To what extent does digital distribution affect the marketing and consumption of media products in the media area you have studied?

To what extent does digital distribution affect the marketing and consumption of media products in the media area you have studied?

Digital distribution has changed how institutions and audiences have distributed and exchanged music by combining the two processes together to benefit the music industry. For example, websites like Youtube and Soundcloud allow music to be distributed on a global scale, whilst services like Spotify and iTunes allow music to be consumed by a wider and more diverse audience.

For big institutions like Sony, digital distribution is key in the marketing of artists and albums. This is because artists on 'the big three' of Sony, Universal and Warner Music do not market the sound of their artists. They instead market and  create a visual image through advertising, music videos and posters which is more important than the quality of the music. Youtube allows this visual style and image to be shown, with more attention shown onto the aesthetics of the music video. An example of a group like this is One Direction, who have multiple music videos and even a feature film released, with lots of money spent on tickets for world tours. However their music is criticized for it's lack of originality and quality. They do not just market the style through music videos, they also market it through using apps, games and social media. This marketing affects the consumption because it is suited for a mainstream audience which is what the big institutions are aiming for therefore it sells lots and benefits them. Digital distribution for big institutions have blurred exchange of music with the distribution because it encourages people to buy into not only the music but also into the marketing which is the product.

For independent or 'Indie' institutions like Domino and XL records, digital distribution affects the consumption of their music. Indie institutions handle their own distribution channel without any interference so they don't have the financial ability to widely distribute physical copies of their music unlike the big institutions so they can use digital distribution with services like Spotify and iTunes allowing them to have a global audience and to make money off people buying and supporting their music online. Indie institutions also tend to have newer artists and which produce quality music, given the creative control that indie institutions allow compared to the big institutions. Selling their music online along with the marketing indie institutions can sometimes do, for example, low budget music videos helps raise the popularity of the artist. Therefore digital distribution allows indie institutions to keep their own distribution channel without having to purchase more channels and allows them to keep creative control. This is a beneficial solution for these institutions.

For prosumers like Madeon, who make music in their bedroom by getting other songs, remixing them, mashing them up to produce original content, digital distribution is a crucial and beneficial part of how they get their music recognised. Prosumers are unsigned, so they have to produce all the music and upload it onto Youtube or Soundcloud, and get recognised that way. Depending on the quality of their production and their popularity, a prosumer might get signed to an indie label. Therefore the process of unsigned artists getting signed by institutions is made easier by the introduction of digital distribution. The consumption of prosumers music is also beneficial for big institutions because mashing up and remixing of song is advertising their songs for a niche audience. Prosumers blur production with exchange by using existing songs and mashing them up to create something different.

Finally, the singer Beck completely changed the normal 'production, distribution, exchange' formula of the music industry by releasing his sheet music book Songbook. Beck utilized digital distribution in a new way by encouraging his niche audience to play the music and upload it to Youtube and Soundcloud. This completely changed how the consumption of his music by releasing this book. He only got money from this book by concerts. He chose what songs to play live due to the feedback from peoples interpretations. Beck's revolutionary idea is a benefit to the music industry because it provides an alternative way of producing, distributing and exchanging music.