The Music Industry: Music in the Cloud (DMS - Digital Media and Society) [Paperback]

Patrik Wikstrom (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 2010 | Series: DMS - Digital Media and Society (Book 2)

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Music Industry is a lucid and astute overview of what has happened to popular music since the mp3 met the Internet at the birth of Napster. It is the first scholarly book to make real sense of the present state of the music industry. By looking at the contemporary landscape of popular music from multiple perspectives, including the fan perspective, Patrik Wikstrom provides clear explanations for the consequences new digital media have had for music, musicians, and the recording industry."
Steve Jones, University of Illinois at Chicago

"Patrik Wikstrom does a brilliant job of explaining the wide-ranging digital-driven changes taking place in the popular music industry. Until recently it was controlled by a very few multinational corporations, but now artists, independent producers, and fans are freer to create the musicscapes they desire."
Richard Peterson, Vanderbilt University

 

From the Back Cover

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. Wikstr?m 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.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Polity; 1 edition (March 2, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0745643906
• ISBN-13: 978-0745643908
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #381,231 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great snapshot of the future of the music industry, October 23, 2010

By 

Tama Leaver (Perth, Western Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Music Industry: Music in the Cloud (DMS - Digital Media and Society) (Hardcover)

Wikström has written an accessible and insightful overview of how the music industry has changed over the past few decades, characterising the current industry as a 'copyright industry' which has grappled with digital distribution and, in many ways, succeeded where film and television have yet to flourish. The book champions the fans and those musicians who have experiments with new distribution models, such as the Nine Inch Nails, but is balanced enough to give a good sense of why the industry has had real trouble adapting to the realities of digital distribution and the challenges of peer to peer technologies. A great overview, suitable for a generalist reader.