Do like the Cockroach

The cockroach is one of the oldest species in the world, dating back to the times when dinosaurs walked the face of the earth, it has defied extinction, how? The answer is an easy one, it was able to adapt itself and survive through out the ages. The key characteristic of new media is one's ability to keep up , keep abreast and adapt oneself to its development. The advancing of technology bring forth many new and interesting forms of media, which are said to make our lives easier as consumers.These however, like anything in life, do present a flip side, they come with new challenges. This is a broad and encompassing statement, to narrow the focus I will be referring to the impact new media has on music. The progression from analogue to digital as far as prerecorded music is concerned brought about a huge improvement in its quality, out were the Lp's and tapes and in were compact discs.Music lovers were gratified by this new technology, but there was another side to the coin, Cd's were much more expensive and were easily damaged. Then came ipods and storage devices that can be plugged to audio machines ranging from home theatre systems to car stereos, which allowed individuals to download and share music from the Internet and amongst each other. This is all well and good for the consumer who can now own music without paying so much as a cent, through some illegal sites and music sharing. The flip to this however is almost devastating for musicians and music as a form of entertainment, unless it does like the roach and adapt its self to this new climate. The how might prove to be complicated, but what isn't at its inception? A new strategy has to be adapted by all production and distribution companies where some music is only available by down load from reputable sites, where the artists can receive all their royalties.