History

In the earlier stages of human society, music was relayed orally. However, the invention of the printing press in the mid-15th century allowed music to be distributed more widely and a efficiently through sheet music. Musicians had greater access to composers’ works, yet these sheets required levels of musical skills to interpret and reproduce.

In the late 19th century, music recordings were invented by Thomas Edison, which made mass distribution of music possible. The modern 33 and 45 rpm records were introduced in the 1950s. Vinyl records made it possible for individuals to play music using record players. Cassettes were invented in 1963, and the creation of Sony’s Walkman players allowed users to play portable music, making music much more accessible for mass audiences. In 1982, CDs were invented, and its digital format allowed it to dominate the market over analog recordings.

However, the internet in the early 21st century shifted music distribution away from physical copies. At present day, music is primarily distributed through streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music. This also inevitable led to the rise of illegal copying and distribution practises.

In the mid-late 20th century, music distribution and marketing were almost exclusively controlled by record labels, large companies which make contracts with artists to gain rights to their music recordings. Record labels market and distribute songs to gain profit. Prior to MTV, music was primarily marketed through radio, in which labels paid radios to broadcast their songs at desirable timings. This led to the popularisation of modern pop-music and the creation of top charts, but the conservative tendencies of radio owners caused labels to adopt MTV as their new marketing platform in the early 1980s.

MTV

MTV distributed music videos, the new form of music promotion, on cable television. This caused music videos to evolve from a purely promotional video into a medium for artistic expression that could parallel film. MTV was widely popular among younger audiences, and record labels actively used music videos to promote artists and create new personas for artists such as Madonna, which tremendously increased the importance of an artist’s public image over the songs promoted. The high production costs of making and airing MVs also deterred labels from promoting new artists, leading to an increasingly homogenous music market.

The Internet

David Bowie said in a 1999 interview that the internet has replaced music as the new medium for rebellion, which is also largely true from the perspective of music marketing. The rise of the internet has challenged the dominance of major labels through provide a number of alternative means for artists to publish and market their music, as well as for audiences to access music. Streaming platforms have become the major source of music consumption. Instead of purchasing physical copies of music, audiences listen to music on these platforms and a percentage royalties are paid to respective labels and artists via contracts. At present day, artists market their albums using social media. Social media weakens the control of major labels over the market by increasing the amount of exposure which indie labels and artists can receive. It also creates the possibility for artists to survive in the market through publishing their songs themselves.