iTunes article (Final)

Is iTunes changing the face of music for the better?
By Thomas Patrick Hooper

ATHENS, Ga. – Conventional wisdom says not every Tom, Dick, and Harry can be a rock star. With the rise of the digital age, that may no longer be the case.

Aspiring musicians have found a number of opportunities in the likes of iTunes, a digital media player created by Apple Inc., now in its eighth phase. While best known as a source to download music, the iTunes program offers a wide variety of media to download, allowing users to watch movies, listen to audio books and even conduct their own podcasts.

The iTunes Store has sold over 5 billion songs, including tracks from lesser-known artists.
Austin Lite, a 19-year-old sophomore at Georgia State University, is one such aspiring musician. Lite, under the alias of A-Lite, has uploaded a three-song album, Thirstay Thursday, for mass consumption on the iTunes Store.

“I Googled how to do it,” Lite said, who went through the digital music distribution site TuneCore to make his iTunes debut possible. “You just upload [your songs] and they listen to it to make sure it’s music. It was really easy.”

Lite makes 99 cents for every song downloaded, which is not uncommon. The iTunes Store offers its songs at prices of 69 cents, 99 cents, or $1.29 per track.

“I get 100% of the profit, although it’s not that much,”said Lite.

Lite isn’t alone in embracing music-sharing media like iTunes.

Elijah Cross, 28, has taken advantage of social networking and file streaming sites like Facebook and ReverbNation, respectively, for the sake of promoting his music. Cross is the lead vocalist and main promoter of Christian rock band His Reunited, which he co-founded with guitarist Jimmy Parr.

“I had dealings with booking agents and managers,” Cross said. “It isn’t always easy finding someone who has your best interests at heart.”

Cross put agents and managers aside and began promoting himself through the Internet four years ago, after leaving a previous band.

“You can spend more time creating.” Cross said of the self-promoting approach. “The more time you put into it, the more response you get. You’ve got to invite 1,000 people to a show to get 100.”

However, the digital age has not been entirely beneficial to musicians.

The relationship between the recording industry and the file sharing community grew heated in 2000 with highly publicized legal troubles of Napster, an online file sharing host that offered its services free of charge. The United States Court of Appeals upheld a decision by a lower court ordering that Napster be shut down after legal battles with artists like Metallica, Madonna, and Dr. Dre.

“People perceive music as being free,” said Bruce Burch, director and founder of the University of Georgia’s Music Business program.

The Internet’s capacity for abuse isn’t the only thing that troubles Burch about the proliferation of online music distribution.

“With technology being what it is, it doesn’t cost as much to make a record. Anyone can make a record,” Burch said. “It’s hard to find the good stuff when you have to sift through the bad stuff.”

However, iTunes may be taking steps to move away from promoting the less notable musicians of its catalogue with offers like iTunes Originals, albums and tracks exclusive to the iTunes Store. Many of the iTunes Originals consist of live performances and interviews with some of the most popular and frequently downloaded artists.

“I think you’ve got to be able to perform live,” Burch said of anyone looking for success in the world of music. “That’s how Mozart did it.”


Editor: Sydney Slotkin