2. The online revolution

• How has the new revolution of music downloads affected how bands/ artists promote their material?

The new revolution of music downloads has affected how bands/ artists promote their material because now more people buy their music online, so they need to make sure they promote the fact that their music is also available to buy online, so as to make as much money as possible. This can be a good thing for unsigned bands as it is much easier for them to promote now via the internet on social networking sites such as Myspace. However, other artists are losing money due to the increase of illegal downloading, so they must be sure to promote their music in a way that encourages people to buy it from legal downloading sites; advertising on iTunes for example.

• Document 2 bands/ artists, one who used the internet to promote their music and one who relied on traditional forms of promotion.

1. Arctic Monkeys.


The Arctic Monkeys used the internet to reach fans without the help of record companies. They uploaded their songs to social networking sites such as Myspace; a place for unsigned bands to promote their music. They are heralded as one of the first acts to come to public attention via the internet; they represented the possibility of a change in which new bands marketed and promoted. After a few performances in 2003, the band recorded a few of their songs and gave away free copies of CDs in their gigs which were then file-shared amongst fans. The band claim they didn't mind this, commenting that they were giving their songs away for free anyway and that it was an easy way for more people to hear their music, admitting they didn't know how to upload their music to the internet anyway! This perhaps explains why the band were initially oblivious to the fact that fans had created a Myspace page for them to download their songs from, which helped them get to number one in England. They then admitted they 'actually had no idea' what Myspace was. So although the internet was used to promote the band, it was the fans, not the artists, that promoted them.


2.


I found it hard to find anyone who doesn't use the internet to promote themselves; from the obscure to mainstream, alive to dead, every artist seems to be online. So i decided to think of artists who rely mainly on other forms of promotion other than the internet, even if they are on the internet also, and thought of The X Factor artists. It is such a big show now, they rely mainly on just promoting themselves through the show as there are so many viewers. The show is such a part of our culture now that the contestants are promoted in celebrity magasines, and some successful contestants, such as Alexandra Burke, manage to promote themselves through the promotion of other products; the 'Sure' deoderant advert features her and her song of the moment which promotes both products.

• How has the internet changed the promotion of music?

The internet has changed the promotion of music because its easier for anyone to promote themselves via filesharing and social networking sites. The phrase 'money changes everything' has become no longer relevant to the promotion of music via the interent, meaning mainstream artists have had to step up their game and ensure people are still buying their music. It has meant less money is put into promotion through traditional methods such as posters and flyers; money being put more into flashy visuals to entice the audience.