I wanted to make a special post in honor of Davy Jones and Leslie Carter. Both of these talented artists are near and dear to my heart. I was devastated to have heard of both deaths, but after watching Jones' tribute on Good Morning America, I kept thinking about the prior month when I read in a local magazine of Carter's death. I couldn't shake the fact that two of my favorite artists had died just a few months apart. I have been listening to The Monkees and Leslie Carter since elementary school and will proudly continue to do so. They were the first artists that inspired me at such a young age that it is cool to like different styles of music

DAVY JONES

1945-2012

I was in the second grade when I first discovered The Monkees. My mom had bought a couple of VHS tapes of their 1960's tv show. I was enamored. I must have watched those videos about a million times. I even remember listening to their CD non-stop on a 6 hour car trip to Florida and still not growing tired of hearing it. I was a 90's kid stuck in the 60's. As far as who my favorite Monkee is still a tie. Micky Dolenz cracks me up no matter what mood I'm in but Davy Jones was simply a heartthrob. Like millions of other girls, I was dazzled with Davy's boyishly cute looks, optimistic personality and flirtatious accent. Whenever I think of Davy Jones, I smile. His music is upbeat, fun, and reminiscent of innocent times. The shows of today will never withstand the test of time like The Monkees have done.

"Daydream Believer" was Davy's most popular song but "She Hangs Out" is my all time favorite Davy song. Plus, this song was featured at the end of my favorite Monkees episode. The one where the two Russian spies are watching Davy break out into a song and dance number to "Way Down Upon the Swanee River." Davy will always be remembered as the adorable entertainer.

LESLIE CARTER

1986-2012

In my opinion, Leslie Carter is one of the best pop bubblegum artists of the Y2K generation. Her music is highly underrated which as a result only her single, "Like Wow!" was the only music ever released. She formed a pop/rock band, The Other Half, which disbanded in 2009. The song, "Like Wow!" is the definition of what 90's pop music was all about. It was about the campy and cheery feeling of being in love. When I listen to the song it reminds me so much of my carefree childhood memories. A time of innocence before fully understanding the trials and woes of becoming an adult.

The "Like Wow!' music video has been rarely seen by viewers. I think its a shame that the world could not have seen more of Leslie's talents.

INTRODUCTION

Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube are popular social networks that have revolutionized the music industry. Major recording labels have lost CD sales and marketing revenue because of the free downloads offered on the internet. In the past, artists and fans were at the mercy of the record labels. An artist’s success depended on getting signed to a major record label. Major record labels had the money and sole power to influence mainstream audiences. These record labels could sell music, create music videos, and distribute artist information to all media outlets. However, the recent emergence of social networks makes all this possible to everyone. Fans and artists alike can now share music, tour dates, videos, information, and pictures on the internet that reaches a diverse audience. According to Neilson SoundScan, CD sales have dropped 18% in 2007. The rapid evolution of the internet cannot be stopped but it can be controlled. Many record labels have teamed up with social networking websites to take advantage of this mass marketing.

ONLINE DEMOGRAPHICS

In the early beginning, social networks were geared towards teenagers and young adults in their early twenties. However, in the last year, social networks have been able to attract the older generation, according suite 101.
Social networks allow fans to share music with their friends or find out what other people with similar interests are recommending according to Spinner.
According to Wired, on social media sites, users categorize themselves into useful demographics based on media consumption, so music-oriented sites can offer advertisers more value than the ones where all people do is talk.
The music industry realizes that social networks allow marketers to learn about specific interests. According to Catherine Halohan , social networks allow anybody to create an account for free to gain access to the same number of people as large corporate businesses.
Facebook’s iLike application gives marketers insights to specific fans’ interests. iLike notifies fans when their favorite artist is in town, which sends them links to Ticketmaster or to iTunes to buy music.
139 million users access MySpace, 175 million uses Facebook, and 344 million uses YouTube.

WARNER MUSIC GROUP AND YOUTUBE

In 2006, Warner Music demanded all of its copyrighted videos be removed from YouTube. Warner Music hoped that users would seek out the Warner Music official website to access these videos. YouTube appeals to the most internet users regardless of age or gender. Users can obtain videos of their choice without payment. The official website required users to pay for these videos. The label hoped to regain some of its lost video revenue. Despite the label’s efforts, audiences were still finding ways to beat system.

Warner Music copyrighted videos were still being shared across the internet to other networking websites such as MySpace. Fans refused to pay for something that they could easily obtain for free.
Once someone obtains a video through file sharing it becomes viral. There is no exact way to trace a source or to stop the video from re-appearing. Using these free services is a great way to cater to fans’ needs.

MYSPACE MUSIC

In 2008, MySpace created a specialized division for artists to sell and market their music. Top record labels
such as Sony BMG, Warner Music, and Universal Music unveiled MySpace Music, which allows fans to listen to online music for free and buy songs for download, along with concert tickets and merchandise.

MySpace Music offers fans exclusive secret shows of their favorite artists. The secret shows are offered for MySpace users only. The record labels and the social network work together to generate the most users.
Black Eyed Peas, Bruce Springsteen, and Good Charlotte, and many other famous musicians have premiered music on MySpace, allowing fans to preview upcoming CDs.

ONLINE INTERACTION

Another popular aspect of social networks is they allow fans more personal time with the musicians.

Twitter has become a great way for artists to interact indirectly with their fans (Topping, 2010). Artists such as Kanye West have taken advantage of their “tweets” to promote a new album or make an instant personal statement, according to Guardian.co.uk.
Fans can obtain the “tweet” and then re-tweet it for others to see or pass on.
Fans can follow their favorite band to learn about upcoming concerts, watch videos, or read online interviews.

SOCIAL PANEL VIDEO

In the social media panel video, social network executives talk about their plans to continue to promote the music industry.

Jason Kirk, executive of Ustream says 15% of its broadcast is dedicated to live music. "Fans are interested in obtaining on demand web streams. "

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, social media is constantly evolving. The music industry has also faced many phases of evolution.

Similar to vinyl and cassettes, CDs may fade out of style for a while. However, music has always remained a major impact on our society. I think that social networks will continue to work together to promote the music industry.
In the earlier years, we were used to reading about a band in a magazine or watching a music video on MTV. Now, we are in a high technological state where we can obtain all this and more with the click of a button.
We are increasing our demand for instant online notifications. Someone reading an artist’s “tweets” might also be watching their video on YouTube at the same time. We will continue to move forward with technological advancements and evolution.