Discuss Money for Nothing

Student’s nameInstructorCourseOctober 3, 2018
Money for Nothing
“Money for nothing” film opens an argument as to why some musicians become stars, and their music is widely listened to while others are not acknowledged. The pop industry is changing as years go by and most music industry companies consider what they will gain rather than promoting talents and ambitions (Wikstrom & DeFillippi 53). Most people enter into the music industry because of the passion they have for music, but they are discouraged when their music is not played after spending money on recording and video shooting. The film “Money for Nothing” shows how huge media companies control the music industry through restrictions like; how music should be distributed, produced, performed and even promoted (“Library VHS Rips” n.p).
The film also addresses how sensation in the music industry has substituted talent and marketing strategies have replaced aesthetics. Art is described as the expression of human imagination and creativity skills (Conyers 164). The teachings determine the quality of music people gain from listening to a particular type of music. Art can be famous if people are given a chance to show off their talents. The five companies that control every aspect in the music culture are; Vivendi, EMI, BMG, AOL-Time Warner and Sony (Leyshon 81). These five big companies aim at pushing the music that is more profitable to them than good music, and this makes other musicians not to have exposure in the music industry.

Companies benefit a lot when they promote and produce quality music and although they spend money, what they gain in return is maximum profits (Mankins & Garton 2).
The nature of the music industry accentuates on speedy sell where music companies refer to generating large sales from few artists as compared to generating small sales from a large number of artists (Weinberg & Mares 6). The monopoly status in the big music companies does not motivate other companies to provide alternatives. With the risk-averse system, new artists are pressured financially and creative wise (Bagdikian 66). Unions similar to the Screen Actors Guild have emerged to help and protect the welfare of struggling artists.
The music market has been part of the vast business world, and if their systems were quite open, then there would be different types of music that would be popular to many. Different music companies use various market strategies to gain profits, but upcoming artists should be given a chance to nurture their music talents (Day 1989). The famous musicians are given more opportunities to explore their abilities as compared to the upcoming artists.
Works Cited
Bagdikian, Ben. The New Media Monopoly: A Completely Revised and Updated Edition with Seven. 2014.
Conyers, J. L. African American jazz and rap: Social and philosophical examinations of Black expressive behaviour. McFarland, 2015.
Day, Wendy. How to Get a Record Deal (2016 Version): The Knowledge to Succeed. 2016.
Library VHS Rips. Money for Nothing: Behind the Business of Pop Music (2001). 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j8qFvDKLP0. Accessed 3 Oct 2018.
Leyshon, Andrew. Reformatted: Code, Networks, and the Transformation of the Music Industry. Oxford UP, 2014.
Mankins, Michael C, and Eric Garton. Time, Talent, Energy: Overcome Organizational Drag and Unleash Your Team’s Productive Power. Harvard Business Review P, 2017.
Weinberg, Gabriel, and Justin Mares. Traction: A Start-up Guide to Getting Customers. 2014.
Wikstrom, Patrik, and Bob DeFillippi. Business Innovation and Disruption in the Music Industry. 2016.