How Has Music Become About Communication?

This is a continuation of my discussion with my students about the Internet generation and music.

Music production and industry is experiencing a sudden upheaval through changes in musical consumption as well as people drawing closer to and participating in music.

Although Japanese markets remain toe-to-toe with the US, future prospects are unclear. As my seminar students said, people are spending less and less on music, CD proceeds are rapidly decreasing, and we cannot yet see the post-streaming marketplace. One often hears that musicians cannot eat.

Music has become an accessory to movies and games, and music proceeds are becoming difficult to see. Content digitization and Internet distribution has erased the boundary between content. Once, the vehicles for words were newspapers, books, and magazines; the vehicles for sound were the radio, records, and CDs; and the vehicles for visuals were movies, TV, videos, and DVDs.

“Content is digitizing, and we already cannot say whether vocaloid compositions and iTunes are music, visuals, or words. Further, opportunities to listen to radio on the radio and music from CD player speakers have decreased.” - a student

On the other hand, live performances are popular, and the center of gravity is moving from content (virtual) to participation (reality), as common knowledge states.

Engagement between the artist and the listener through the Internet and social media, community enrichment between fellow fans, etc., is not only changing the structure of the music industry, but will likely also change artist appearance and presentation.

Due to digitization, it has become normal to skip and cue single song units, selectively sample music, and the way hooks are brought to a head has become popularized. Technology changes musical expression itself, and through the Internet and socialization, it will surely continue changing even more. AI will hasten automatic music creation and performance.

My students got excited just by discussing these things. Such is the appeal of music. New technology has brought music closer. Diverse attitudes, sharing, and participation have increased. On the supply side of things, live performances and video have fused, but the environment is becoming strict. 

All this is roughly where we are now, but what kind of course will the combination of diversification, sharing, and participation take hereafter? Can we see the light? Do shadows deepen the darkness?

People in the business world often debated such things at the advent of Internet popularization. The sudden rise of streaming will change the situation yet again. Let’s re-explore it deeply.