Page 26 - AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report

26Meanwhile, experts are claiming that physical copies will only survive as collectors’ items, in a market where vinyl records are expected to enjoy prominence. The rst vinyl in history to become a best seller was Vesti la giubba, an opera aria performed by Enrico Caruso in 1902.In 2005 Kim Schmitz launched Megaupload, a company that was boasting spectacular gures within a few years: 180 million users all over the world and 400 million sites visited per month. The American Society of Cinematographers and the Recording Industry Association of America put pressure on the government, which eventu- ally closed down the platform on 12 January 2012.That year, 2005, the advent of YouTube changed the music industry in a big way. Today 45% of the content consumed on YouTube consists of music videos. These viewings total some 400 years of music.But it was Soundcloud that broke all themoulds in 2007. This platform makes it possible to distribute audio content and encourages collaboration between users by enabling them to promote and disseminate their music projects.It is an essential website for understanding the distribution and promotion of music created by amateur artists and the real application of the home studio concept on an internet platform.That same year Apple took advantage of improve- ments in the viewing of podcasts, images, video and other iPod functions to bring out its rst iPhone, which marked the incorporation of smartphones into the market for selling and exchanging tracks.One of the biggest transgressors in the music industry, Spotify, emerged between 2008 and 2009. This platform allows audio les to be transferred through the combination ofa streaming server and a peer-to-peer (P2P) network in which users take part.Nowadays, thanks to streaming platforms and dissemination via the social media, the newhome industry is attempting to survive vis-à-vis the old-fashioned model of radio format and mass music.The music industry needs innovationThe evolution of how we experience music is one of the major changes in user habits triggered by the internet and, above all, by technology. Despite the troubling news that is reaching us about the dire situation of the music industry, studies are showing that music is more alive and kicking than ever and that the current reality is very di erent from what “the industry” would have us believe.The crisis record labels are experiencing owing to falling sales of physical copies, as well as structural factors relating to the sector, such as the business model, lackof innovation and low commitment to technology, underlines a very sad fact: they are failing to back talented new artists.Even so, the crisis record labels are experiencing owing to falling sales of physical copies under- lines a very sad fact: they are failing to back talented new artists.This is on top of other circumstantial factors, including the current crisis and the crisis in live concerts, as well as structural factors relating to the sector, such as the business model, lack of innovation and low commitment to technology, among others, which are wreaking havoc on an industry used to living in opulence.In this connection, I recommend you read “Un artículo sobre la piratería que no va a gustara nadie” (An article on piracy that nobodywill like) (http://www.lavanguardia.com/cul- tura/20120628/54318080002/un-articulo-sobre- la-pirateria-que-no-va-a-gustar-a-nadie.html), which makes the following important points:THE MUSIC MARKET GOES DIGITAL · ROBERTO CARRERASSmart culture. Analysis of digital trends