Since the creation of the World Wide Web and its increase in use, the internet has changed our daily lives. Just like our daily lives have changed since the creation, so have many industries. The music industry is a prime example of an industry that has been heavily effected by the internet. Before the internet, the music industry followed a clear order of operations. Artist would create music and get signed to labels. The labels would then help the artist record and promote albums which would then be sold in music stores. Songs would make it on the radio and if they were good enough, end up on the Billboard charts. Most albums were supported with a tour where fans could see artist perform live and buy merchandise. While these things still happen, the internet has changed the process of them being planned and executed. There are now many ways in which music is created, discovered, shared, and sold. 

In the early years of the internet era, people came to the realization that they could share music files, known as mp3s. This lead to the creation of Napster, a computer software system that allowed users to trade music files for no charge. For a short 14-month period Napster provided a way for people to get music for free (Richardson). This system was quickly shut down after a law suit was filed and it was ruled that peer to peer, P2P, sharing was a copyright infringement. Eventually in the late 2000's the government shut down all of the similar services. While these services are no longer around, their effects on the industry can still be seen. These programs gave people access to music with no cost for the first time and created a lasting expectation of receiving music for free. While the way Napster operated was ruled illegal, the idea of sharing music online was not. Napster paved the way for other music sharing services.

Record labels began to see the potential of online music sales and began working on ways to make online music purchases. The internet offered a more efficient way for music to be sold. Record labels set up virtual music systems that allowed people to pay a fee to download music offered by one label. Instead of people having to go to physical stores and buy albums, people could access their favorite music from the comfort of their own homes. This system was innovated however, did not last. Most artist are signed to different labels so fans could not access music of every artist they wanted, making the cost of the services too expensive. This lead to most of these services failing. In April of 2003 Steve Jobs created an online music store, iTunes, and made it available to the open public (Richardson). It offered music from all artist and allowed fans to pick which songs they wanted to buy. iTunes set new standards for online music selling.

As a result of the success of iTunes and similar programs, the music industry has seen new trends in purchasing. The first noticeable change is the movement of the majority of sales from cd's to mp3 files. Thanks to iTunes and similar software programs mp3 sells make up 52% of global music sales (Warr). Although digital music has made up the majority of music sales in the past few years, the amount of sales has decreased. This is due to the increasing popularity of music streaming services. Streaming services allow people to buy access to a large amount of music for the same price as buying only one album. What used to be a simple process for buying music has now become much more complicated. If the internet had never been introduced, music would still be sold in a physical format only. The internet has expanded the options for buying music.

The rise of ad-based streaming services also took the music industry by storm. The idea for streaming services is extremely useful. When Napster left the music industry, people were left with the idea that music should be given to them for free. While the radio provides this, it does not provide a listening experience tailored to each listener. This is where streaming services, such as Spotify free, YouTube, and Pandora, out perform the radio. These services have taken away paying customers from the music industry and in returned caused revenues to take a dip. With the dip in revenues artist and record labels are now earning less profit.

The popular app Shazam, has drastically changed the production of music. Shazam is an app that uses technology to identify songs, providing the title of the song and the artist name. Since its creation in 2002, music producers have been analyzing data collected from the app to predict which songs have potential to be popular songs (Thompson). Record labels have access to information that tells them how many times a specific song has been Shazamed. If a song is searched for often on Shazam, record labels can tell early on whether or not a song will be a hit. If a song does well, and listeners obviously like what they're hearing, producers know to make more music that is similar. Before this technology was available, producers had to rely on album sales to inform them on the potential success of songs. Before Shazam artist always ran a risk of producing songs that no one wanted to hear. With this technology a lot of guess work is taken out of music production. While it is comforting to music producers to have this technology, there are a few downfalls. Since producers can now predict which songs will be hits, a lot of today's current music all sounds the same. It is easy for producers to see what customers like so it's logical for them to just keep recreating music that will be well receipted. 

The internet has also drastically changed the discovery process for individual artist. Before the internet, artist would spend their money and time producing sample tracks of songs and mail them to record labels, hoping that someone would love their work and eventually sign them to a label. Artist would flock to cities like New York, Los Angles, and Nashville to play small venues to gain a fan base and attempt to attract the attention of producers. Since the rise of the internet, this is no longer the only option. In 2010 Justin Bieber was discovered through a video posted on YouTube. With new ways for people to share their talents, artist can be discovered from their living rooms. It is no longer such a daunting task to attract the attention of major record labels. With today's technology it is also easier to make a living as an independent artist. Artist can now produce their music from home and share it. Artist have multiple ways to share music independently, but Youtube and SoundCloud are the most common places for artist to share their music. Independent artist can also sell their music on iTunes. Before the internet independent artist would have to sell their music on CDs at gigs they played or randomly to friends. The internet has broadened the audience for independent artist. 

The effects of the internet can also be seen in the way tours are planned. Before the internet, tours were set up to go through big cities often times overlooking many smaller ones. When planning tours, managers would have to estimate how many fans would come to each show and book venues accordingly. This lead to managers not booking appropriate sized venues for each city they visited. With the technology now offered managers know the amount and location of artist's fans. Therefore, taking away any guess work in planning a tour. If a manager discovers a large amount of fans in a specific area, they can schedule a concert in that area. This allows more fans to see artist they enjoy, and for artist to perform to fans that wouldn't have seen the concert elsewhere. The appropriate size and location of concerts lead to less unnecessary spending, and the maximization of profits. 

The last place the internet's effects can be seen on the music industry is in marketing and merchandising. Marketing for albums has completely changed. While record labels used to have to promote artist through magazines and radio interviews, they now can do that through social media. Artist can now also self promote themselves through various forms of social media. Because of the internet, it is now much easier to gain the attention of fans. Beyonce's surprise album was released in December of 2014. The album sold for $15.99 on iTunes exclusively (Luckerson). There was no major marketing of the album, no promoting, and no actual production cost. The album made major profits, and had half the cost of a normal album. The effect of the internet can also be seen in the way that Beyonce's album was not marketed. As soon as it was released it gained major attention online. The internet can also be used to sell merchandise at a lower cost and higher quantity. Before the internet artist had to rely on selling merchandise at concerts. With the internet artist can sell their merchandise online, making it more accessible to customers. With the increased access, demand has also increased. This has lead to increased profits due to merchandise.

The effects of the internet on the music industry are widespread. The changes can be seen in all aspects of the industry. The way music is shared, sold, and listened to has completely shifted. There are now more ways to listen to music than ever before. Overall the internet has made creating and owning music much more attainable. The internet has lowered the amount of unknown variables in the music industry therefore making it easier to get into the business, and less risky. With the internet more things are possible than ever before, it's only a matter of time before we seem more innovations in the music industry due to the use of the internet.

