1. How do you think that the internet has changed the music industry?
a. The internet has changed the way everyone experiences music, hard record sales as a whole have nearly halved in the last ten years, we are moving into a digital age, where everything is accessible via the internet. Due to illegal downloading, which for many is the norm for getting hold of music, the live music scene has boomed massively. Artists now earn the majority of their living threw ticket sales for gigs, rather than threw album sales. We have found that people are much more willing to spend £30 - £50 on a concert ticket than to spend £9 on a new album (or around £7 if downloaded legally), I think this is because people like to experience music rather than just listen to it.
2. How has the invention of the iPod changed the way we listen to music?
a. The iPod changed the way we all listen and enjoy music, we can now have music with us all the time, our whole music library with us at the touch of a button where ever you are. It has integrated music into our everyday lives. You get on the tube or on a bus and everyone is plugged in. I also think ipods are also partly responsible for the rise of illegal downloading, especially among the younger generation, getting the latest tunes on your ipod is essential. Plus you have to remember most young people are skint, meaning that the little money they do have certainly wont be spent on buying CD, especially when you can download them for free with little effort.
3. Where do you see the record industry in ten years?
a. Well I don’t think there will be traditional record companies as we know them thats for sure, the whole industry is changing at such a rapid speed its hard to keep up with, i think that everything will be in the hands of the artists and their managers, with sites like facebook and myspace music, it is becoming easier for new immerging artists to get there stuff out there, the underground music scene is on the rise also, unsigned artists get gigs for small festivals and that’s how more and more artists are getting spotted.
4. How much has illegal downloading cost the music industry?
a. I cant give you a direct figure on that one, however it is estimated that about £12 billion worth of shared music is available on the net per year.
5. Do you see a solution to the amount of illegal downloading in the future?
a. No, i don’t see a definite solution, i mean we can shut sown certain sites, like limewire, which was responsible for a huge amount of illegal downloads, not only for music but for films and games too, but this will only slow it.
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