Chapter 3

   I think radiohead may have unintentionally stumbled onto a great idea for the music business. I have not heard about their album that was available for download at any price online like the book says on page 71, but I think it might just be a great idea. Personally, I like to actually have the cd itself when I buy an album by one of my artists, or bands. So maybe the music business should adopt and adapt this "business model" that was not meant to be a business model. Adapt it by making it possible for music lovers to not only download but maybe order the physical cd for less. Sure they would be losing money, but they are already losing a ton of money through the whole music downloading crisis. It seems the music industry has gone through a loss in sales before. On page 76 it talks about how record sales went down when the audiotape was created. It permitted "home dubbing" or a way for consumers to "copy their favorite records onto tape or record songs from the radio". Sound familiar? Well the music industry escaped that issue by incorporating the compact disc (cd). So, my guess is someone will figure out a way to make the music industry more money once again. One way or another music downloading will become a thing of the past.
   It's cool to read about the past and how rock and roll came to be and all that, but what really caught my eye was the section on hip hop, because I feel that this is the here and now. Hip hop has definitely changed to a more acceptable state. I say acceptable because when it first came onto the scene, similar to rock and roll and any other music style for that matter, it was very controversial particularly with claims that it brought on violence. The book on page 94 talks about the shooting deaths of both Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace AKA the Notorious B.I.G. In these cases it does seem like hip hop, more specifically rap, brought about violence. It seems ridiculous too, because think about it those gangs were fighting over which side of the United States you lived on. It was west coast this, and east coast that. I can't believe two of the most vocally talented rappers had to suffer because of such stupid things. But that's for a whole different conversation. The book then goes on to say on page 95 that hip hop nowadays has been going "away from gangster rap to a more danceable hip-hop that combined singing and rapping with musical elements of rock and soul." I think this is a huge step for hip-hop because without it moving away from gangster rap, I don't think it would be as mainstream as it is now.
   The last thing that caught my attention was the paragraph about how music has been promoted on the internet. I was surprised that singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat actually started her career because of myspace. It's a pretty cool concept to think about. I also know that people on youtube get movie deals and a bunch sponsors and other things like that. I'm pretty sure that Justin Bieber actually started out by making videos of himself singing. It's pretty cool to think about that. It opens up so much more opportunity. Just think of the things you can do on the internet now. Not only myspace but groups who are not signed can "list shows, news, tours, photos, downloadable songs, and locations where fans can buy albums" (102). The possibilities to what you can do and what you can become by posting yourself and your talents on the internet are endless.