(NB: As I have learnt that this page looks totally apeshit in Mozilla, this will be one of the few occasions where I would recommend using Microsoft Internet Explorer)
How do social networking sites extend the possibilities of the music industry? Evaluate these possibilities in relation to the elimination of previous entry barriers and the establishment of new ones.
There is no denying the impact the Internet has had on the music industry. It has dramatically transformed the relationship between listeners and artists, restructuring and decentralising an industry system previously rigid and carefully guarded. The massive reallocation of power amongst producers and consumers is transforming the way we view the music industry; as Gibson states, “web presence provides the opportunity to disregard the traditional route a record releases.” [1]
The next wave to reshape the music industry is the online social networking phenomenon. Social networking sites are defined by Wikipedia as “software specifically focused on the building and verifying of online social networks for hooking up.” [2]
In recent years, this technology has peaked in popularity and prevalence. Social networking sites are also converging with culture to form more specific media-oriented networks, and music is arguably the most important example. Sites such as PureVolume, originally aimed at promoting artists, and Last.fm, aimed at networking like-minded listeners, are also in the process of expanding to cater for both musicians and listeners.
This essay, however, will focus on MySpace, at the moment by far the most popular and comprehensive social networking site, especially for its musical sector. I will analyse the sides to which MySpace is transforming the entry barriers to the music industry, and will then apply it to a case study where the new possibilities of social networking can transcend popularising individual bands but also offer aesthetic validation for developing genres and tighten their previously scattered communities.
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1. Gibson, 2001
2. Social Networking service, Wikipedia, 2007
