Essay on Technology in Music: Advantages and Disadvantages

The advantages of technology have given musicians numerous options to promote their music. Two of these options being advertising corporations and streaming services. Modern ways of promoting music can serve as a helping hand to musicians or serve as their downfall. All in all, the cons outweigh the pros; therefore, musicians shouldn’t put a price on their music by partnering with corporations.

Initially, the idea of growing your platform through partnering with known companies sounds like a great idea to musicians and new smaller artists. However, this might not sound like a great idea to the musicians’ fan base.  Stacia Coats adds to this by stating “accepting business sponsorships or licensing out songs was seen as a sure-fire way to lose credibility and respect in the eyes of fans.”  The fanbase can not only see the Musician as a “sellout” but also feel betrayed when the musician chooses to sell their music to recognized and established corporations. People who are interested in the musician can quickly change their mind about listening to their music if they must keep hearing their music play repeatedly. A similar situation happened to U2 which can be explained in “Selling Out Not Worth the Risk.” Consequently, he suffered a major problem according to Darrius Johnson "Fans simply lost interest because they heard his music everywhere they went.” Hence, musicians should think carefully about joining with sponsorships because it can cost you the people that have been the greatest support which is the fans.

Moreover, sponsorship can hurt the fan base, but it can also influence the musician’s mental health and their public image. Musicians create a name for themselves in an effort to appeal to the general public and advertising can crumble it to nothing as quickly as they sign with them.  A notable example of this is located within the article “The changing landscape of the music business” when Alex Scally stated, “when bands take on corporate sponsors the lose the image they worked to create.” losing their image isn’t the only common issue that can transpire once the musician enters advertising. Musicians need to wake up to the harsh truth of being partners with advertising corporations. Darrius Johnson goes further on this by expressing how “As soon as a musician signs on the dotted line of an advertising partnership. He or she has a responsibility to represent the company and help it sell its products.”  This could deteriorate the artist’s mental health due to the fact they also must focus on developing music and their image.  

On the other hand, streaming services and advertising companies aren’t bad alternatives for musicians to use. For example, advertising when used wisely can bring the right amount of exposure. One great example of a well-known musical group that used advertising as a tool for exposure is the Black-Eyed Peas. Streaming services can also be a great tool for musicians to use. For instance, music can be heard by a wider audience, and it is easier accessible to people who can’t buy CDs or any other traditional ways of buying music. Nonetheless, as much as these can be great benefits that come with advertising companies and streaming services there is liability that can come with it as well.