The sound that is changing the music world is not the voice of unknown artists, but the faint clicks of a computer mouse.
It used to be that musicians and singers had to rely upon an agent (or perhaps sheer hope) in order to get their music heard or their album sold. These were unlikely unless the artist was well-known or was touring nationally with someone who was already famous.
Today, YouTube and other sites are making overnight pop sensations such as Justin Bieber, or more recently, Rebecca Black, 13, whose YouTube video “Friday”Lady Gaga’s has more views “Born This Way”Bieber’s “Pray.”
The truth is that anyone can listen to music from dozens of sites with an Internet connection and a computer capable of running the necessary software.
It’s obvious what the digital age means for artists, but it also presents a huge opportunity for indie labels like Big Jake Music, an entertainment company based in New York.
“The upside of digital distribution is the global market you have access to, which you can promote to in different ways,”Jake Shapiro, founder and CEO of Big Jake Music.
“For these reasons,”Shapiro also added: “we believe it is critical for us to aggressively pursue digital distribution as part of our marketing strategy.”
Entertainment companies are foolish to ignore this potential revenue stream, as more people spend their time online than they do in brick-and mortar retail outlets (think Tower Records).
Smart independent music labels have tapped the Internet to achieve commercial success.
Although music executives may claim that recent years have seen a decline in sales (Apple would most likely disagree), music consumption has never been greater on platforms like social media networks and mobile devices.
“This tidal wave created by digital distribution is here to stay,”Shapiro. “And it is only going to get stronger.”
For more information, please visit www.bigjakemusic.com.
