How Does Technological Change Affect the Music Industry in Germany? (PDF)

Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 1,0, University of Applied Sciences München, language: English, abstract: The following work deals with the effects of digital change on the German music industry. For this purpose, one of the most famous and successful music labels in the world, Sony Music Entertainment, will be analysed. Since this is a US-American company, this elaboration refers only to the company headquarters responsible for Germany. The work should show how the music industry has changed in recent years and how a large music company like Sony Music can withstand the demands of the digital age. For this purpose, the further course of this work is presented below.

In recent years there has been an extremely strong digital transformation. Digitalization is profoundly changing society in all areas of life. Information and communication technologies connect the different areas of everyday and working life. From intelligent energy supply, to smart logistics and transport systems, to the intelligent home. Intelligent business processes are at the center of Industry 4.0 in order to make the respective companies more flexible and resistant to unforeseen events . Not only manufacturing companies, logistics and industry, but also service companies have benefited from technological advances. Being able to deal with new technologies becomes more important for every entrepreneurial existence.

Many companies have had, or are in the process of, adapting their traditional corporate structures to ever-evolving digital needs. In the past, a number of industries, such as banks, commerce, music, film and television, and other service providers have been able to discover and adapt to this change. On the one hand, many companies have been able to achieve higher profits, faster growth and a high level of awareness through digitization. On the other hand, just as many companies have been unable to exploit the importance of technological change for their business model and were thus unable to adapt to the current requirements of the digital age, among them are some music labels that have not recognized or exploited the trend towards digital titles. Today, streaming portals like iTunes, Spotify, Tidal, etc. are the pioneers in the music industry.