decline of print media

            decline of print media

In recent years, technology has taken over many aspects of the world. This era is commonly known as the digital era. The internet can enhance connectivity all over the globe (Verboord and Noord, 2016). As a result, musicians can reach out to many people in different parts of the world and carry out self-promotion. Consequently, the need for print media such as newspapers has declined over time. Several factors have contributed to the decline of print media; hence the significance of the music press also declined.

While buying newspapers, readers are unsure of what the paper contains. They have varied interests in what they would like to read; therefore, buying newspapers would limit them to only what appears on the pages (Angelucci and Cage, 2019). The internet, on the other hand, allows users to search for different stories that they would like to read. They can access most of this content for free and at any time that is convenient to them.it is, therefore, unsurprising that many people have lost interest in printed media and prefer to read news online.

Advertisers, including those in the music industry, would print their advertisements in newspapers. However, with time, it became necessary to appeal to consumers based on the outside opinion. This move required making constant changes to their adverts to suit consumers’ needs. Due to the expenses involved, the advertisers did not generate as much revenue as they would have wanted (Angelucci and Cage, 2019). Also, people had moved away from print media and bought newspapers occasionally. As a result, their adverts did not reach as many people as they would have wanted. Therefore, there was no need to spend money on the advertisement when the message did not achieve the intended target.

The decline in advertisement revenue meant that the price of newspapers increased to compensate for the losses. The increase in costs resulted in less affordability of publications and reduced readers. However, with the introduction of technology, the music industry benefitted in terms of production and distribution (Ranger, 2019). History suggests that the success of emerging music industries depends on their ability to adjust to emerging changes in technology successfully.

In the past, there was high inequality in terms of media advertisement. Newspapers would create press for paying customers, including musicians. Upcoming musicians could not finance their ads and hence could not enjoy the same popularity as the already established musicians. Studies argue that the introduction of social media reduced the levels of inequality in the music production. They say that since most social media platforms are free, one can quickly create an account and start gathering followers. However, this statement is not entirely true. Recent research indicates that artists from central cities receive more attention on social media platforms as compared to those of fringe towns (Verboord, and Noord, 2016).

This finding suggests that inequality in the music industry still exists to some extent, although it had significantly reduced from the days when only print media was available. Developing a significant following on social media platforms is not an easy task. These platforms contain critics who may discourage musicians by using negative comments on their posts. Also, they may discourage other users from following the artist in question. However, once an artist gains a significant following, marketing of the songs becomes an easier task. The current followers will pass the message to their friends, family, and other users on social media platforms.

When one expresses music in a textual format, some aspects of the performance are lost (Hendery, 2016). This transformation happens in the music press. Some of the critical elements that are lost include multidimensionality, meaningful information, and the thrill of experiencing the performance. When one writes a music review, the readers will only have access to the experience of the writer, denying them an opportunity to feel the experience for themselves. Performances usually take hours to perfect, and the press would summarise all this work into a few sentences resulting in loss of information. However, technological advances made it possible for reviewers to incorporate audio and visual materials into their textual analysis (Hendery, 2016).

The availability of print media is mainly dependent on geographical location, meaning that articles in local newspapers can only reach people in that location. This factor has limited the effectiveness of the music press, which aims at reaching many people around the globe. The internet has made this possible because one can read all about musicians in other countries online. Also, people upload music videos to different platforms where people can watch them and appreciate the talent on display. This action is a brilliant marketing strategy as the dream of most artists, if not all of them, is to become worldwide sensations. The internet has taken them a step closer to achieving global success. The rest is up to them based on their determination and hard work.

The music press is limited to the domestic market, hindering the growth of the music in outside countries. Upcoming artists are often not appreciated in their home countries and cities. They decide to sell their music in other countries where some of them become successful. Once they have attained external success, their home people start recognizing them, showing that they are proud of one of their own. Print media plays very little to no role in establishing international success. International papers are rarely produced, and the target audience in other countries is not guaranteed. Therefore, the music press is majorly restricted to local newspapers, limiting its impact on the international stage.

The newspaper industry dominated the scene in terms of conveying societal, ethnic, political, and economic issues that facilitate the growth of communal conversations (Herbert, Tobechukwu, and William, 2017). The success of the music press at this time was reliant on the popularity of newspapers. However, economic hardships led to the decline of the newspaper industry due to deteriorating revenues. Also, many people lost interest in reading print media, partly due to the digital revolution. Therefore, the music press lost its relevance in the current society.

The newspaper industry is an example of a two-sided market, serving two sets of consumers: readers and advertisers (Angelucci and Cage, 2019). The two sets of consumers are interdependent, with each set showing concern for the behavior and availability of the other. In this case, upcoming artists are the advertisers, and the general public, including potential fans, are the readers. The rise in the costs of newspapers discouraged readers from buying them. Consequently, advertisers could not waste their money on adverts because very few people were going to read them. This issue led to a decline in the music press.

The music industry struggled to keep up with the digital revolution. Music blogs and websites took over the role ofo keep music press. Bands post information on these blogs concerning artists. Also, they post artists’ songs, both videos and MP3 format for the general public to view (O’Donnell and McClung, 2008). Music fans turn to these blogs and websites for the latest news on their favorite artists and hints on any new songs that are in progress. Such sites provide information such as the expected release dates of the new songs and the artists that participated in the song. There is also information on the expectations for the song. What is more appealing to the fans is that all this information is free provided you have an internet connection.

Logically speaking, nobody will pay for newspapers when the same information is accessible on-demand free of charge. Music artists also love to be in control of their activities; therefore, creating a blog allows them to post what they want when they want. Also, they can take down posts that were not appealing to the public without the need for consultation. However, some independent bloggers post information regarding different artists and their songs. These bloggers can either make or break the careers of such artists.

Some bloggers have created names for themselves in the music industry without actually producing songs. Their primary role is to write reviews on new songs, thus influencing how the public receives them. They can be critical at times, defaming a singer and ruining their chances of success. For a band to receive proper marketing, it must feature in the blog. This inclusion should be accompanied by positive feedback from the blogger to enhance its chances of success (O’Donnell and McClung, 2008).

This new system may be significantly difficult for upcoming artists because the blogger has more control over the issue. The blogger may decide to tarnish an artist’s name without reason. Unlike the music press, such comments are more likely to reach a wider audience, limiting the person’s chances of international success. With print media, the papers may become old, torn, or forgotten. Also, there may be policies that limit the defamation of upcoming artists through print media. Therefore, the information may not reach a larger audience because the article may not be published in the first place.

On the other hand, information on blogs reaches many people within a short time. There are tools on social media platforms that allow users to share information with several other people. These tools make the circulation of such data even faster. Also, the blogger has total control of the blog in terms of deciding what remains and what does not. There is a very high degree of freedom of expression on such platforms that allows people to say what they want without facing any consequences. Therefore, once the blogger has posted information, it will remain visible to all until he decides to remove it. One of the exceptions is a case of hackers getting hold of the blogger’s account and making changes of their own. It is improbable that upcoming musicians would have the necessary skill-set to hack into such accounts.

The availability of music to consumers for free does not guarantee that the fans would purchase the artist’s album (O’Donnell and McClung, 2008). On the contrary, it makes the purchase even lee likely. The fans would have access to their favorite songs on different blogs and websites for free. Hence, they will see no need to spend money to get what they already have. However, blog readers are usually very enthusiastic about the music they read about and may end up buying more albums than periodic music listeners. In so doing, the blog would have effectively market the music to consumers, much faster than the music press ever would.

As stated before, the decline of the newspaper industry is due to a combination of factors (Papathanassopoulos, 2001). Another contributing factor is the price discrimination resulting from the emergence of two classes of readers: continuous subscribers and occasional buyers (Angelucci and Cage, 2019). Subscribers would get newspapers at discounted prices provided they acquired a copy every single day. This move eventually turns out to be expensive, given the total amount that is spent on newspapers in a year. Moreover, the reader has no idea whether the content he/she is signing up o is interesting.

As a result, the group of seasonal readers emerged. This group of people would purchases newspapers only on specific days. More often than not, they would only be interested in particular sections of the press. Therefore, they did not show any interest in other parts of the newspaper, which may have had some adverts. In the end, the information in such adverts does not manage to reach a greater audience. These changes show how irrelevant music press may turn out to be.

Institutional music critics play an important role in manipulating consumer taste (Verboord and Noord, 2016). Initially, the only way they could voice their opinions was through print media. However, technological advances have provided opportunities to fanatics, wannabe critics, and other lay users to air their sentiments online through user-generated content (Verboord and Noord, 2016). Fans can influence their peers by giving reviews of their favorite songs and suggesting that they listen to them.

Newspapers and music magazines have lost their significance in promoting music. Online publications are more influential in this field today. Evaluation of popular music has become more comfortable with the provision of new spaces for greetings to give their thoughts. Consequently, there is a visible distortion of the long-established discrepancy between skilled and inept personalities in the music industry. Also, the legitimacy of these professionals in this field has come under scrutiny with the emergence of new opinion leaders.

In conclusion, the music press has lost relevance in today’s world as it offers no significant advantages to musicians and the music industry at large. The internet has taken over its role, and the benefits are visible. It is only a matter of time before the music press becomes utterly irrelevant in society.

References

Angelucci, C., and Cagé, J., 2019. Newspapers in times of low advertising revenues. American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, 11(3), pp.319-64.

Hendery, R., 2016. ‘Writing about music is like dancing about architecture’: integration of multimedia into linguistic and anthropological publications. Language, Land, and Song: Studies in honor of Luise Hercus.

Herbert, B.A.T.T.A., Tobechukwu, E.N., and William, B.N., 2017. Decline and Survival Strategies of the Newspaper Industry in a Depressed Economy: A Study of the Daily Trust and the Leadership Newspapers. The Nigerian Journal of Communication (T.N.J.C.), 14(1).

O’Donnell, P., and McClung, S., 2008. MP3 music blogs: Their efficacy in selling music and marketing bands. Atlantic Journal of Communication, 16(2), pp.71-87.

Papathanassopoulos, S., 2001. The Decline of Newspapers: the case of the Greek press. Journalism Studies, 2(1), pp.109-123.

Ranger, S., 2019. Adapting To Technological Changes In The Music Business: The Case of the British Music Industry and New Record Formats in the 1950s. Kritika Kultura.

Verboord, M., and Noord, S.V., 2016. The online place of popular music: Exploring the impact of geography and social media on pop artists’ mainstream media attention. Popular Communication, 14(2), pp.59-72.