music LEADS the way.

Music has been and will forever remain an immense part of American culture. The evolution of the music industry has been a long process. What started out as records has progressed to cassette tapes, from there to compact discs, otherwise known as CD's, to the latest and greatest mp3 players. As technology advances, so does the music industry - but not necessarily in the way that it was predicted to 10 years ago. Sales (unit shipments) have gone down significantly for all physical musical products which can be seen from the Unit Shipment chart ("The Numbers Game," 2010).


Over the past decade we have seen a new trend emerging for music marketing. With the move to mp3 players came Apple and iTunes, which allows an individual to store all of their music in one place rather than have a collection of CD's piling up around the house. Music can be bought and downloaded straight to an individuals computer from the internet, there is no need to even leave the house. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) releases yearly statistics, which show the depletion of real sales (Bangeman, 2007). Needless to say,  traditional media is no longer the outlet for advertising in the music industry because it is simply not reaching the consumer today, rather viral marketing is taking its place.


Viral Marketing is the use of social networks on the internet to spread the message to the consumers. Myspace, Facebook and YouTube are among the three most popular places for sharing music in todays society. The idea behind viral marketing is to generate buzz and interaction among the consumers themselves. Music marketing today has taken on the face of the consumer, it allows them to choose what is hot and what is not.


For more statistics please visit the RIAA website.



Bangeman, E. (2007, April 18). Despite revenue slump, riaa still not getting the big picture. Retrieved from http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2007/04/despite-revenue-slump-riaa-still-not-getting-the-big-picture.ars


The numbers game -- riaa statistics from 1982 to 2009. (2010, September 20). Retrieved from http://www.azoz.com/topics/riaastats/index.html