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by Alex Cosper (1/1/13) The late 2000s will most likely be remembered as one of the most dismal eras in music industry history. Both the radio and music industries suffered further financial declines, running up huge debt while downsizing at the same time. It was an era of pointing fingers, especially at online pirates, yet it was clear that Apple had made the short list of winners who deal with music. By 2007 the iTunes Music Store had become the top music retailer in the nation, selling digital downloads. This era was yet another continuation of much of the same formulas throughout the whole decade. Several records had long artist names due to the music industry marketing strategy of teaming up established artists with new artists, a trend that began to surface the previous decade. The new artists on the scene were Lady GaGa, Katy Perry, Leona Lewis and Flo Rida. The Black Eyed Peas smash hits "Boom Boom Pow" and "I Gotta Feeling" accounted for half of the weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2009. The late 2000s pop charts were heavily dominated by r&b-flavored artists and pop artists who leaned toward the genre. Maroon5 were the closest thing to a rock band to hit the top of the charts in this era. At the same time, both the active rock and alternative rock radio formats had faded in popularity, possible due to too much of the same sounding hard edge music in heavy rotation. "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay was one of the few alternative hits to top the pop chart in the late 2000s. Yet rock still commanded the highest market share of any genre, ranging from 25 to 33 percent throughout the decade. Rock also remained huge for concert ticket sales, yet was largely ignored by top 40 radio stations targeting the teen market, indication that the pop charts are not a real reflection of public taste other than singles that target teens, a small fraction of the music buying public. Album sales reflected a broader set of musical tastes. The sagging sales of the music industry pointed to another rising dimension that went along with the internet: the growing ease of do-it-yourself music. The rise of independent music platform sites such as ReverbNation and BandCamp made it easy for artists to handle all aspects of the business from their bedroom recording studios. |
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