ABSTRACT
We are all aware of the dramatic changes in the music industry since the early 1980s and the introduction of the compact disc. The evolution of the formats for delivering music, starting with LPs and culminating today with digital downloads and streaming, has caused long-lasting disruption in all aspects of this industry and has forced significant changes in business models. Manufacturing and distribution changes have not been trivial and have caused
many long-time players to exit the business as the industry has contracted and moved to the Web. Traditional revenue streams have dried up as record labels have lost the influence that they used to have and the once-ubiquitous retailers have almost completely disappeared from the landscape. Technology has precipitated these changes, and as market forces embraced the products and services that have emerged as a result, rapidly advancing innovation in technology continued to defeat older, inefficient models. Consumers benefited by having greater access to the products that they wanted and at lower prices.
