I recently had to write an essay about the influence that google has had on the music industry. Unlike the majority of my assignment I found this topic quite interesting and I thought I might share (an edited version of it) with you…
Technological Developments
There are many technological developments within the last ten years that have changed the way we interact and consume media. Developments such as facebook, twitter, (myspace), tumblr and youtube have emerged and have become an integral part of how society interacts. However, one of the crucial elements that is often overlooked is the impact that google has on how things spread and the content that is consumed.
Brief History of Google and SEO
Culturally, google has become a part of our everyday lives with terms such as “just google it” becoming common knowledge. Music is now in the hands of the artist and the fans. Arguably, the media of today has evoked a new culture, where the audience has become a creative and interactive community (especially on youtube). However, behind this system, is the algorithm of how google organises and sorts through the multitude of data available on the internet and attempts to bring up the most relevant information first. As of April 2012 google has changed its system and the new and updated SEO system is called Penguin; Penguin is designed to stop company’s, blogs and websites from cheating the system by over optimising their websites.
Importance of google
In the business world, there is no doubt that being ranked higher on google is a big deal. It means more exposure, the potential for more income and it can generate more publicity that is needed to built your market and your brand. In the realm of music, there is no difference. Google is now the gatekeeper as to whether content (songs) becomes popular or not. For example, if an artist writes a song about a topic that is highly searched at the time, it has the potential to rank higher in the google system.
SEO and its impact on the web
Looking closer at how SEO has changed the value of music that is consumed, there has been a major shift from music being about quality, to it being about entertainment. For example Rebecca Black became a global sensation on youtube in 2011 because of her song ‘Friday.’ The song became popular because of its ‘entertainment value.’ It is also undeniable that SEO had a huge impact on her success. Even in June 2012, being more then 12 months since its release, when the word ‘friday’ is searched in google, Rebecca Black and her song is number 3 in the results. Moreover, this shows that when content is ranked higher in google it has a significant impact on that quality and value of the content that is consumed. Therefore, because of a shift on how media is consumed, the ‘entertainment factor’ of content has never been so important in what becomes popular; it is no longer about quality.
In another example, youtube artist Wade Johnston did a cover of “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz in 2008. Johnston states in an interview that this video was successful because of search engine algorithms. As a result he received millions of views and tens-of-thousands of subscribers to his youtube channel making him an instant youtube celebrity.
This system, by default, has an impact on the quality of music that is consumed; instead of there being major budgets to sign and to develop new artists, this has been replaced with the advent of youtube and google. Ultimately google has control over the content, how people engage with music and the music that people have access to digitally.
But is this a good thing? Or a bad thing? I feel that any organisation that has too much control over the system and of our lives is by no means a good thing. But so far I think google has done a pretty good job and has been quite democratic in how it operates. What are your thoughts on this topic? I’d love to have your input.
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Stephen is a 21 year old Australian artist and songwritter. His music and fashion sense is reminisient of New Wave 80s.