It used to be difficult to become a famous singer. You had to have talent, an agent and determination of steel to get a recording contract. Today, all you need is some determination and a desire to be famous and your singing abilities—or inabilities—can be heard by thousands.

From MySpace and YouTube to American Idol, it’s easier than ever to be noticed, and that’s not always a good thing. All too often, people without talent garner the most attention and record sales, either because they’re particularly dreadful (such as William Hung, whose infamous rendition of Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs” on American Idol managed to get him a recording contract), name recognition (Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Hilary Duff quickly come to mind) or personality. Success in the music industry has never relied purely on talent, but it used to be a more important component than it is now. Even if someone has a poor singing ability, new technology such as Auto Tune has made it possible for them to sound better on recordings than they actually do. Auto Tune has become such an integral part of the music industry that it’s used on everyone, even people who can actually sing, such as Lea Michele from the popular TV show, Glee.

Another major change in the music industry has been the popularity of MP3 players and programs like iTunes and LimeWire. In the past, an artist’s record sales were the best measure of his/her success, but now the average consumer’s focus is on singles. Why spend fifteen dollars on a whole CD when you can just download one or two songs heard on the radio for free? Pirating music may be illegal, but people almost never get caught, and oftentimes people don’t have the money to buy whole CDs when they only want one or two songs. Despite record companies losing thousands of dollars, this phenomenon isn’t going to change any time soon.

While the music industry may have a rough time adjusting to an emphasis on sales over albums and the pirating phenomenon, it’s still going strong. Apple has sold over 10 billion song downloads through its iTunes store and while CD sales aren’t what they used to be, popular musicians aren’t exactly broke and starving. Hopefully, the music industry will be able to adapt to the times and take advantage of new possibilities.

Published in : Perspectives, Volume 101: Issue 30