Changes in Industry Structure and Occupational Careers. Two salient changes have occurred in the music industry in recent years. On the one hand, the traditional paths to success have narrowed greatly for musicians – particularly as major record labels have cut their rosters of musicians, as once-mighty record stores have gone bankrupt, and as corporate radio has greatly limited the number of musicians that they broadcast (Xxxx, personal correspondence). On the other hand, the availability of tools for production and distribution in today’s networked culture allow contemporary independent musicians to realize greater autonomy and creative freedom. The connective and collaborative potentials of online social networks “offer a range of sustainable opportunities for artists to operate more fully outside of historically dominant industry logics and practices” (Xxxxxx, 2008, p. 62). The ongoing evisceration of physical products in the music industry and the connective and collaborative abilities of online social networks have prompted a dramatic shift in industry structure, organizational structure, and occupational careers (Xxxxxx 2008; Xxxxxxxxx et al. 2006). In their assessment of structural changes in the digital music market, e-commerce researchers Xxxxxxxxx et al. (2006) conclude that “the power traditionally associated with some players has been shifting to others” (p. 27). The transition to digitally formatted music files has been decreasing the necessity for traditional sales channels and distribution processes. Moreover, artists now have the power to distribute their own music while “record labels are not needed to cover the costs of manufacturing and distributing physical recordings, and traditional brick-and-mortar retailers may become obsolete” (p. 27). With digital production and distribution via online social networks, artists in the music industry today can sustain autonomy from traditional intermediaries while also potentially reaching an audience. In 2007, The Black Kids – an unsigned quintet from Jacksonville, Florida – self-released their four-song debut record, the Wizard of Ahhhs EP, in digital format via MySpace. Aside from the equipment, recording, and mastering costs (the latter two of which could have hypothetically been done at no cost using Apple Inc.’s ‘Garage Band’ software), The Black Kids spent absolutely nothing to manufacture and distribute copies of their EP, which debuted to critical acclaim. In October 2007, internationally popular artists Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails purportedl...
