Music Industry

The Music Industry: A Global Perspective

In the current global landscape the creation, production, and distribution of music, namely the mass-marketed pop genre, is populated by numerous players. Each is vying for their portion of territory and playing the game to win the largest portion of global marketshares. The latest trends in Internet and audio technology complicate the game even further with MP3 audio pirates "free riding" files back and forth undetected and Independent or Indie groups marketing and distributing their own products without the "help" of recording companies. In essence the artists/songwriters and recording companies are two teams with different strategies. The following links and annotated sources will hopefully uncover some of these strategies and touch upon issues of a global nature - issues like copyright, piracy, peer-to-peer models of file sharing, and cultural imperialism. Admittedly, the author has collected more English language sites and articles; however, this was not because of a belief that Anglo-American pop music is superior; but rather because the Anglo world is its heritage and there are simply more materials online and otherwise that are available. Jump into the game, but don't fall too hard into the complicated web of copyright and contractual issues.

Artists & Songwriters
Music Companies
Issues & Technology

The model above is inspired by Robert Burnett's conceptualization of the production (aesthetic and material) and consumption system in the music industry. See Burnett, Robert.(1996). The global jukebox: the international music industry. London: Routledge.

Comments or Suggestions? Email Jana Borchardt - MLS Student, Emporia State University
Last updated 5/13/2002