Why Are Record Labels Losing Out

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The P.R.O. or Performing Rights Organization are the entities that help songwriters and artist get proper pay (Robly, 2013). The distribution platform has been structured to where Artists and Musicians can cut the middle man out, but the only way artists can receive full royalties is to register with a Performance Rights Organization (Fini,2012). The purpose of this qualitative research is to reveal the deteriorating music industry, and show how digital streaming serves earn percentages from Artists and Labels. The internet opened global avenues up for independent artists and musicians. The music industry has been a step behind due to illegal sharing of music and the transition to the digital model. Napster and Audio Galaxy were early file …show more content…

The reason record labels are losing out is because they were only the middle man, which does not exist (Morris, 2017). Artists have access to digital aggregators that will distribute their music for them which will generate their royalties directly to the artist. However, record labels also carry traditional responsibility such as recording, producing, advertising, and publishing but that is no longer needed. Record labels still search for talent, but they often find artist who have created a major buzz on social media. Popular digital streaming distributors such as Apple Music, Tidal, YouTube, Spotify, Deezer, iTunes, and Amazon allow music to be bought at a cheaper rate and 2009 sales were less than sales in 1973 due to illegal downloads and sharing (Kleurvision, 2013). Streaming revenues in 2012 were up for the first time since 1999. Napster is the center of attention in a data chart showing declines in the Industry. YouTube, Spotify, and iTunes are digital distributors that stream music which generate royalties. In 2010 David McCandless published an infographic on his website that reveal how much musicians earn from sales and streams (Stuart,