This research-based book outlines career models for artists, methods of creative engagement, artistic options including individuality and branding, production practices, the realities of being a musician in the new industries, and implications for popular music education. Due to the profound effects of the digitisation of music, the music industries have undergone rapid transformation. The former record label dominated industry has been supplanted by new industries, including digital aggregators, strategists and online platforms. These new music industries now facilitate ‘direct’ access to both artists and their music. While such accessibility and the potential for artist exposure have never been greater, the challenge to stand out or to even navigate a musical career pathway is formidable. A useful resource for musicians and educators, this text highlights the ways in which the new music industries facilitate increased opportunities for 21st Century popular musicians to collaborate, communicate and interact with others interested in their music.

Everyone knows music is big business, but do you really understand how ideas and inspiration become songs, products, downloads, concerts and careers? This textbook guides students to a full understanding of the processes that drive the music industries. More than just an expose or ′how to′ guide, this book gives students the tools to make sense of technological change, socio-cultural processes, and the constantly shifting music business environment, putting them in the front line of innovation and entrepreneurship in the future. Packed with case studies, this book: • Takes the reader on a journey from Glastonbury and the X-Factor to house concerts and crowd-funded releases; • Demystifies management, publishing and recording contracts, and the world of copyright, intellectual property and music piracy; • Explains how digital technologies have changed almost all aspects of music making, performing, promotion and consumption; • Explores all levels of the music industries, from micro-independent businesses to corporate conglomerates; • Enables students to meet the challenge of the transforming music industries. This is the must-have primer for understanding and getting ahead in the music industries. It is essential reading for students of popular music in media studies, sociology and musicology.

The music industry has changed, and there has never been a greater time for independent artists to build a community of followers and fans through the myriad of new media tools available to them. As an independent musician, developing a profitable and sustainable music career is more realistic today than it has ever been in the past. However, in order to take advantage of the opportunities at hand, it is vital for career-minded musicians to understand the changes that the industry has gone through, and how that impacts their approach. Then, they must determine a career course for themselves and act on the best information available to them.First, The New Music Industry: Adapting, Growing, and Thriving in The Information Age explains exactly how the music industry has changed, and the 11 components it is divided into today. These 11 components include: engagement, campaigns, community, collaboration, vinyl records, social media, video, radio, touring, music licensing & placements, and streaming sites. The industry is clearly more complex than it used to be, and has more moving pieces than ever before. Not only that, but the music business continues to morph, and the future is sure to bring more changes. Understanding the bigger picture is the first step to clarifying one's thinking, and developing a much needed career focus.Then, the book explains what the information age represents for artists. With the industrial age firmly in the past, the implications are far reaching. It isn't just jobs and pension programs that have been affected. Artists of every kind have also been witnesses to the effects of the massive transition into a new age. Whether it's online or offline, there are many things competing for people's attention, and cutting through the noise has become the new motto for businesses and musicians alike. The key to adapting, growing and thriving in the information age lies in a willingness to experiment and to change. Human nature is to resist the inevitable, but this inclination will not serve musicians in the age we find ourselves in. The information age is about observing trends, keeping a finger on the pulse of rapid technological advancement, and being agile and flexible enough in your approach to change when necessary. Failing to adapt could mean getting left behind, and we have seen many organizations and individuals fall from grace for this very reason.This book then walks musicians through the foundational aspects of music marketing, touring & live performance, radio, music instruction, blogging, podcasting, email marketing, social media, video marketing, and more. These are the essential elements of every music career, and are also necessary parts of building a presence online. A musician's online presence supports their offline presence and vice versa. However, it's unwise to rely on one or the other. The information age is the meaningful convergence of personal connection and viral marketing.Musicians can also delve into personal development and business concepts that will enable them to approach their music careers with a success mindset. Many people find that they have mindset issues to deal with as they grow and become the people they need to in order to achieve what they want to. Without the right mindset, the right strategies can fail. Handling the mental aspect of setting goals and working towards their accomplishment is critical to one's ultimate success.The New Music Industry also documents many of the mistakes made by its author, David Andrew Wiebe, and what he learned from his many music career missteps and errors. Refreshingly honest and practical, Wiebe offers independent musicians an insider's view into what it means to build a career of their dreams in their chosen field. The book is packed with actionable insights and tips that will aid musicians in their pursuit to profit from their passion. Wiebe draws on over a decade of experience in the music industry.

Awakening is the definitive account of the music industry in the digital era. It tells the inside story of how the music business grappled with the emergence of an entirely new digital economy with exclusive interviews with the people who shaped today’s industry. Mulligan’s gripping narrative switches between the seismic market trends to the highly personal accounts of artists and digital pioneers. It recounts the events that both spelt the end of the old industry and that are the foundation for the radical new successor that is about to emerge. Awakening is written by the leading music industry analyst Mark Mulligan and includes interviews with 60 of the music industry’s most important figures, including million selling artists and more than 20 CEOs. Alongside this unprecedented executive access, Awakening uses exclusive data presented across 60 charts and figures to chart the music industry’s digital journey and to lay out a vision of the future for the industry and artists alike. For anyone interested in the music industry and the lessons it provides for all businesses in the digital era, this is the only book you will ever need.

Introduction to the Music Industry: An Entrepreneurial Approach, Second Edition is an introductory textbook that offers a fresh perspective in one of the fastest-changing businesses in the world today. It engages students with creative problem-solving activities, collaborative projects and case studies as they explore the inner workings of the music business, while encouraging them to think like entrepreneurs on a path toward their own successful careers in the industry. This new edition includes a revised chapter organization, with chapters streamlined to focus on topics most important to music business students, while also maintaining its user-friendly chapter approach. Supported by an updated companion website, this book equips music business students and performance majors with the knowledge and tools to adopt and integrate entrepreneurial thinking successfully into practice and shape the future of the industry.

The music industry is going through a period of immense change brought about in part by the digital revolution. What is the role of music in the age of computers and the internet? How has the music industry been transformed by the economic and technological upheavals of recent years, and how is it likely to change in the future? This is the first major study of the music industry in the new millennium. Wikström provides an international overview of the music industry and its future prospects in the world of global entertainment. They illuminate the workings of the music industry, and capture the dynamics at work in the production of musical culture between the transnational media conglomerates, the independent music companies and the public. The Music Industry will become a standard work on the music industry at the beginning of the 21st century. It will be of great interest to students and scholars of media and communication studies, cultural studies, popular music, sociology and economics. It will also be of great value to professionals in the music industry, policy makers, and to anyone interested in the future of music.