Downbeat: The Challenges Facing the Music Industry in the 21st Century

by Daryl Easlea

Nielsen Soundscan and Nielsen BDS, the entertainment industry's leading data information systems, recently reported that CD sales declined 13 percent in 2012. Of the 118 million albums sold, 37 percent of them were sold digitally, resulting in a 14 percent rise in overall digital album sales and a five percent rise in digital track sales. In Downbeat , music journalist and industry veteran Daryl Easlea sets out to answer the question "whatever happened to the music business?" He offers both a historical view of the music industry and an assessment of where it is headed from its current position.

Beginning with the advent of the CD in the 1980s, Downbeat delves into the struggles of the 2000s touching on the evolution of DJing, the rise of Napster and pirated music, and the evolution of Apple's iTunes and iPod, explaining how the music industry dealt with it all.

With industry profiles and first hand interviews, Downbeat also covers the impact of social media from the MySpace revolution to YouTube as well as the challenge of music streaming services.

Intriguing and insightful, Downbeat takes a look behind the façade of this most glamorous of industries. It is an informative and revealing look at recent history of the music industry, the present business environment and an analysis of potential future developments.

272 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2013