Cutting Out the Middleman: How have recent technologies affected the music recording and performance industry in ways other than file sharing?

Technology has significantly transformed the music industry in both positive and negative ways. First, devices such as iPods have made digital music files the most popular and preferred format. On the bright side, digital music files do not take up any physical space and can store thousands of albums. iPods contains our entire music library and makes it all accessible anywhere. Music can be purchased online instantly. However, this new format has practically made record stores obsolete, which is a loss of not only jobs, but an entire culture. I loved going to places like Vintage Vinyl and talking to the staff about music. In addition, album covers are less important and has become a lost art form. I can't think of any iconic album covers from the past several years. The combination of the internet and digital music has also changed the way bands connect and promote their music. In fact, record companies have become less critical to bands' success due to the fact that new technology has changed how people buy and hear about music. In fact, many new bands have been discovered online instead of a record company. Some musicians are also cutting out the middle man and selling their music directly to their listeners. For example, bands like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails released their latest albums online for free and asked their fans just to make a donation.