Technology in the music industry put in the spotlight

14 September 2015

 

The impact of technology on the music industry was put in the spotlight during a breakfast colloquium hosted by the organisers of the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz in Sandton on Wednesday September 9.

 

Held under the theme “Music Business in the Digital Age”, the event looked at developments in the industry since the advent of technology.

 

Industry players – who included delegates from the Department or Arts and Culture, musicians, recording companies, retailers, consumers of music and the media – converged into the venue to explore the brave new wired world of music business in the digital age. Almost in unison, the participants agreed that the music industry had drastically changed with the introduction of gadgets such as MP3s and iTunes and the rise in digital music streaming websites such as Spotify, Tidal and others.

 

“These developments are seeing the end of many CD retailers and has obliterated middle-level jobs of the music industry as we knew it,” lamented Percy Mabandu, an award-winning showbiz writer. While the delegates agreed that the advent of technology was a move in the right direction – as the world had gone in that direction – ways and means to mitigate the perceived negative impact of digital age needed to be explored.

 

“The digital age is offering huge benefits in the industry. A relatively unknown maskandi artist deep in the rural KwaZulu-Natal area of Mangeni might have been unknown in the 1980s. But technology is now offering him space to be known globally at a touch of a button on the computer,” said Duncan Shalwell of Sony Music SA.

 

Speaker after speaker argued for and against technology. But in the main, what prevailed was that although the advent of technology might have caused the closure of many music outlets, it had also created space to explore opportunities. This is where the government raised a concern, saying its policy was hugely based on job creation.

A call was made to revisit legislation relating to the impact of the digital age to job creation.

 

Participants, however, heard that jazz lovers were on the rise as the sale of jazz records, albums and CDs was on the increase.

“Jazz is an experience. Look at the number of jazz stokvels in the townships every weekend. Jazz is here to stay,” said a jazz enthusiast.

The Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Festival, which is organised in partnership with the City of Johannesburg, takes place at the Sandton Convention Centre from September 24-26.