The rise of the digital download was short-lived. The technology sat at the mountain top as the was the most lucrative money maker in the music business for only four years.
The rise began in 2004 thanks to Steve Jobs’ agreement with record companies, and iTunes. The descent arrived by 2018, with music downloads with the advent of streaming.
In between, on May 3, 2010, our Song of the Day became the best-selling digital download ever. “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas had 9.06 million downloads sold.
A 2018 Forbes magazine article broke down the five eras of recorded music. Vinyl, in the form of 78s, 33s and 45s records, was king of the revenue stream for 58 years; tape for seven years, CDs for 21 years and downloads only four years.
Streaming is king now, growing at a faster pace than CDs did. And will be for a long time, Forbes suggested, because there is no new technology to change the landscape.
The Forbes story also blames the decline of downloads to the 2008 recession. And, that buyers didn’t get the same feeling of ownership like they did with a CD or album.
The Black Eyed Peas released “I Gotta Feelin” at the peak of the recession. Band member Will.I.am described the song in Billboard magazine as a "college anthem for people looking forward to escaping life's pressures by going out and having a ball."
The song was an immediate hit. It was released in 2009 as the second single from the E.N.D. album. It debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, behind “Boom Boom Pow”, the group’s first single from the album. It rose to number one two weeks later and stayed there for 14 weeks.
Song of the Day is created by Sheldon Zoldan, and produced by Pam James for WGCU. To receive the Song of the Day in your inbox every day, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.
