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Haley Lucero Mr. Condradt
Economics
January 30 2015 Music Industry in Economics:
My central question was Looking back ten years to now, how have music sales changed due to the creation of free downloading and streaming? How is the music industry trying to get some of their music revenue back? Looking back over time, music sales have dropped immensely, as free music downloads have become very popular within the past ten years affecting the sale incomes of the music industry as well as job loss and the economy. The music industry has tried to get back some of the revenue by licensing ringtones, radio stations like pandora, videos on youtube, touring and merchandising but even then it won’t ever make up for the loss of music sales
(Adkins). Artists have now resorted to releasing extra songs only available on cd’s to try and increase revenue.
Ten years ago, the decrease in the sales of the music industry started in 1999, when napster was first introduced to consumers. Not only did it change the way people got music, it also lowered the price of a cd worth $14.00 to now being free. Music sales went from fourteen billion to six billion within a span of ten years, effecting the U.S. economy greatly (Goldman).
My specific personal reasons for choosing my topic was I grew up with a found love for music and someday want to become apart of the music industry and wondered how music sales

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have decreased within the past few years. My specific academic reason for my topic is still unknown. People who would be interested into my project would be adolescents and adults, as it talks about the decrease in music sales over ten years, as free downloading and music streaming have become so popular. They would find it interesting since