The Music Revolution Has Begun--A Guide to Internet Music Downloads

For tens of millions of people listening to digital music, there is no going back. As music transforms to ones and zeroes from physical products, the way it is produced, sold, given away, and heard is changing forever. And the consequences for musicians, fans and the recording industry itself are profound.

Millions of songs are now available--for free or for sale, legally and illegally over the Internet. The emergence of this audio landscape has delighted music fans, but has undermined the business model of the music industry. Major record labels are squeezing less profit out of fewer artists and attempting to ward off losses by a frenzy of mergers.

According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, as of the end of 2004, four corporations--EMI Records, Vivendi Universal, Warner, and Sony BMG--controlled 80 percent of the shrinking $32 billion global music market.

Even as the music industry has consolidated, CD sales have steadily declined since consumers have become increasingly reluctant to pay $17.99 for a CD, often to get only one or two good songs. "There is a major disconnect between the music industry and the reality of the way most Americans relate to music," said Michael Bracy, a lobbyist for the Future of Music Coalition. "There is an effort to commodify music which is fundamentally impossible to do."

Although strongly opposed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), music downloading has become a way of life for most music lovers, worldwide. As Janis Ian, a musician entering her fourth decade of recording, recently said in a radio interview, "The Internet and downloading are here to stay . . . Anyone who thinks otherwise should prepare themselves to end up on the slagheap of history."

Why, in fact, do people download music from the Internet? Primarily to hear NEW music, or to listen to records that have been deleted by the major record companies and are no longer available for purchase. The goal of listeners is not simply to avoid the $5 bargain CD bin at the local record shop, but to hear music they can't find anywhere else.

Musicians and distributors are tapping into the consumer anger to rewrite the rules of the music industry amid financial turmoil. GarageBand.com is one example. Once just a community of online musicians, it is now becoming the Internet's answer to a record label as well, one that leaves much of the power--and the selection process--in the hands of musicians.

So far, the digital music movement has been a double-edged sword for artists. Newcomers and struggling musicians find the Internet to be a revolutionary way to produce and distribute their own music, bypassing the major record labels. The Internet can provide what every musician needs to be successful--exposure. Without exposure, no one buys the CDs, attends the concerts or purchases the T-shirts, ball caps, beer mugs and posters sold by the artists.

On the other hand, some artists have reacted negatively to online music, fearing a drastic reduction in the royalty payments from CD sales and losses of other revenue.

Whether you support the idea of music downloading or not, there is no turning back. As of the end of 2004, 200 million songs were downloaded that year--a tenfold increase from the previous year. And the courts have ruled that file sharing software is NOT illegal, in and of itself.

While the major legitimate online music services like iTunes Music Store, EMusic, and Napster 2.0, with deals from major record labels, carry between 700,000 and 1 million songs, Internet upstarts like GarageBand.com already claim an expanding library of 1.8 million songs available for free.

Whether you use a subscription site and buy your tunes, or search out free music on the Web, there is no doubt that the entire music world has been radically changed by the Internet and the advent of digital music.

So get online, download your favorite tunes, turn up the volume, and "let the good times roll."

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Big Sean – Music Artist Know For His Rap Songs

Big Sean is a Hip hop star & recording artist famous for his dazzling rhymes, classic rap songs and stunning music videos. Born Sean Michael Anderson on March 25, 1988 in Santa Monica, California he had his first taste of fame in 2007 with the release of his excellent mixtape “Finally Famous: The Mixtape” which spawned the excellent Big Sean songs & music video "Get'cha Some". This classic Big Sean music video was directed by Hype Williams and his critically acclaimed mixtape led to the young rap star appearing in Hip hop bible The Source Magazine. On April 16, 2009, he released his second mixtape called “UKNOWBIGSEAN”. This mixtape spawned the hit songs “Million Dollars” and “Super Dupa” and became an instant smash. The mixtape contained an incredible 30 songs & some sensational Big Sean music videos and received wide spread praise from critics and fans alike.

Big Sean released his highly anticipated third mixtape “Finally Famous Vol. 3: BIG” on August 31, 2010. This mixtape featured high profile collaborations with a host of big stars including Drake, Bun B, Tyga, Asher Roth & Mike Posner amongst others. The mixtape spawned the cool songs "Too Fake", which features the group Chiddy Bang and a stunning video, "What U Doin' (Bullshittin')", "Ambiguous", featuring Mike Posner, "Crazy", "Supa Dupa Lemonade", "Hometown", "Final Hour", "Made", and "High Rise" which features another classic video. Big Sean is also expected to release his fourth mixtape in 2012.

After signing a lucrative recording contract with Kanye West`s G.O.O.D label, he released his highly anticipated debut album “Finally Famous” on June 28, 2011. This disc featured high profile collaborations with Hip hop superstar Kanye West, Chris Brown, Wiz Khalifa, John Legend, Lupe Fiasco & The-Dream. With some of the best Big Sean songs, the album debuted at number 3 on the Billboard Album charts selling 87,000 copies in its first week of release. The album has since sold over 250,000 copies in the US spawning the hit songs “My Last” featuring Chris Brown which peaked at number one on the US Billboard Rap Songs chart, “Marvin & Chardonnay” featuring Kanye West which features an 
excellent music video and his third official single release “Dance A$$” featuring Nicki Minaj. 

Big Sean is expected to release his highly anticipated sophomore album in 2012. This highly anticipated disc is expected to feature not only new rap songs, but more huge collaborations and is already one of the most eagerly awaited rap albums of 2012. The talented Californian born rapper is also expected to release the first single with a high profile video in the second part of 2012. Look out for his sophomore album to drop in summer 2012 with more singles & music videos expected later in the year.


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Music as it is Defined

One says Nevin is music and Bach is noise. One declares Mozart to be noise and Stravinsky, music. Another reverses the definition. Even the dictionary tells us that "music is the art of combining tones to please the ear."

Whose ear -- yours or mine?

A French writer, Jules Combarieu, is more general, and declares it to be "the art of thought in tone." In other words, it is an art, not a natural phenomenon; it deals with tones, and it presupposes thought; that is, educated mental action and discrimination. "Thought, using tone as its medium, creating an artwork."

And still, this leaves open to discussion, "What is an art work?" We journey back to the starting point, you saying Mozart created art works, and Schonberg didn't; while I may pin my faith to Cadman and Herbert.

One might reduce the definition a little, and make it more generally satisfactory, by saying music is "thought expressed in tone." This would exclude noises -- casual, unbrained combinations of tones -- and require definite mental application, presupposing a knowledge of the essentials of musical construction.

While this definition may be satisfactory to you and to me, there are those whose idea of music is so different from ours, that only a definition to fit their own particular style would suit them.

One says music should be impersonal, abstract. Another school declares that it should always tell a story. Still another division of the musical public says that music should go much farther than the dictionary definition above quoted; that it not only is the art of "combining tones to please the ear," but that music should represent the whole of life, whether it pleases the ear or not.

In other words, if the subject portrayed is one of pain, horror or calamity, then the music must be of clash, cacophony, discord, entirely abjuring the idea of beauty or "pleasing the ear." Out of all this, long ago, arose the question whether it was the function of music merely to be beautiful, or whether, like painting, its mission is to portray all of life -- good and bad, pleasure and sorrow, happiness and horror.

That is a question no part of the world can settle for the rest. Ever since music reached an advanced stage of development, it has been a bone of contention among musicologists and composers, and, no doubt, it will so continue for decades, and possibly for centuries.

So, not to enter discussion of it, the simpler way is to accept such a generalized definition as that suggested above, and classify music as "thought expressed through tone," to which hardly any school of music, or composition, can take exception.

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Licensing Music For Film And Music Supervisors Help Artists To Earn Fame

If you know music and want to take it up as your profession then it is necessary for you to know about licensing music. Creating Music for Film is a lucrative job and if the audiences like your music then no body can stop fame from kissing your feet. However, in order to be successful it is important to have knowledge of licensing music. This is so because licensing music not only helps in gaining popularity but it also helps in protecting your compositions from people who steal the music created by others and claims them to be theirs.

Actually, licensing Music for Film can be considered as copyrighting an artist’s work. This means that nobody can use your compositions without your permission. Further, licensing your music will also enable you to earn a substantial amount of money. For example, you have created music for a film and the audience likes your music to such an extent that it becomes a huge hit and if your music is licensed you can allow your music to be used in TV serials and commercials also because it is a well known fact that music is not only used in films but also in TV serials. The popular movie tracks are used in these TV serials. They are also used for advertising and promotional purposes by well known as well as new brands.

In a similar way Music Supervisors also help the artists to achieve success in the entertainment industry. The main job of music supervisors is to select music for a particular project. Actually, he is the only person who can supervise your music by getting it licensed and the select some of your creations which he finds suitable for the project. However, selection of appropriate songs depends on various factors.

If you want to enter and establish yourself in this business then you should contact the Music Supervisors who can place your music in TV commercials, serials and films. They are the only one who can help you in bringing your talent in front of the audience by using your music for any project. Thus, your creations should be original and fresh so that you can attract them as they are the people who ultimately decide what music is to be used in a particular project. So remember you future is in the hands of the music supervisors.

Thus, licensing Music for Film and Music Supervisors play a significant role in the success of new artists.


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How To License Music, Learn The Music Licensing Techniques

Music Licensing is the licensing of the music which is copyrighted by the individual who is associated with the music or who is the artist behind the creation of the music. The artists who make the music do that as either part of their job or as their favorite pastime. For both the cases they need to money to live or to create more types of music. Thus by buying this licensed music you are indirectly paying them what they deserve.

So before going for music licensing, we must first know what a license is and what it is meant for. License is nothing but a grant or a permission given by the government ity. This permission is required when you want to broadcast the music, or edit the music which includes the lyrics as well as the tune etc. Sometimes a song which is created by an artist can be sung by any other singer in a music show or a concert. This act cannot be done if the music is copyright protected. Permission has to be granted by the artists beforehand.

You can find the detailed information in the concerned websites on how to license music. Broadcasting music also needs music licensing. You need to pay the licensed music artist the fees for broadcasting the music whether it is radio stations or any live concerts. You would get details of how to license music for broadcasting from the concerned website. The radio stations need to playback many types of music of different culture, genre, language etc. Thus they need to keep a large database of music for playing them according to wish. Radio stations broadcast music and for that they need music licensing.

There is a publishing company associated with the artist who looks after the legal matters of how to license music of his. Nowadays most of the artists have a publishing house which deals with their music licensing. Television channels too need to do music licensing for the music which is being played with the video for Television shows etc. If any film or movie needs to use music of an artist the film producer has to pay the money to the artist before introducing the music in his film. But it is very important for an artist to know how to license music which he creates so that nobody can steal the music which the artists may have created spending quite a number of sleepless nights.


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