Editing Music of the United States (section)

==Industry and economics==
{{further|Music industry}}
[[File:Frank Sinatra by Gottlieb c1947- 2.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Sinatra]] in 1947, at the [[Liederkranz Hall]]. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide.]]
The United States has the world's [[global music industry market share data|largest music market]] with a total retail value of 4.9&nbsp;billion dollars in 2014,<ref name="RIAJ Yearbook 2012">{{cite web |url=http://www.riaj.or.jp/riaj/pdf/issue/industry/RIAJ2015E.pdf|title=RIAJ Yearbook 2015: IFPI 2013, 2014 Report: 28. Global Sales of Recorded Music (Page 24)|publisher=[[Recording Industry Association of Japan]]|access-date=2016-03-20}}</ref> The American music industry includes a number of fields, ranging from record companies to [[radio in the United States|radio stations]] and community orchestras. Total industry revenue is about $40&nbsp;billion worldwide, and about $12&nbsp;billion in the United States.<ref>The worldwide figure is from {{cite web |url=http://www.idea.piercelaw.edu/articles/40/40_3/14.Richard.pdf|title=The Music Industry and Its Digital Future: Introducing MP3 Technology|work=PTC Research Foundation of Franklin Pierce (pdf)|access-date=April 12, 2006 |year=2006|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060614200034/http://www.idea.piercelaw.edu/articles/40/40_3/14.Richard.pdf |archive-date= June 14, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> Most of the world's [[major label|major record companies]] are based in the United States; they are represented by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA). The major record companies produce material by artists that have signed to one of their [[record label]]s, a [[brand name]] often associated with a particular genre or [[record producer]]. Record companies may also promote and market their artists, through advertising, public performances and concerts, and television appearances. Record companies may be affiliated with other music media companies, which produce a product related to popular recorded music. These include television channels like [[MTV]], magazines like ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' and radio stations. In recent years the music industry has been embroiled in turmoil over the rise of the Internet downloading of [[copyright]]ed music; many musicians and the RIAA have sought to punish fans who illegally download copyrighted music.<ref name="Garofalo_3">Garofalo, p. 445–446.</ref>

[[File:Katy Perry - Seattle, 2011.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Katy Perry]] has received many awards, including four Guinness World Records, a Brit Award, and a Juno Award, and been included in the Forbes list of "Top-Earning Women In Music" (2011–2016).]]
Radio stations in the United States often broadcast popular music. Each music station has a [[radio format|format]], or a category of songs to be played; these are generally similar to but not the same as ordinary generic classification. Many radio stations in the United States are locally owned and operated, and may offer an eclectic assortment of recordings; many other stations are owned by large companies like [[Clear Channel Communications|Clear Channel]], and are generally formatted on smaller, more repetitive [[playlist]]s. Commercial sales of recordings are tracked by ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine, which compiles a number of [[music chart]]s for various fields of recorded music sales. The [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] is the top [[pop music]] chart for [[single (music)|singles]], a recording consisting of a handful of songs; longer pop recordings are [[album]]s, and are tracked by the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]].<ref>{{cite magazine |access-date=April 8, 2006 |title=Billboard History|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/about_us/bbhistory.jsp|magazine=Billboard|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060404035627/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/about_us/bbhistory.jsp |archive-date= April 4, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> Though recorded music is commonplace in American homes, many of the music industry's revenue comes from a small number of devotees; for example, 62% of album sales come from less than 25% of the music-buying audience.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=April 12, 2006 |work=Handleman Company, cited by Big Picture|title=Music Industry Responding (slowly) to Pricing Issues|url=http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2004/12/music_industry_.html}}</ref> Total CD sales in the United States topped 705&nbsp;million units sold in 2005, and singles sales just under three million.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.riaa.com/news/newsletter/pdf/2005yrEndStats.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070308084800/http://www.riaa.com/news/newsletter/pdf/2005yrEndStats.pdf|archive-date=March 8, 2007|access-date=April 12, 2006 |title=2005 Yearend Market Report on U.S. Recorded Music Shipments (pdf)|work=Recording Industry Association of America}}</ref>

Though the major record companies dominate the American music industry, an [[indie music|independent music industry]] (''indie music'') does exist. Most indie record labels have limited, if any, retail distribution outside a small region. Artists sometimes record for an indie label and gain enough acclaim to be signed to a major label; others choose to remain at an indie label for their entire careers. Indie music may be in styles generally similar to mainstream music, but is often inaccessible, unusual, or otherwise unappealing to many people. Indie musicians often release some or all of their songs over the Internet for fans and others to download and listen.<ref name="Garofalo_3"/> In addition to recording artists of many kinds, there are numerous fields of professional musicianship in the United States, many of whom rarely record, including community orchestras, wedding singers and bands, lounge singers, and nightclub DJs. The [[American Federation of Musicians]] is the largest American [[trade union|labor union]] for professional musicians. However, only 15% of the Federation's members have steady music employment.<ref>{{cite web|work=Salon |url=http://archive.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/06/14/love/print.html |access-date=April 12, 2006 |title=Courtney Love does the math |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060319204740/http://archive.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/06/14/love/print.html |archive-date=March 19, 2006 }}</ref>