Music has definitely changed significantly in the last decade or so. All aspects of music have seen a shift, from the listening platforms to the music content itself. Music was listened to and distributed through physical copies, such as CDs, vinyl’s, and casette tapes. Those methods were the most popular ways to listen to music but now they have been completely surpassed by the digital world of music. Digital music was first introduced through downloads and buying a copy of a song or album, and the introduction of IPods helped with listening to music this way. Then streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music were launched, and this completely transformed the way we listen to music. Spotify was launched in 2008 and gained popularity in the early 2010’s. Spotify’s success definitely had an influence in the music industry and played a part in the launch of other streaming services, such as Apple Music, which was launched in 2015. Streaming services quickly became the most popular listening platform and according to IFPI’s 2022 Global Music Report, 65% of global recorded music revenue came from streaming. The report also states that streaming grew 24.3%, to $16.9 billion, compared to the prior year. Considering the dominance of streaming in overall use and revenue, I would say it’s going to continue to play a huge part in the music industry and will do so in the future. Although the physical market this year had growth for the first time in 20 years, an increase of 16.1% in revenues stated in the IFPI report, I do not think it will come close to overtaking streaming in the near future. A big factor of the physical market making a comeback is the popularity in vintage items and this trend has translated over to music, where vinyl’s have become very popular. I can proudly admit that I have been apart of this trend and have been building my vinyl collection over the past couple months.
I believe the content of music itself has changed a lot. The most popular genre of music shifted from rock-related to pop/hip-hop, and the message and lyrics of songs shifted as well. I think that lyrics in the past were more “sneaky”, in terms of the implications of what they were referring to, such as love and relationships. I believe that music today is a lot more straight to the point and artists are freely expressing what they want to say in their lyrics, which some may say are explicit and inappropriate compared to the lyrics of music from the past. Artists are able to express themselves more than ever before and I think that will continue to grow in the future.
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