Legendary music producer: ‘Gangnam Style’ changed the music business

Mega-hit song "Gangnam Style" by K-pop singer PSY had an indelible impact on the music business, according to legendary record producer Chris Blackwell.

“For me, what changed everything was that song Gangnam Style," Blackwell told Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer. "When I heard that I said, 'boy, that's a whole new world.'"

Gangnam Style surged to the top of music charts when it was released in 2012. The song transcended borders and achieved major popularity in the American market reaching number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 music chart. The song’s music video also found unprecedented success on YouTube, where it was the first video to hit one billion views.

This popularity altered the way the music industry assessed artists. Until the release of Gangnam style, Billboard used radio plays and paid purchases to rank songs. After the K-pop song achieved international success, though, Billboard music charts began to follow digital sales and YouTube views. Later, they also began tracking streaming data.

Blackwell — who founded the record label Island Records and introduced music legends like Bob Marley and U2 to the world — said that thanks to the new emphasis on streaming and digital success, musicians no longer rely on DJs or clubs to market their music when websites like YouTube provide artists with a free platform.

"It's so different now than how it used to be 50 years ago," Blackwell said. "Completely different because you can get anything. You don't have to go through the whole process. This is an artist now who's wanting to get their music across. They don't have to go through the process of going and then get somebody to take it to a DJ and take the DJ to a club, and all these different things you'd have to go over this long process."

"You also had a record company telling them what to do," he added. "Nowadays, somebody could just do it at home. They can make their own music at home and they can get it available — get it out online ... They’d never had anything vaguely like that before."

Still, many singers have decried the music industry’s newfound emphasis on streaming, arguing that services like Spotify (SPOT) tend to make lots of money off music, while musicians like themselves make meager sums in comparison. Consequently, major artists including the Black Keys, Coldplay, and Bob Seger have spoken out against Spotify and other streaming services.

"Like anything, sometimes it’s great," Blackwell reflected. "Sometimes, it’s not so great.”

Dylan Croll is a reporter and researcher at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @CrollonPatrol.

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