The Effect of Music Discovery Websites on the Music Industry - Part 1

The Effect of Music Discovery


Websites on the Music Industry



In 1999, a company called Napster was formed that would forever alter not only the



consumption and spread of music, but the future and practices of the entire industry itself



(Coleman 2003).  Known as a peer-to-peer network, Napster functioned as a marketplace where



users’ computer music libraries were available for download to other users at no cost.



Ultimately Napster grew to unbelievable popularity and cost the music industry incredible



amounts of money.  As protests from record labels and artists got louder, Congress eventually



enacted a law ruling that peer-to-peer networks are, in fact, copyright infringement and thus



illegal.  As Napster and other similar sites were forced to choose between shutting down or



charging money for the music being provided, many of them disappeared and left music



consumers’ appetites unsatisfied and starving.  Used to possessing the capabilities of searching



mass amounts of music otherwise not available to them, consumers and music lovers craved to



have it back.  Though nowhere near comparable to Napster in terms of numbers of available



songs, music blogs and discovery websites stepped in and eased listeners’ cravings for new



music exposure.  These sites have an overall positive effect on the industry because of their



ability to create and expand both the industry’s audience and their musical taste, discover



unsigned artists who have built a following, and increase publicity and marketing potential for



releases from established artists.



The latter two functions, though important in their ability to produce revenue and



create new music, are not possible without the former.  This expansion of both audience and



taste began with Napster when the sharing of music gradually evolved into the sharing of ideas



and recommendations that created a more communal feel.  At its peak in 2001, Napster had 13.6



million users in the United States alone, most of who were constantly discussing and exchanging



preferences and new sounds (Coleman 2003).  Music consumption was no longer simply going



to a record store and searching for an album, but rather “about being part of a community of



users who share knowledge and kinship with others on the cutting edge…” (Revised & Updated



2003).  When Napster and other peer-to-peer networks finally closed down, these large



communities needed the method of discovery and consumption they had grown accustomed to.



As blogs and discovery websites began popping up to fill these needs in a more legal way than



Napster and its counterparts had, the practice of communal consumption of music became even



more popular and the audience only grew larger.  A popular music discovery website called



mp3.com played a major role in the growth in popularity of the band Beyond Blue, who claim



the site has been “a great help in exposing our music to a worldwide audience which we would



not have reached otherwise” (Underhill 2000).  The website, which features a “Song of the Day”



selection, chose a song from aspiring country singer Mickey Dean a few years ago, who within



days of his selection had signed a record deal (Underhill 2000).



As this community grew, more and more ideas and tastes were exchanged and so the



collective hunger and preference of music only grew larger.  As this continued, labels and



artists, both established and aspiring, realized the massive advantage these blogs gave them in



networking and publicity.  This led to more music being given to the owners of the blogs to give



to their participants, and which increased music production, especially in the hip-hop genre.