Music Industry

Introduction
The music industry is constantly evolving from one genre of music to another. Today’s top hits in the last 20 have spanned from gangster rap artists like Dr. Dre, to teenage pop stars such as Brittany Spears, and more recently the   loud dance-craze DJ’s such as Skrillex and Kaskade. I find this market to be fascinating, because any random person can make it with a little luck. With the help of public social networks such as Facebook and Twitter any artist who just started, or has been around for a while, can become a superstar. In this research paper, I will be analyzing the music industry, the changes it is going through, challenges faced by firms and artists, and a company that is taking a competitive edge to change consumer’s views toward music.

The Market and its Boundaries

Every day we are influenced by music. Whether it is in the newest Acura commercial on TV or in the background of your favorite restaurant, music has the ability to subconsciously alter our moods. It motivates us, brings up old memories, or understands when we are feeling down. It is a very powerful product that consumers around the world tend to have an opinion toward, hence its thirty-billion dollar industry.(Bertoni) I would argue that this market represents the oligopoly model because there are many firms within the market, but a few major competitors making up roughly three-quarters of the US and world market. Formally, four major competitors have been described as “the big four,” composing of: EMI Group, Warner Music Group, Sony BMG, and Universal Music Group.(Fixmer) However, after November 2011 a purposed merger of EMI Group would divide the company amongst Universal Music Group and Sony/ ATV music publishing. Although this merger is still under review, it has the potential of eliminating one of the major players in the music industry. This could change the type of market, moving closer to a monopolistic view, but before I get into that I must discuss the history... [continues]

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