Because I have two sons who are struggling to be successful musicians, I do pay attention to the winds of change in their chosen profession. The music industry has been in a state of flux for decades but the advent of the digital download has turned it completely on its head.
When I was growing up in the '60's, full length vinyl albums were the musical currency of the era--usually 11 or 12 songs (half on Side A of the album, half on Side B). Singles (45 rpm vinyls) were available but you only bought them because you couldn't afford the whole album. Nobody actually wanted singles; they settled for them. There were only a few major record labels and the industry and radio gurus told you what to like by playing the same songs over and over and over during the course of the day. The radio was the place-- the only place-- you got your music.
The medium of music purchasing changed a bit with the advent of the 8-track tape player but the power of radio was still supreme. The major disadvantage of the 8-track was that, on occasion, a song cut off in the middle in order for the tape to switch over. No wonder 8-tracks didn't last long. They were exasperating.
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