Digital
audio is the portion of media that struggles the most with the enlarging digital world.
MP3 format is a smaller
version of CD-quality audio that can be shared easily on the Internet. Who would rather spend $1.99 on a song from
iTunes when you can convert a YouTube video into MP3 or have a friend send it
to you for free? The
recording industry and major labels have been crushed by this revelation. They have lost control of the industry while
individuals have gained the power.
Although this process is illegal and the recording companies are not
afraid to push back with lawsuits, individuals still find ways around this and
continue pirating. Not only has the distribution of music been altered completely, but
recording of it as well. The digital age
has reduced the price of recording, producing, and distributing music thus
allowing individuals to do so on their own eliminating the need for recording
companies and music labels. Digital
media is only growing. Now it is the norm for people to be sharing hundreds of
millions of files at any point in the day.
It is apparent the power is now in hands of the individuals allowing them
to control the digital audio world.
Commercial forces in the digital world are entirely different to what the media industry is accustomed it.
Typically, to create and support a media enterprise massive amounts of capital are necessary to succeed. But, with the new digital age less capital is needed, opening up doors for anyone to create websites and compete with large companies. This phenomenon explains why websites such as Google, Yahoo!, and Craigslist have thrived. Also large companies have struggled to find the key in succeeded in this digital world. The Internet today is heavily commercial, but at its roots the Web is based on nonmarket principles. While these corporations struggle to hang on in the digital world, these new rules open up doors for the individual to create a democratic web. Anyone can start a website, post news, and share their opinion. Anyone can share music or promote themselves as music sensation. Control of the digital world is shifting towards the individual creating a more democratic, diverse web.
The shift from large companies to the individual in digital media is worth studying because it is directly related to everyone who is using or providing digital media resources. On one hand, this kind of shift is facilitating a more efficient and more diverse interaction in digital media. As a student, we need to utilize those free online media to do research or send our own opinions.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, when we take advantage of the convenience of technology, we should also pay attention to the legal condition of using the digital media. As the author mentioned, newer websites such as Google and Craiglist has been counting on commercial income to boost revenue. Although this is an advanced way for companies to grow and make money, the unpaid copyright will cause a problem in the future. By reading the hyperlink that referred the words of the VP of Warner Music International, the only way to eliminate pirating digital resources is implementing legal principles. This is not to stop people from utilizing digital media, but to respect the work done by any authors who contributes to our sophisticated media life.