Music used to be all about trends. But today, the industry is not the trend-setting machine it could be. Rather than take the challenge of being at the forefront of new innovations, the music industry takes the backseat, playing it safe.

The biggest example of this is iTunes. After Napster fizzled out in 2001, record companies never came up with a way to jump-start the music industry online. Instead, they wanted to get rid of the competition and drive everyone back to buying overpriced CDs. However, Apple saw the online opportunity and bought SoundJam MP in 1999 to develop the software that is now iTunes.

Apple released iTunes on the Mac in 2001, but it truly grew in 2003, when it developed a version for Window’s computers. Record companies saw value in iTunes and quickly signed contracts with Apple, letting it sell their music on the iTunes Music Store.

Steve Jobs masterfully negotiated an agreement that let iTunes users buy individual songs for 99 cents and entire albums for about $9. Before then, individual sale of songs was nonexistent — the idea was new to both record companies and the market. Yet this unique way of letting consumers choose what songs they want to buy off an album adds an entirely new dynamic to how we purchase our music.

One could claim that Sony and the Walkman tried to establish a foothold in the digital marketplace, but it never happened. The recording industry never revolutionized its business practices and, in turn, lost out on the Internet.

But there’s another new trend I fear the music industry will miss out on. Cloud-Based Streaming basically is an invisible hard drive on the Internet where you store all your songs. You are then able to either download or stream your tunes while on the go or from another computer. Cloud is not all that new of a concept, but as an established format, it is relatively unknown.

As always, Apple is leading the charge with rumors of a new Cloud music service that lets you upload any songs you own or buy. The service then keeps your music in the Cloud for as long as you want, which lets you stream or download all your files anytime. This service is slated to launch either this year or early next year.

But there is one hurdle to overcome — getting the music industry on board. At the moment, there is massive hesitation to adopt Cloud services. Record companies don’t want you to be able to redownload songs you own. They want you to repurchase their products if you lose them, so they can make the extra dough.

I know the Cloud can be a huge boost for artists as another way to spread their music and gain exposure.

Take this example: You have a band you really want a friend to listen to, but you don’t have your iPod handy and your friend wants to listen to the songs either on his computer or MP3. So you log into your Cloud account and download the files onto his computer. Almost instantaneously, you have your music on a potentially new fan’s computer, and you didn’t have to do anything! It’s simple: If the person likes your songs, he or she will be more inclined to buy them.

Cloud services make sense from artistic and business standpoints, but if music industry folks keep their heads buried in the sand, they’ll miss out on another opportunity.

William Bamford is a freshman music industry major. His columns appear every other Monday, and he can be reached at webamfor@syr.edu.

Published on March 27, 2011 at 12:00 pm