YouTube has certainly affected the way how people access music these days. The effect of YouTube on music is big time. YouTube is the most used website used for Streaming Music. YouTube is the first preference of new artists for releasing their music. Certainly, there are companies who face some kind of loss with the upswing of YouTube. Many new artists were discovered because of YouTube, while some companies reported a decrease in record sales because of YouTube.

Whether YouTube has a good effect on Music Industry depends on which side you are considering to grade.

YouTube has proved to be a really convenient tool for the listeners and music fans. All one one need to pay is for the internet bill. On the other side, cassette and record companies are losing sales because of digitalisation of music.

And to solve this conflict, companies are coming up with new ideas and agreements with YouTube that will result in a profit for both YouTube and the company.

Here are few effects of YouTube on the music industry on both sides:

Discovering music is much easier

Now people don’t have to depend on radios for discovering new music. We can listen to genre specific music that just suits our mood. The days are over when you had to wait for your favorite track to come up on the radio.

Now, people can listen to their favorite tracks again and again, on repeat.

24/7 access

The best thing about the internet is that you can access it anytime from anywhere. The dependence on cassette players is now non-existent. People now can listen to music and create online playlists. You just need to hit the play button on the screen to get the party going.

The old and forgotten tracks of which you can’t find the CDs in any store are available on YouTube and always will be.

Promotes new musicians

YouTube is the main source of fame for many new musicians. Many artists like Carly Rae Jepson and Shawn Mendes were discovered on YouTube. The ease with which one can promote themselves on YouTube is giving the fortitude to people to choose music as a career.

Now, people can try out and get a taste of how it feels like to be a musician. One can get his hands wet with creating music without committing to it. People are using YouTube as a source to support and increase their income.

Cheaper Access

YouTube is certainly a lot less cheap than many streaming tools. The user-friendly user interface is the cherry on the top. Why would anyone want to go to some website where there is no guarantee of finding the specific track they are looking for. People don't need purchase the whole album to listen to a single track from the album. Many times people like only one or two songs from the album and are not willing to pay for the full album, therefore, they do not purchase the album at all.

Artists still generate revenue through ads when their specific tracks are played again and again on YouTube.

Connection between audience and artist

YouTube has given new meaning to the connection between audience and artists. Never were we allowed before to comment and chat directly with the artists. Artists are using the direct responses and feedbacks from the audience to improve their work. This is beneficial for the artist as now they can gather more fan following and can inform their fans about their upcoming tours.

Source of revenue

YouTube is the main source of revenue for many artists. The investment one needs to do to create music is now much less. People use their computers to make music.

One can get a good quality camera at a decent price. Even big artists regularly update their videos like vlogs and tour promotion on YouTube and generate revenue through ads.

Not so good for top albums

All the consequences of YouTube are not so positive. Still, YouTube is costing money in some manner for several productions. YouTube poses a little threat to the top Billboard albums. When Warner Music Group removed all of their music from YouTube for 10 months in 2009, the sales of the albums increased. Reports of studies show that the increase in the sales was as high as 10,000 albums per week. The effect on sales decreased and was negligible after top 50 albums.

Stream ripping

Now, this is something that is has a major negative impact on the earnings of artists and productions.

Ripping off someone from the royalties they deserve is a serious crime. Making music is no easy work. It may take month till the final product is ready and a whole team works behind a single album. Sites that convert YouTube videos to downloadable mp3 formats pose a serious hazard to artists and their careers. These sites are difficult to tag and identified as they are not trafficking anything illegal.

It is our obligation that we as an audience and fans support the artist and pay them, what they deserve. YouTube has its fair share in providing livelihood to many of the artists. We can say that YouTube has an overall positive effect on the music industry and remains the number 1 site for discovering and streaming music.