To what extent has convergence affected the production, exchange and consumption of media products in the Music Industry?

Convergence has had a variety of different affects on the production, exchange and consumption of media products in the Music Industry, whether it be through technical convergence or the convergence of two companies. 
          In 1987 the Music Industry saw a huge change when the "Big 6" became 5 as Sony Music bought over CBS, which was then followed by PolyGram who later merged with Seagram to become Universal Music Group in 1988.  This meant there was now a smaller, yet stronger number of Major record labels which were strongly succeeding, so the competition for smaller labels was a struggle, and this lead to many closing down. Although even the Major record labels have found themselves under threat due to technical convergence. An example of this would be the iPad. The iPad has many features and can be used as a computer, camera, music player and a game console. Due to the apps on the iPad, brought out by Apple, you can now cut out the middle man in the Music Industry and design your art work, create music, record and distribute your music. You can also consume your music through an iPad. A clear example of this would be The Gorillaz, as the front man Damon Albarn told NME that he was planning to record his second album using just his iPad. This means less money is spent on recording and people don't see a need in even finding a record label at all. This then causes problems for music records and recording studios as they are no longer needed in the production and the Los Angeles Times have reported that half of the recording facilities in the city have failed. Daniel Johnston also used his iPad to create artwork for his album space ducks, and later released an iPhone app to let fans unlock tracks of his album by completing games. 
          It's fair enough to say that Apple generates most of it's income due to technological convergence. Examples of this would be the iPod, iPad, Mac Book and iPhone. All of which combine features of a computer, camera, music player, game console and phone in one. Not only through the sale of these products does Apple get it's money, but also through apps for the devices. The app Garage Band makes it very simple and easy for anyone to create their own music and also allows you to export it to iTunes so that not only can you listen to it, but also distribute it, as you can burn it to a CD, or upload to YouTube and various other music  websites such as Soundcloud. Convergence such as those listed and more have impacted the Music Industry as it means people no longer even need record labels to help produce, distribute, exchange or help consume music any more. 
          The iPod has defiantly changed the way we consume music now as nearly every person owns a version of Apple's iPod. This means people consume music everywhere, whether they're out and about with head phones in, at a party in which an iPod is placed on a docking station, or at home. With the introduction of the iPod Touch people were able to access the iTunes stores directly from their device which meant that people were buying music anywhere as long as they had internet and they had their credit card details. Although, despite all the negativity advanced technology gets from the music industry, it is due to these technological advantages, such as iPod's, mp3 players, phones etc. that people are now listening to music more frequently and it become apart of their lives. The lack of a power a record company now has means artists find it easier to directly market their music and communicate with the public about it. The YouTube, Spotify and Soundcloud app, amoung many, benefited the music industry as people are able to sample different genres and artists they normally wouldn't and it also gives them the opportunity to check out the other songs on their albums and end up becoming a fan of the artist, which you normally wouldn't have done. It is also a good way for fans to communicate with each other. This means they can recommend similar artists and songs to people, therefore getting even more artists recognition. Apple's bump app for the iPhone means that people can share music with each other and therefore the music is exchanged from person to person without every person having to buy the music.
           Before such technological convergences, consumption used to be going to the shops and actually physically buying a physical copy of the music, or paying to see the Artists perform live concerts or gigs. However, this has changed now as one no longer has to leave the comfort of their own home to actually consume music. This means that people can now download music from their laptops, computers, phones, iPods, iPads etc. whether it be by legally downloading it, but actually paying for it from the distributor or illegally obtaining the music via file sharing, where you spend no money and nothing goes towards the artists and those who help with the production and distribution of the music. Due to the increasing popularity of consuming music online via the iPod, iPhone or iPod, it has become common for artists to use the internet now to make their money. An example of this would be U2 who recently used the website YouTube to post a live stream of their concert where you would simply pay a smaller fee than what you would if you actually went to the concert. Even MTV has found itself releasing an iPod app so that people can watch their music shows and talk about them with friends at the same time, by teaming up with Facebook. This means that everything is once more to the advantage of the consumer and therefore the Music Industry has become more involved with keeping the consumer happy due to the extent of convergence.