How Music Collaborations Evolved in the Digital Era: A Decade in Review
“Times is rough and tough like leather / Figured out I went the wrong route / So I got with a sick-ass clique and went all out.” — Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan on “C.R.E.A.M.” (1993)
The way we interact with music has evolved significantly in the past two decades — from the rise of the MP3 to file sharing and digital content streaming services. Social media has also had a major role in how we discover “overnight” successes, creating our demand for a 24/7 curated social media presence. As a result, artists feel the need to relentlessly connect with new audiences to stay relevant, and more and more artists are finding a path to that connection through collaborative means.
If it seems like your favorite songs of the past few years have had an increasing amount of featured artists, then you might just be witnessing a “collaboration phenomenon”….
