RESEARCH: Summary of What I have learned about the music industry in 2012.

Falling sales, falling profit margins... is what the 'Big 4' record label companies: Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Group, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group are used to facing since the decline in sales began a few years back. In todays age, it's become really easy for one to write, record, produce, promote and distribute themselves, abandoning the whole ideal, that one must be signed, in the first place, to become successful in the music industry.

It is evident to say, that the only platform of music that is actually, selling is singles... In a Monthly Market Analysis conducted by the BPI (British Recorded Music Industry), suggested that in the July 2011 period, sales of singles, went up by 8.4% and in the year, went up by 10.4%; while, albums of all kinds, saw a slump in sales by 17.6% (July) and 4.3% (Year to date). Sales of singles surpassed the 100 million mark, during the July 2011 period; the digital share shows that, Singles have a 99.6% share, as oppossed to albums having a 25.2%.

The music industry has been faced with troubling times, however, it is still seen as one of the pathways, for artists to make it, as for those who have been successful by being independent and promoting themselves, on youtube and various social networking platforms, end up getting signed by the labels, for that extra support and expertise at hand. The music industry had to exploit other aspects of the market in order to maintain and make sales and profits, for instance, gigs, tours and concerts are heavily rammed in to a artist's schedule, along with selling the merchandise and TV shows etc. This sort of promotion has the financial reward, the music produced is a way to rope in the support and the fans.

For instance, formerly independent artists, such as UK Rapper, 'K Koke', have been using social netoworking sites and youtube to promote themselves, and have organised concerts and distributed his music via iTunes and for free, in order, to sell himself to the audience and become a popular artist, in the end, he was eventually signed to Jay-Z's, 'Rock Nation' record label and is set to produce more music and enter the American music industry.