What has changed is accessibility and versatility; users can now perform the same functions and activities of their personal computer on a wide range of devices: smartphones, tablets, and even more recently, smart watches.
The increase in personal computing capacity has a profound impact on the way people listen to, promote, and create music.
There are currently five big players in the digital music distribution space: Spotify, Apple Inc, YouTube, Tidal, and Amazon (in order of number of users).
Recently, the music industry has seen another consistent decline in album sales in response to the rising popularity of streaming services.
2016 saw exclusive album releases from music superstars such as Drake, Kanye West, Frank Ocean, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Future & Coldplay.
[11] On the business side, exclusive releases can help digital music conglomerates attract a significant number on new subscribers (depending on the artist) as well as free promotion for the firm.
Record labels have begun to realize that exclusively releasing through one or two streaming services could stunt the long-term growth in subscription music.
It is possible that the practice will continue from superstar artists who record and release music from their own labels (like Frank Ocean did with Blonde).
The creator of that venture requests from the crowd to contribute small amounts of capital to fund his or her new concept (many of them from his or her immediate social network), which is usually hosted from an internet-based platform.
"[15] Rewards based crowd funding has become increasingly popular within the education, sports, video games, retail, and music industries.
"With members in various locations throughout the globe, "A Head Full of Moonlight" was pieced together internationally by a selection of exceptionally talented individuals.
Vocals were tracked both in Los Angeles with Brandon Paddock (Avril Lavigne, Black Veil Brides, Daughtry) and Washington DC (with Dez).
The research also found the following metrics to be important for live, remote music collaboration: quality of sound capture & reproduction, volume, dynamics, space, and echo.