A Look Forward...

I began this blog over a year ago as an assignment for school. With this post, I will finish my last assignment, and will be completing my Master's Degree. Over the last year, I have covered a number of topics, largely centered around Social Media as a marketing tool, and now I feel it's time to take a look forward.  What is going to happen to the industry as we move forward and technology continues to improve? Will there still be CD's in five years?  Will artists continue to become more accessible? What role will Social Media play in all of this?  The answers to these last two questions will play a vital role in whether or not the industry will thrive or die. The technological progress of the industry has allowed fans to form a stronger connection with artists than ever before.  Celebrities make themselves available via Twitter and Facebook, and allow fans sneak peaks of new music, videos, and the latest news.  If artists continue to keep Social Media as a central part of their marketing tactics, I think we will continue to see the industry survive the downward slope of physical album sales.  Digital music is cheap to obtain, and can cheaply be promoted, especially with Facebook's new "Promote" feature, which allows users to pay to have their statuses featured and promoted. At the end of the day, the connection between the artist and the fan, whether in concert or via a Facebook "like", is what really drives the industry.