Research Journal Assignment #10

RJA #10a: Thesis Statement–

Research Question: Has the widespread behavior of music piracy over the internet helped the industry or has it only hurt it?

Thesis statement: The music industry has been dramatically affected by internet piracy by loss of profits as well as the loss of their artists staying power. Due to the ease of acquiring music the internet offers the music market has subsequently become over saturated with copycat artists, amateur musicianship, and has lost any sense of originality. This homogenization has led to an even more fickle audience response.

RJA #10b: Argument

Internet piracy first helped the music industry by introducing music to a broader audience but eventually hurt the music industry as record sales dwindled.

The music industry adapted by churning out fast food music to sell as many records in a short time, given the fickle nature of its new audience.

This "dumbing down" of music has spawned a number of imitators as the art itself became easier and easier to produce. This has hurt sales as well.

#3a: Exploring Research Topic

Where I've been and what I've found:

This is an article/paper I discovered on Google: Scholar which sets up different mathematical models to describe the music market when downloading is possible and when it is not.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V8P-4HSXYD7-1&_user=914312&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=999947640&_rerunOrigin=scholar.google&_acct=C000047910&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=914312&md5=de3ec73b48b36d46fca125fcbe8e3fb4

This is a paper that was written by an economics student at the University of Chicago; also found on Google: Scholar. In it he looks at the roots of the internet piracy phenomenon of the late 90s- early 2000s with sites such as Napster and KaZaa.

http://economics.uchicago.edu/download/musicindustryoct12.pdf


This blog includes information about a study where 204 college students were monitored to better understand their illegal downloading activities. Students where also given an anonymous survey to answer.

http://www.scitechbits.com/2009/08/26/to-buy-or-to-pirate-get-a-clue-riaa/

Research Journal Assignment #2

#2A: Has the development of digital music formats helped or hurt the music industry; specifically the recording artists.

#2B: I am interested in researching a topic that seems to have many contrasting points of view among the music community: whether or not digital music formats have hurt or helped the industry. As a former music major, focusing on the recording arts, and having worked in the music industry as a director of radio promotion at Warner Brothers Records and as a manager for a music software company this topic has come up in conversation many times. I would enjoy researching this topic properly so the next time it comes up I will have a more informed reply!

As I mentioned earlier, I already have a background in the music industry. I also have several family members that currently work in the industry as well, including one who works for the iTunes store. I am quite familiar with the general pros and cons surrounding digital music formats. For instance, MP3s have made aquiring music extremely easy; both legally and illegally. While illegal downloads hurt the industry they may also help unknown artists get their name out and build a fan base.

I am hoping that this research project will help me understand the intricacies of this issue so that I can argue my point more effectively. Although I know that easily downloadable mp3s can help "underground" artists break through make themselves known I am curious to find out the statistics showing how this activity affects record sales and/or ticket sales. Some artists, such as Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails, have actually posted free, downloadable albums on their own websites. It would be interesting to find out how that benefits them. Perhaps it doesn't?

There are so many facets to this issue and I suppose what I am hoping to gain from this project is a better understanding of what they are and how they affect the artists as well as the industry as a whole.

#2C: http://delicious.com/chrisgoodwin