Trends in Digital Music
Trends are always changing, and in digital music, that seems always the case. The biggest problem with the trends in digital music is that they are constantly moving in different directions, and you need a scorecard to keep track. We have compiled some of the biggest trends in the digital arena.
Video games have always been huge, and now many are getting more sales because of the direct result of digital music that the storylines are built around. Some companies even release CDs with these digital tracks on them. Surprisingly, they do very well, and people love them. The big advantage, especially to record companies, is that they can offer extra digital tracks that they can download at a price. This means more profit for them and the artists. This also stops illegal downloading of unauthorized music, so this is another big plus.
Music Search Engines
Music search engines are another big trend that is becoming more popular among people. These search engines let you look for a certain song. It will give you results on where you will be able to find that song. Some of the more popular ones are Seeqpod, Songza, and Skreemr. In the future, I look for this trend to continue for a long time to come. File sharing, it seems, is always in the news, and more governments are clamping down on it. In the United States, the RIAA has started suing people who share many files at once. These people all have lost their cases and, most of the time, must pay a fine. Look for this trend to continue as record companies, singers, and groups try and prevent illegal downloads of their music.
Pick your price for an album? Yes, this is another music trend of digital music that more people seem to be embracing. The theory is that you determine what you pay for something. I don’t know how well this trend will work, but who knows? It seems to have captured a small following, and it’s growing, so I guess we will have to wait and see how it works out. Along with this music trend, the USB memory sticks are also starting to grow as a part of the digital music era. These memory sticks are sold with entire albums on them. Many people like this type of form, and it also has many advantages, as you can just take it with you wherever you go, with no worries about carrying a CD. I guess we will have to wait and see if it continues to grow or is just another fad.
Artist vs iTunes
Artist vs iTunes seems have be a never-ending battle that isn’t going to end anytime soon. iTunes sells digital downloads and keeps the money, as many artists prefer that people buy the whole album and not individual tracks. AC/DC and Jay-Z are two who won’t deal with iTunes. Don’t look for this feud to end anytime soon, as it all comes down to making money, and everyone wants to budge.
Many other digital music trends are also very popular right now. The Digital music vs CD is a very hot trend right now. Will digital music will make up for the lack of CD sales is something record companies continue to wonder. Other big things are music subscription services, are they going to be able to survive?. Most of these you pay a monthly fee to access the music. There are many different ones out on the Internet right now, and it seems every day more and more pop up.
Podcasting
Podcasting is very popular, and another musical trend that has seen great growth is music in podcasts. Many radio stations are producing podcasts of their shows and playing music for the masses. This is something that has taken a lot longer than most people thought it would. I see this musical trend of digital type of music grow very fast.
One music trend in digital music that has seen greater growth than anywhere, of course, is the mobile phone arena. From ringtones to call-back tones, these digital downloads don’t seem to be slowing down at all. They are probably growing at a very fast rate with no slowdown expected. The reason for their popularity it lets everyone customize their digital phone to them. This is very important, and that will continue in the future, that’s for sure.
Digital music trends keep changing all the time, and here are some of the hottest ones right now. These seem to be changing all the time, and don’t look for that to stop anytime soon. For you to keep an accurate list, you would need a scorecard. Digital music will continue to grow as we get away from CDs and we become a totally mobile society, it seems. I look for trends such as these to continue with no slowdown in sight.
