Little did Bob Dylan know back in January of 1964 when " The Times They Are A Changin' " was originally released how aptly those words would describe the state of the music industry (the industry that gave us Bob Dylan) over 40 years later. I've spent a lot of time during the last few weeks reading and trying to figure out how the music industry (in which I work) is changing. I've spent a fair amount of time wondering exactly what is going on...and about how I myself, along with many others are contributing to this change within the industry. There can't be a music lover alive who in recent years hasn't heard something about how music sales are plummeting the world over, and that the industry is placing the blame squarely at the foot of illegal downloaders. The rise of legal download sites such as the iTunes Music Store has helped the major labels cling on a little longer, but everyone knows that their days functioning as they do now are numbered. No longer does an unsigned artist need major label money to produce an album worth of music, it can be done in your bedroom for a fraction of the price of an established studio and still sound as good. The days of artists relying on labels to get their music 'out there' are fast become those of the past. The internet has become the ultimate music distribution tool, so powerful that nothing short of Armageddon can stop it. With all of these positives must come some negatives. The ease of distribution means that there's very little anyone can do to stop the free flow of music, whether it's been paid for or not - so where does this leave the music industry and the bands? Last week Radiohead joined the growing list of established artists (not forgetting all the less established ones) who chose to essentially give away their new album. In short, they are letting their fans choose how much they want to pay for the record, and the majority will most likely pay little or nothing. Does this mean that recorded music no longer has any value? And if so, how will labels and artists alike create revenue? Where will this multi-billion dollar industry make it's money in the future? Will concert ticket and merchandise prices continue to rocket? There are many different theories on how to 'save' the music industry - some claim the subscription method is the way to go (something I am personally in favour of) with everyone paying a flat monthly fee in order to download as much music as they can handle (similar to how we pay for cable television), others think that labels will insist of taking a cut of concert tickets and merchandise sales in order to regain the revenue lost from declining record sales (something artists will fight vigorously), and there has even been some absurd discussion of a mandatory music tax enforced by governments. Whatever the outcome is, one thing is for sure - the music industry as we know it is having to change fast, it has to change in order to survive. Who knows what will happen in the next 5 years, let alone the next 10 or 15, but one thing is for sure - it's a pretty exciting time to be involved and old Bob Dylan was right - the time they are a changin'! Reference articles: The Times Online: The Day The Music Industry Died Tech Crunch: The Inevitable March of Recorded Music Towards Free