or Spotify. Being someone who
is no so technologically advanced I’ve always been a simple Pandora user. I
picked a couple genres I liked and I let the app do the rest of the work. I
recently downloaded Spotify to try to get a background of it for my blog and I
have to say the differences between the two services are very clear.
Pandora allows for users to sign up
for free but after that there’s basically nothing more the user can do. On
Pandora, a user can create up to 100 stations of music they like and Pandora
generates songs based off the genre of music selected using their very own music-categorizing
algorithm. At no point can a user select a specific song they want to listen to
but Pandora does give users the chance to hear songs from artists they may have
not ever heard before. I’ll be honest, going into this blog assignment I was a
frequent Pandora user just because it’s simple and my music knowledge is not
that abundant. The main reason I use Pandora is because it’s free but after a
while the advertisements and repetitiveness of songs starts to get annoying.
When a user downloads the premium version of Pandora it allows for the user to
skip songs without any consequence (no advertisements). Yet, Pandora being used
on Iphones, Ipads, Laptops, computers and other platforms is making it easily
accessible
“If you’re new to Spotify,
you can listen to music on your smartphone, tablet and computer. While Spotify
is free, the non-Premium version only allows you to listen to albums in Shuffle
mode. You also have the option to upgrade and try Spotify Premium free for 30
days. Spotify Premium offers a way for you to listen to any song with no ads”
(Tombokon). Basically, if you’re downloading the free Spotify app you’re
downloading a more controlled version of the free Pandora app. Once a user
makes the courageous jump to purchase the Premium package on Spotify is where I
started to see the major differences and benefits of the app.
Below is a comparison chart
from http://www.diffen.com/difference/Pandora_vs_Spotify.
"Spotify
vs Pandora." - Difference and Comparison. N.p., n.d. Web. 22
Mar. 2015.
It’s a really interesting and
informative website about the apps if anyone is more interested.
Comparison chart
Differences — Similarities —
 |
Pandora
User Rating (172):
|
Spotify
User Rating (48):
|
|
About
|
Pandora is a way for users
to discover new music that matches their tastes. This service does not let
users choose the specific songs they want to listen to, but rather finds
songs that are "musically similar" to their favorites.
|
Spotify listeners can
choose the songs they want to play, when they want to play them. This service
is better suited to stream and share music that users already know and love.
|
|
Price
|
Pandora's premium service,
Pandora One, is $4.99/mo. Offers free version with ads and limitations.
|
Spotify Premium is
$9.99/mo. Offers free version with ads and limitations.
|
|
Ads
|
Yes, on free version.
|
Yes, on free version.
|
|
Library Size
|
1,000,000+ songs.
|
About 20,000,000, but
varies by region.
|
|
Can user pick songs?
|
No.
|
Yes.
|
|
Skipping Songs
|
Yes, but with limitations:
6 skips / hr, per station; limited to 30 skips in 24 hours.
|
Yes, with no limits.
|
|
Can user create a custom
playlist?
|
No.
|
Yes.
|
|
Can download music?
|
No.
|
Yes, but only if Spotify
Premium members.
|
|
Radio
|
Music-recommendation radio.
|
Traditional-style radio.
|
|
Mobile App
|
Yes.
|
Yes.
|
|
Web App
|
Yes.
|
Yes.
|
|
Desktop App
|
Yes, but only for Pandora
One members.
|
Yes.
|
|
Parental Controls
|
Yes.
|
No.
|
|
Audio Quality
|
64kbps for free users;
192kbps for Pandora One users.
|
160kbps for free users;
320kbps for some Spotify Premium songs.
|
|
Availability
|
In the U.S., Australia, and
New Zealand.
|
Available in dozens of
countries and territories.
|
|
Website
|
http://www.pandora.com
|
http://www.spotify.com
|
The main reason to have a music app, for most people, is
to be able to listen to the music you want when you want, right? So after
hearing feedback from some of my friends who have the purchased premium version
and from viewing the chart above it’s clear to me that Spotify, when purchased,
is the better option between the two. I have the free version of both Spotify
and Pandora and although I’m new to Spotify I think I will more than likely
purchase the Premium version and continue on with app. Even in the free version
I can create a playlist of songs I want to listen to but am restricted to only
shuffle play and to me, it’s still better than getting random song after random
song on Pandora. I was entering this blog trying to be objective on the two but
it’s hard to remain objective when the differences are so clear. But that’s
just me. I’m interested into what you guys think.
How many people still
download music rather than stream it? And, if you’re downloading it is it
legally or illegally?
Which app do you feel is the
overall better purchase? Spotify or Pandora? Why?
Do you think streaming
services like Spotify and Pandora will have as large an impact on the music
industry like the way streaming services in the film industry have?
Not being a huge music consort myself, I the three ways I listen to music via my Iphone is the through music I’ve downloaded on my computer and onto my phone, Pandora, and Spotify. The music I downloaded on to my phone via the computer I actually did pay for each song about 99cents per song. Although, when getting a new phone for whatever the case my be sometimes your music gets lost and then it becomes easier to just download a music application such as Pandora or Spotify. “As mobile devices become more sophisticated and consumers become more tech savvy, there is a clear impact on music consumption and therefore the music industry. From these examples alone, we can see potential for artists and labels to utilize apps as a tool to excite fans, generate awareness, increase engagement and perhaps even result in increased overall consumption.” I believe using either or both apps is just a simpler way of getting music that you enjoy listening to instead of trying to go through the annoying process of downloading it off your computer and paying money of different songs, unless you want to do it illegally. I mainly use Pandora to listen to music, and while yes, the advertisements can become a nuisance, for me I just ignore them and wait for the next song to play. “Mobile listening continues to evolve along with the technology, and we’ve found that streamers are eager for apps and mobile sites. People who listen to on-demand streaming are 44% more likely to download apps on their tablets than the average internet user*.
ReplyDeleteWith this epidemic of music applications taking over and becoming the main source of music I believe radio music will slowly begin to become obsolete. . Regarding which application is better I think really has to do with the person using the application and how big of a music lover they are. The only time I listen to the radio is either for a sports talk show, a sporting event, or if I do not have a phone jack in my car to be able to listen to the music from my phone. When that is the case, I mainly just shut the radio off because I don’t like the songs that play on the radio, or it becomes redundant and the same songs play over and over again. I think that is one of the main reasons why Pandora and Spotify have become such popular apps as well as the main avenue for listening to music. “Pandora reported a 13% increase in listener hours year-on-year in December. The internet radio service garnered 1.58 billion listener hours last month, up from 1.39 billion in December 2012. While no revenue numbers were revealed, earlier reports tip Pandora’s revenue from its Pandora One subscriptions in the first three financial quarters of 2013 at $85.2m.” The amount of money that Pandora and now Spotify can generate will help them possibly get different artists to want to put more of their upcoming labels and songs on their applications. This growth within Pandora and Spotify will only continue to grow with time and as people becomes more technologically savvy
Work Cited
"GETTING APPY: HOW ARTISTS USE MUSIC APPS TO ENGAGE FANS."GETTING APPY: HOW ARTISTS USE MUSIC APPS TO ENGAGE FANS. MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT, 21 Nov. 2013. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. .
Jones, Rhian. "Music App Revenues up 77% in 2013, Pandora Highest Earner - Report." Music Week. N.p., 31 Jan. 2014. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. .
The music industry has taken a large hit in recent years, especially with the decline of sales and downloads. I definitely agree that music streaming is now taking over and becoming the new way in downloading music. The amount of video and audio streams increased by 42 percent since 2013: jumping from 50 billion to 70 billion in the past two years (Knopper 1). This jump in streaming shows that people like convenience when it comes to downloading and purchasing music. People originally downloaded music illegally because it became too expensive to pay for each song they wanted to download. “With albums dropping 15 percent and tracks 13 percent,” music streaming is becoming the new trend with the use of Pandora and Spotify (Knopper 1).
ReplyDeleteThe only problem I see with music streaming is that it takes away the excitement of newly released items, and it can ruin the importance of music for many artists. Taylor Swift definitely felt this way after releasing her new album 1989. She decided to pull her entire catalog from Spotify because she thinks that music is an art that is rare and valuable and should be paid for (Knopper 1). I can understand Taylor Swift’s reasoning behind her actions, but I think she should of at least left her older albums on Spotify. She could have then allowed her 1989 album to be released on the streaming site once she creates a newer album. Music streaming services have grown so much in popularity that access to favorite artists’ music is important to users and should be important to artists as well.
For a while I have downloaded music from iTunes, purchasing song after song, but I now stream songs all of the time. I use both Pandora and Spotify for free and like both services for different reasons. I like Pandora because I can pick a genre of music or a certain artist and get a variety of songs and artists from different albums. With Spotify, I like that I can use it to listen to a specific artist or album that I am in the mood to hear. I am starting to use Spotify more though because I can control who I want to listen to and what song in particular. I have the option to search for older music or newer music. Overall, I also think that Spotify is the better purchase than Pandora because you can search for what you exactly want without any interruptions. I’m strongly considering becoming a Spotify Premium member myself because I use it so much.
With streaming services, like Pandora and Spotify, I think it is starting to have a large impact on the music industry. It has created challenges for the industry so far with the decrease in sales and legal downloads. The creation of the smartphone has helped these challenges grow by allowing access to music streaming service apps for any user. The mobile phone has only helped streaming by allowing users to access “free content,” such as photos, tweets, and videos, while listening to their favorite music artist (Kamps 1). Overall, I think the music industry should form some sort of contract with music streaming services to stay up-to-date on the new trends users are following. Music streaming is taking over, and I think it will become a large part of the music industry in the future.
Works Cited
Kamps, Garrett. "How Mobile Finally Took Over the Music Industry in 2014." Billboard. N.p., 16 Nov. 2014. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.
Knopper, Steve. "Mid-Year Music Update: Streaming Is King as Downloads Fade
Away." Rolling Stone. N.p., 07 July 2014. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.
Knopper, Steve. "Taylor Swift Abruptly Pulls Entire Catalog From Spotify." Rolling
Stone. N.p., 03 Nov. 2014. Web. 21 Mar. 2015.
As Nick suggested in his blog, the music industry is changing and now new music streaming applications are changing the way audiences listen to music. Rather than relying on purchasing music digitally or downloading it illegally, users are beginning to use streaming services more than ever before. These services are available both for free and can be upgraded to versions with fewer limitations with a subscription. This considered, streaming services could be leading the way in how listeners get music future. Because of large music libraries and ease of use, while other methods and outlets for listening continue to flounder, streaming services’ market share continues to grow.
ReplyDeleteIt’s clear that audiences are turning to different ways to access music. According to Steve Knopper of Rolling Stone, streaming services’ audiences are growing exponentially while album and single sales are continuing to struggle. Knopper states: “Total video and audio streams jumped from 50 billion in the first half of 2013 to 70 billion this year, an increase of 42 percent, while download sales continue to bust, with albums dropping 15 percent and tracks 13 percent.” Clearly, traditional music distribution methods are suffering and in their wake streaming services are on the rise. As Nick mentions in the blog and Knopper describes in his article, music album sales as a whole are also declining. Knopper mentions that the biggest indication that the music industry is struggling is the fact that most of the top 10 albums of 2014 did not match their equivalents of 2013 in sales.
As Knopper insinuates this might be caused by audiences transitioning over to music streaming services and away from downloading. While music sales continue to decline streaming appears to becoming much more lucrative. Rhian Jones of Music Week says that revenues for music apps on the App and Play Stores have increased by 77% in 2013. In addition Jones states that music apps are now only seconded to game and social apps in terms of revenue. Music streaming is growing and becoming a more viable outlet for listeners and developers alike.
I would also argue that music apps have grown to be particularly useful over the years and are now the ideal way to access music. I have used both Pandora and Spotify and have found each to be particularly useful and preferable over downloading. Pandora, I have noticed, is very accurate at creating playlists which have a particular sound rather than just a compilation of songs in a similar genre. Spotify, on the other hand, is tremendously useful and allows the user to listen to any music almost any time. Listeners no longer need to pay to download music and do not have to resort to illegally download music in order to hear lots of it. Like Nick, after using Spotify for a while now, I am much more inclined to purchase a premium subscription.
Streaming services are also able to boast massive music libraries making them very attractive to audiences who are looking for a wide array of music. Knopper, in another article for Rolling Stone, says that artists do not like streaming services, particularly Spotify, because of the low compensation. However, he also suggests that artists have little power making it difficult for them to hold out. This gives streaming services significant leverage over musicians and record labels.
It seems clear that streaming services are continuing to grow and becoming much more popular. As audiences move away from purchasing and downloading music, streaming services are filling a niche. Streaming appears to also becoming a major business and is able to force artists into making their music available in their libraries. This considered I believe that the industry is moving towards streaming and these outlets will continue to expand.
References
DeleteKnopper, S. (2015, January 2). Islands in the Stream: The 10 Biggest Holdouts in Digital Music. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
Knopper, S. (2014, July 7). Streaming Is King as Downloads Fade Away. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
Jones, R. (2014, January 31). Music app revenues up 77% in 2013, Pandora highest earner - report. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDanielle Morin
ReplyDeleteAs we read in the Rolling Stone article, “YouTube, Spotify, Radio, Rhapsody and other music-streaming services are booming like never before, according to new mid-year numbers released by Nielsen Soundscan” (Knopper). And after reading Nicholas’ blog, I was a little surprised to see all the differences between Spotify and Pandora I had not previously known. I am currently a big Pandora listener but now I’m thinking that Spotify Premium would be a much better fit for me. In high school I used to play my music through ITunes and I would use YouTube to listen as well. While this worked for a while, once the streaming services came out I basically stopped using both YouTube and ITunes. Now if I love an album, I usually buy the cd (as I drive a lot) and if not then I use Spotify or Pandora to listen to that artist, album or genre.
While Spotify is preferential for listening to specific songs, some instances still call for Pandora in my opinion. One reason I prefer Pandora is for social occasions. I know that many of my friends like all different artists and songs. And playing a station on Pandora like “Summer Hits of the 90’s” will usually keep everyone happy. If I were to go into Spotify, the songs would obviously be more geared towards what I like, instead of more general. So I do see why people enjoy Spotify more, however I think Pandora has its benefits for certain situations as well. “Pandora reported a 13% increase in listener hours year-on-year in December. The internet radio service garnered 1.58 billion listener hours last month, up from 1.39 billion in December 2012” (Jones). This continued increase could possibly be because of the differences between the two. While I think Pandora could adapt their product to include more features that Spotify has, the random listening is something many people enjoy. Nicholas asked which product is the best overall purchase. If I were to purchase one it would be Spotify Premium. As viewed on the chart in his blog, it has more options. But I do think that if Pandora upgraded some of what they offer they could easily be the better pick.
Like Caitlyn mentioned in her blog I agree that the music industry should come to an agreement and partnership with streaming services. As we read in the Knopper article, “Album sales are down 14 percent, according to Nielsen Soundscan, and track sales are down 13 percent, but paid subscriptions jumped 57 percent last year, the Recording Industry Association of America reported” (Knopper). And because it is such a huge growing trend, it is important for the music industry to stay up to date or risk getting left in the rear view mirror. This is a bit like the kind of evolution TV networks need to undergo to keep up with streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. While I agree with Taylor Swift that music is valuable, this is the “new way” instead of illegal downloading. Because it is so popular, maybe a deal would be the best avenue for both parties.
Works Cited
Knopper, Steve. "Streaming Is King as Downloads Fade Away." Rolling Stone. 7 July 2014. Web.
Knopper, Steve. "Taylor Swift Abruptly Pulls Entire Catalog From Spotify." Rolling Stone. 3 Nov. 2014. Web.
Jones, Rhian. "Music App Revenues Up 77% in 2013, Pandora Highest Earner." Music Week 31 Jan. 2014. Web.
Sources:
ReplyDeleteKamps, Garrett. "How Mobile Finally Took Over the Music Industry in 2014." Billboard. 16 Dec. 2014. Web.
Knopper, Steve. "Streaming Is King as Downloads Fade Away." Rolling Stone. 7 July 2014. Web.
"Spotify vs Pandora." - Difference and Comparison. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Nick’s statement that there seems to be a trend with people shifting from illegally downloading music to using legitimate music streaming applications and websites. An example would be a company like Spotify. According to Garrett Kamps, “Spotify’s numbers swelled to 50 million active users, 12.5 million of which are paying subscribers,” (Kamps). The service has become very popular for our generation, with users having the ability to select artists and songs of their choosing. Spotify’s direct competitor in the market is Pandora. Both services enable uses to listen to music for free (with the free versions) at anytime and anywhere. Personally, I only use Pandora. I generally use the phone application and I enjoy using it because I no longer have to constantly download songs I don’t have on my playlists from my iTunes account. The only negative features I have encountered with Pandora are the amount of advertisements they display and users cannot select the exact songs. There is also a limited amount of skips consumers receive while listening. It seems from looking at the article, Spotify vs Pandora, I will want to use Spotify instead of Pandora. Users are allowed to personally select songs, there are an unlimited amount of skips, and you can create your own playlist on the application (Spotify vs Pandora). Those three features alone have convinced me to switch over from Pandora to Spotify, and definitely contribute to why there are around 50 million active users on Spotify.
ReplyDeleteAlso, “the maturation of social tools has helped artists attract and engage fans like never before, whether that’s Shawn Mendes and his 3.4 million Vine followers, Lindsey Stirling’s 5.7 million YouTube subscribers or the queen of all (social) media, Taylor Swift, whose canny use of Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr helped drive the massive demand for 1989,” (Kamps). Another popular streaming service that has played a huge role in how users listen to music is YouTube. For years, this social media site has been the top competitor in the market for users to access and share videos on the internet. It has now been the go-to place for music fans to look up music videos and access lyrical clips of their favorite songs. According to Steve Knopper, YouTube is one of many music-streaming services that is booming like never before with the new mid-year numbers released by Nielsen Soundscan. “Total video and audio streams jumped from 50 billion in the first half of 2013 to 70 billion this year, an increase of 42 percent, while download sales continue to bust, with albums dropping 15 percent and tracks 13 percent,” (Knopper). YouTube even partnered up with a company called Vevo, which displays all the latest music videos and concerts owned by the rights of the record labels. This enables viewers to watch and listen to their favorite artists legally without the music industry filing copyright infringements.
ReplyDeleteAll in all, I believe there is no longer a need for music lovers to download music illegally. The music streaming services enable users to listen to their desired music at anywhere and anytime. In addition, they are easily accessible by simply downloading the application on your phone or accessing the website on your computer. I also feel these sites help the music industry as artist’s music is protected and isn’t being illegally downloaded for free.
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree with Nick in his deduction that Spotify trumps Pandora in terms of services offered. The main argument Pandora One has going for it is that it’s half the price, but when the amounts are five and ten I don’t think that matters too much. Spotify is still much newer, which might explain the article by Music Week that stated Pandora was the highest earning music streaming app. Think MySpace/Facebook here for a moment. Facebook came out after, but eventually overtook MySpace. I think a similar thing will happen between Spotify and Pandora. The key perk that Spotify offers is the ability to pick songs and make playlists, not to mention you have the ability to download music if you want to. I still downloaded music till recently when I lost my iPod. It was a blessing and a curse. Finally I could stop the tedious process of downloading songs (which seemed to take forever at times). Now I am very interested in purchasing Spotify Premium. I feel it will save me time and effort. The only thing stopping me is that I’m a poor college student, but I think that once I get a steady job, I will purchase Spotify Premium.
ReplyDeleteEither way you lean on the argument of Pandora or Spotify, streaming sites like these are the future of the music industry. The major question remains though, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
When taking popular music with Cunningham last year, I remember looking into the Taylor Swift debacle in great detail. I found a letter from the CEO of Spotify that responded to her at the time. His major argument was that streaming sites like Spotify intend to save the music industry from piracy. They actually pay the artists, and Swift was supposed to make millions from Spotify alone last year, before taking her songs off the site. Steve Knopper of Rolling Stones magazine seems writes a similar sentiment from Spotify in his article, “‘We believe fans should be able to listen to music wherever and whenever they want, and that artists have an absolute right to be paid for their work and protected from piracy. That’s why we pay nearly 70% of our revenue back to the music community.’” The argument does make sense. With illegal downloading more prevalent than ever, why should artists complain about Spotify, Pandora, and Beats, which are paying royalties that can actually yield large paychecks? For example, if I go on YouTube and convert a Taylor Swift song, I now have that song and she gets nothing from it but one YouTube view, worth almost zilch. If I listen to her song on Spotify however, she does make a small royalty fee. You might argue that the radio does the same, or even YouTube if you’re popular, but the radio pays that same royalty while millions listen to an artist’s song at the same time. Spotify will pay the royalty fee for each person that listens, so the money adds up quickly, especially for an artist like Swift. I was looking at Spotify’s numbers breakdown on their webpage, they payout royalties of about $6,000 to $8,400 per one million listeners. Video streaming services (YouTube, television) payout about $3,000 for the same amount, radio pays about $1,400, and US Terrestrial Radio pays less than $100. Theoretically, Swift should take her music off the radio and video streaming before she takes it off Spotify. One more thing, according to their numbers on piracy, there is 55% less piracy ages eighteen to twenty-nine, 40% less ages thirty to forty-nine and fifty to sixty-four, and 16% less age sixty-five and over. Assuming that Spotify is telling the truth, their site is actually saving the music industry.
Works Cited:
Caufield, Keith. "Taylor Swift's '1989' Beats 'Frozen' As Top Selling Album of 2014." Billboard. 31 Dec. 2014. Web.
Jones, Rhian. "Music App Revenues Up 77% in 2013, Pandora Highest Earner." Music Week 31 Jan. 2014. Web.
"Spotify Year in Review 2013." Spotify. Accessed 21 Feb. 2014. Web.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSaleena Glowik
ReplyDeleteI am a huge fan of Spotify, and I wish more of my friends used it more often. A lot of my friends think Pandora is a lot more simple than Spotify, but as a music lover who wants a simple music-streaming service? As stated in the article titled, “Streaming is King as Downloads Fades Away”, Spotify is a music-streaming service that is becoming quite popular (Knopper). Basically the article is saying that downloading music is becoming less popular since we have many other resources (legal and illegal sources). The article states that “Total video and audio streams jumped from 50 billion in the first half of 2013 to 70 billion this year, an increase of 42 percent, while download sales continue to bust, with albums dropping 15 percent and tracks 13 percent” (Knopper). It’s true. There is no point in buying songs anymore considering the features Spotify offer go beyond what any iTunes could offer.
I consider Spotify the iTunes I never had. Every song is free, I can make my own playlist, follow other music lovers and listen to their playlists, and freely choose what songs I want to listen to and not have to hope a song comes on next, similar to how I used to think when I used Pandora. I think Pandora is also a great online music-streaming service, but I consider it a lot less advanced than Spotify. Currently I am paying 99 cents for three months in total for Spotify. Spotify had a new years special that I couldn’t pass up but after this runs out, which will be in a few days, I have the option to go back to the free version or spend $5 a month as a student ($60 a year) to listen to the songs I want to for free, with no ads, and most importantly without worrying about my data usage increasing. When I’m driving home to Boston I always want to play my music through Spotify, but when users use Spotify for free, they are limited to playing music from the app since it uses up data and my plan only allows 2 GB of data. This may be different for other people with different phone plans, but most of my friends who have Spotify for free experience the same problem I used to have.
What’s interesting to me is the fact that Taylor Swift removed her albums from Spotify, according to an article in the Rolling Stone (Knopper). I understand music artists are not paid much through Spotify, but let’s face it the most famous artists have enough money to last years and years past their own lifetime. But of course what about the new artists who aren’t that exposed to fame yet and are still trying to become the artists everyone knows with all of the fame and money they can get? I think Spotify is great exposure for them. They may not be getting paid the right amount of money at first, but they agreed to stream their music on Spotify. They will benefit from Spotify in the long run. Spotify can introduce listeners to new artists which can lead to new fans and ultimately new concert goers for that particular artists.
Music sales have been dropping all year and record industries are offering music catalogs though services such as Spotify (Knopper). It makes sense the music sales are dropping since illegal downloading is pretty popular in my generation but Spotify and YouTube also contribute to this. I don’t feel bad for artists like Taylor Swift because in all honesty her net worth is $200 million and if she’s complaining about Spotify not paying artists enough, I call it greed.
Works Cited
Knopper, Steve. "Streaming Is King as Downloads Fade Away." Rolling Stone. 7 July 2014. Web.
Knopper, Steve. "Taylor Swift Abruptly Pulls Entire Catalog From Spotify." Rolling Stone. 3 Nov. 2014. Web.
Abigail Sisti
ReplyDeleteIllegal downloading music is greatly affected by the music industry. This has been an occurring problem that the industry has been dealing with for some time now. I remember around the time iTunes came out there was other ways to get the music you wanted. LimeWire was the first illegal music site that I could remember. All my peers would talk about how they would illegal download their music form LimeWire. If you didn’t have LimeWire, they would explain to you how to get LimeWire so you too could download illegal music. In many cases people would use the LimeWire page as a way to transfer free music directly to their iPods. I think that as time went on this has gotten worse. The music industry does lose a lot of money this way. “With albums dropping 15 percent and tracks 13 percent.”(Knopper). By fining people who illegal downloaded their music, it allowed this to fast phenomena to stop or a least decline. Personally, I know someone who got a large fine for basically stealing a mass amount of music off the Internet. Now I feel there’s away to get music by transferring it from YouTube to iTunes. I truly do not think that this problem of illegal downloading music will stop until it is taken more seriously. I also feel that if they wanted to control this then the companies and government need to work together. If people are going to steal music, then they are going to do it anyway. “Spotify’s numbers swelled to 50 million active users, 12.5 million of which are playing subscribers.”(Kamps). The Internet has many sites that you can just transfer the music you like right to iTunes. I don’t agree with illegal downloading but I feel that it will take a very long time before the music industry can control it. As technology gets better I believe that every person, and every industry will have to change in someway. However, there are definitely some people in this world that don’t download music illegal, and I am one of them. I would rather buy an album then have to search for a good free version. I think that it is wrong to basically take someone’s music because it is free and convenient. I think that there are people who would not bother in illegally downloading things. If you’re truly a fan of that artist you should support them.
Works cited
Kamps, Garrett. "How Mobile Finally Took Over the Music Industry in 2014." Billboard. 16 Dec. 2014. Web.
Knopper, Steve. "Streaming Is King as Downloads Fade Away." Rolling Stone. 7 July 2014. Web.