Hello everyone today I'm going to talk about the development of the music industry from the early until now and point out what changed the music industry throughout the years.
EARLY DAYS
The first machine to record sound was the phonograph invented by Thomas Edison who also invented the telephone in the late 1800s. In 1878 the first music was put on record however the Cylinder phonographs were bulky and expensive so discs were developed so music can be played on radio.
As we know nowadays music is all about making it and selling to make money. This first started in the 1940s and marked the beginning of the music industry as we know it. Vinyl's were invented as they were easy way to transport music to entertain the troops during World War II. This helped the troops as it reminded them of home and of the happier times to keep a bit hope in them as they're were fighting in awful circumstances.
Jazz was a very popular genre in America and this spread to the UK as it was seen as a genre which lifts people spirt's due to it's beat which made it music for dancing. Jazz became instantly popular with a youth audience and wartime dance halls were packed with people which needed some fun in the lives. In 1949, Todd Storz (Owner of KOWH AM radio) decided to introduce the Top 40 charts which is still used today and he came up with this idea as he was studying listening trends in music and thought it'll be a great idea which it ended up being.
THE 1950s
After many years of World War II it finally ended which left the world being a different place as there was optimism emerging which people wanted to release and have pleasure. Also traditional values such as women's roles and the place of ethnic minorities ended when the war broke done. As a result music performed by African American artists were now getting played by white artists and was aired on white radio stations which widened it's appeal and spread to the UK too. One of the greatest things were that both white and black artists started producing music together which would have never happened before the war.
Due to this coming together and both white and black artist rock 'n' roll was born into the industry. This lead to the creation of the youth culture which had different interests and tastes compared to the idea of being just a 'teenager' as the behaviour and fashion was different. They started wearing Denim jeans which marked teenagers different from their parents and meant organisations could profit from youth culture.
In 1956 Elvis Presley burst onto the music scene and offered something more sexual and celebrated freedom. However, because of the older generation felt threatened and worried about the effect he might have on the children. The radio was an extremely popular way to listening and the portable radio was invented in 1957 which enabled people to listen to it on the go.
THE 1960s
Despite the fears of a generation in moral danger, rock 'n' roll thrived in 1962. The band Beatles managed to sign with EMI records and released the massive hit called 'Love Me Do'. Then they released 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' in the following year which managed to sell 1 million copies before it was even out. The 'beatlemania' was spreading all over the world until Paul McCartney sadly left the band in 1970. The four band members started the trend of fans wanting to see artists as whenever they were greeted it was screaming fans and were the object of mass hysteria.
Until this point people bought their music in vinyl however in 1963 audio cassettes were first introduced in the market. The cassettes allowed american people to listen to music in their car and became a very popular format to listen to music.
The BBC didn't give rock n roll airtime until 1967 as they served middle-class audiences and were seen as a responsible broadcaster and playing rock would mean that they have dangerous style of youth music on it's radio. Instead people tuned into pirate radio stations transmitted from ships around Britain or from Luxemburg which arguably was the most famous radio station (Radio Luxemberg). The pirate radio stations were set up outside of British territory due to strict laws which only allowed the BBC to broadcast in Britain. These stations were commercial stations funded by playing adverts on them and their lively style of broadcast gave British youth a taste of American-style radio and was very popular due to this.
During the time music piracy first began to threaten the music industry as people recorded music played on the radio onto a cassette tape.
In 1967 the government closed the loophole in law which meant that Pirate stations won't be able to operate. This allowed the BBC to set up a new radio station and Radio 1 was introduced which still widely listened today.
In the 1967 the Monterey International Music Festival became the first ever music festival. Two years later in 1969 a momentous event called Woodstock was held in New York. The event managed to spark a movie, two albums and had legends such as Jimi Hendrix.
THE 1970s
This was a decade of happiness and we saw the introduction of bands such as Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin and other 'aggressive' rock bands such as The Ramones and the Sex Pistols. The 1970s was the feeling of discontent with authorities as punk bands started singing about crime and 'sniffing glue'.
The punk genre influenced the fashion industry such as torn T-shirts and leather jackets and hairstyles dyed in different colours worn by many young people in the 1970s. Just like the 1950s and 1960s during 1970s teenagers used music as a way of rebelling against the older generations.
The 1980s
In 1981 MTV was launched as the first ever non-stop music video channel which marked a new era in promotion and power of pop music. This made young people expect their favourite music to come with moving images, and thirst for their favourite bands was quenched with MTV's schedule, which was a constant flow of music videos and was hosted by video jockeys and many of them went on to become celebrities.
Music videos became very popular in a short space of time and as a result recording companies had to increase their marketing budgets for artists so they can ensure there's a music video for every new release. As a result of this sales of records increased dramatically and MTV played a vital part in promoting artists like Madonna and Michael Jackson.
Due to the success of music videos it was now seen as a 'necessary' element in creating a band's success. This is because it gave them a personality and allowed them to be more popular as their faces were now instantly recognisable. This meant that their looks was important as music wasn't all about songs anymore it was a package which included fashion, attitude and sound. Music videos gives more than just access to the music they also give a showcase to the artists ideology.
In 1981 the Walkman was seen as a 'must-have' gadget between everyone. It meant that music was fully transportable and allowed soundtracks for different aspects of life too such as a walk in the park, bus or car journey or even revising for your 'O' levels.
In 1982 the CD was released by Sony and Phillips and was hailed as being indestructible as well as high quality sound. At first people were not too sure if they should invest in a CD but after a while the CD players became more affordable, the CD overtook vinyl and cassette as being the recording choice.
By 1985, Madonna was worldwide known artist with her sexualised image and optimistic sound. Madonna was the first artists that was successful at the idea of 'girl power'. Her music videos made her a 'superstar' as it was shown on MTV and other music slots where she captured young girls imaginations. She subverted stereotypes of women by taking elements of female iconography of the 1940s, 50s and 60s such as bright red lipstick, lace corsets and high heels.
At the same time, Michael Jackson was leading the way as the top male solo artist of the decade. He also used music videos as a way of increasing his popularity with the most noticeable one being 'Thriller' which became a global phenomenon.
The 1990s
The decade started of with a surge of popularity in genres such as Hip-Hop and techno but in general it was very diverse and the music industry in the UK was booming. The British saw dance music coming from the States and named it Drum and bass this continued to rise in popularity became more mainstream.
In America, Nirvana was reaching 'superstar' along with Pearl Jam, Metallica and Guns N' Roses with their rocky 'American' sound. However, in the UK perhaps the biggest musical phenomenon of the 1990s was the rise of Britpop which was British-produced rock created by bands such as Blur and Oasis. This began as a backlash against the 'cheesy' rocking coming out of the US and was mainly guitar-led rock influenced by earlier British bands such as The Beatles and The Who. This put the UK firmly back on the global musical map and the lyrics sang allowed the youth people to be identified with the lyrics.The music was sign as a sign of hope due to end of a long conservative government led by Thatcher and then by John Major and a breathe of fair air was introduced when the rock fan Tony Blair was introduced as the new PM.
They were many advancements in technology during the 90s. In 1998 the MP3 was first released which meant that music can be copied from CD onto a hard drive. This also meant that the royalties that might have come from copyrighted music wasn't going straight to the artists and record companies. There wasn't many problems for the music industry as the CD sales kept rising!
The 2000s
In 2001, Apple introduced the iTunes which has changed the world of music. In addition to that the iPod was also released in the same year but it was intended for people with the Apple's computer device Mac. However, in 2003 PC users were able to access music downloads due to iTunes Store being introduced. This had serious consequences to the record industry as they were now facing a crisis. CD sales plummeted and illegal downloads increased which resulted on downturn in profits to the music businesses which seemed as the 'death' of the music industry as less money was available to invest in artists. There was an estimated figure of 95% of all music files online were unpaid for or unlicensed. Meanwhile, record labels were being profited from TV reality shows such as the 'X factor', this was the safest option as the artists were showcased on their journey to become the next thing. In 2009, there was a ready-made audience of potential music buyers as the X factor now had an estimated figure of around 19 million viewers. However, the winners in X factor tended to have short careers due to them being seen as reliable earners for their record companies because they hype surrounding them would slowly die. Social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook acted as a forum for musical acts as it allowed potential artists to be signed by record artists in order to have their music heard. The resulted in CD sales being at an all time low but it also gave audiences a variety of choices in the type of music they listened to due to the alternative ways to access music. Hip-Hop and rap was the most dominant genre UK and US; with artists such as Kanye West and Eminem being credited as the most successful hip hop artists of the 2000s. In the UK, Grime was increasing popularity with artists such as Dizzy Rascal and Tinchy Strider - a very male-dominated genre and still remains male-dominated. Indie rock remained popular because of bands such as Kings of Leon and Arctic Monkeys leading the way. In addition to that Green Day and Paramore allowed Hard Rock and metal music to be popular however pop was less clean-cut as a result of a more pessimistic post 9/11 than the previous decade - artists such as Britney Spears hardened their image whilst Miley Cyrus led the way for pop-rock hybrid.
