Why I Chose This Topic

I chose the music industry for my I-Search topic because I have always loved music and singing from as far back as I can remember to the present day. When I’m down, I pop a CD into my CD player and either listen to a happy song to cheer me up, or listen to a depressing song and know that someone else has gone through the same experience before, that I’m not the only one to feel the way I do. Music has worked miracles for me. It has calmed me down in times of anger, lifted up my spirits in times of sadness, and told me that I’m not alien, just human for feeling the way I do. The artists behind the songs have worked hard to get their message across. One day, I might wish to join them in sharing personal experiences by a form of art so powerful in its messages, yet so beautiful in the way it is said.        Although I love music so much, I have decided to do my I-Search on the music industry because there is so much behind the scenes work on every song that gets it to my radio, and eventually, into my CD player. Without all of the people who worked on getting bands recognized, I would have probably never even heard of some of the artists that have changed my way of thinking and looking at life forever. These people consist of not only the artist themselves, or even the person who signed them, but thousands of people who work on getting the disk into stores, calling up radio stations, or even booking concert dates.        I’ve always wondered if music was only for those with a natural talent for it, or those who know how the system works and can manipulate it to work for them. Since music seems like a good way for me to work through college, or perhaps, through life, I need to know how the business part of it works. I want to know the facts, not the fantasy, of what it takes to make a living as a singer, a player, or a band because no matter how beautiful the art of music is, it is only a deceptive cover-up of a product that puts food on the table for those involved.