Record labels can either be independent labels (also known as indie) or they can be international media groups (also known as conglomerates). There are 4 known major labels; Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Group and Warner Music Group. There are also smaller labels, known as sublabels, which belong to a bigger company but go under a different name.
However, that was not always the case. They were once known as the 'big 6' between the 70's and the 90's, but then one company converged with another of the major labels and it then became the 'big 5' in the late 1990's. And then again two major labels decided to merge in 2004 and they then became the 'big 4'.
Previously people bought their music in analogue formats, like CD's and Vinyl. Nowadays, illegal downloading has taken over, and it has played a major role in the decline of album and single sales. There are also so many ways that people can get hold of music and music videos that not that many people bother to buy songs anymore. Artists will soon have to rely on the sales of gigs and tours because not that many people are buying their tracks anymore. You could definitely say that Mp3 and new technology (Internet, PC's, Ipod's) have ruined the music industry.
But it's not only downloading Mp3 files, but music videos too. And although there are around 65 legal downloading sites (including Itunes, Amazon, and Spotify), people seem to prefer to visit websites such as YouTube and Vimeo where you can watch music videos for free, and download them using YouTube Downloader or other programs like so. YouTube do make money out of advertising, and you can also find that when you visit a website previous to YouTube you are presented with adverts from those websites, for example clothing store websites.
YouTube and other sites like this do have their advantages. YouTube can be used as a way to distribute songs and promote an artist/s. Their popularity is based on the amount of hits (sometimes 'likes') they have on their videos.
Other social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are used to help promote the artist, and give the fans that little bit more that they would have never had without the technology we do have. It gives fans/viewers that extra connection/closeness to the artist.
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