SOPA

Since the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) was first brought up in congress, there has been a lot of protest for it on the Internet. As an idea, this act is fantastic, but put into practice…well, that’s a different story.

Though parts of the industry are for this act because it is to stop online piracy, it is not the best way of stopping or hindering piracy. Put into action, this bill would censor a lot of the Internet. It could go so far as shutting down social networks. Without a real way to communicate easily and quickly, this would cut back a lot on how people share music, movies, and every other part of their lives. The also would not have the same easy access to music on the Internet. Without people spreading the word of new music, sales would probably plummet. They could lose just as much money that way as they do through pirating. The act would also take away a lot of promotion and advertising. It would be harder to promote concerts and shows, not only for big labels, but small local bands as well.

SOPA would revert the industry to times before social networks and YouTube. I do not think the industry could really deal with that kind of revert. They would have to find a new way of promoting their artists and bands. Local bands would have a hard time finding shows and then promoting them and getting the word out. Times have changed a lot and with a censored internet, word will not travel nearly as far. People would have to get used to other ways of communicating again. A lot of promotion would have to rely on word of mouth. I do not think that it would work too well. It would take a long time for people to adjust and there would be a drop in the entertainment industry during this time.

Overall, I think they need to look over this act more. It has a lot of aspects that could cripple many business and industries. 

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Album Sales Growth

 It is no secret that the recording industry has been struggling. Thanks to digital downloads, various forms of pirating, and other losses, album sales have not been too good. Since 2004, the industry has not had a positive album sales growth. That is, until this past year. After seven years, sales have finally gone up.

Though the growth is not a gigantic amount, it still is a great sign for the music industry. Since 2010, album sales rose by almost 1.5%, close to 4 million album sales (Christman, 2012). As I said before, this is the first time album sales have raised since 2004.  Music sales all together were up this year. Sales are up about .1 billion since 2010 (Christman, 2012). There were even more musical releases this year than the previous year. After 2010’s loss in album sales, this gain is very good to see. Album sales were down 12.8% in 2010 (Morris, 2012).

Many are giving a lot of credit to Adele for this gain. She had both best selling album and best selling song. Her album 21 sold 5.82 million copies since its release in March (Morris, 2012). Of course it was not only her album sales that made such a difference. There are many, many other artists that deserve credit. Hopefully this will pave the way for even more gain in 2012.

This rise looks good for the recording industry. Hopefully it continues to rise this year and the years to come. It has been a long time since sales have gone up. The industry is starting to do better with the changes in technology and the way music sells today. Physical and digital sales must be taken into account now instead of just physical sales. As long as technology does not throw another curve ball, the recording industry should continue to grow, once again, and expand even more.

References:

Christman, E. (2012, January 4). Soundscan's year-end charts: The numbers behind the first positive album-sales year since 2004. Retrieved from http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/soundscan-s-year-end-charts-the-numbers-1005793352.story

Morris, C. (2012, January 4). Album sales post first gain since 2004. Retrieved from http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118048134

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