MP3 -v- Record Companies

Today there are a large number of MP3-sites on the Internet where you can put your music for others to download. So far, this business is having very little effect on record sales, radio airplay and TV viewing rates, all of these regarded as the means of measuring the success of music. However, it is growing very fast and it is difficult to say what will happen in the future. Today, there is no doubt that you can only be successful by using a record company as a medium to properly release your music.

In October 1999, the biggest MP3-site, mp3.com, was the first site to pay the artists that post songs on their page, by giving them a slice of their advertisement profits. The most downloaded song received 4.500 USD. The number one on the Billboard Album Chart that month received more than 600 times as much, only for its record sales.

Posting your song on an MP3-site is not what you should do if your aim is to become a successful act, although it might lead to opportunities, which could help you along. This is just speculation: today, we know little about which music industry players use Mp3-sites as a way of finding new talent. We know of no artist who has been successfully released after having been discovered on an MP3-site, but it might be worth a try. Keep in mind though, that having your song all over the net at the time of a traditional release will hardly increase your sales.

The whole MP3 scene is very exciting, but also chaotic.

The fact that acts like David Bowie and Public Enemy choose to release their records on the Internet has no direct impact on your possibilities. The music establishment is currently in waiting mode, registering what happens, but it is all going to change radically within the next few years and so will the mediums that will successfully release your music. It will become increasingly vital to keep up with the changes.

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