By Randall Roberts, Los Angeles Times staff writer

Once again, technology played a large part in the music world this year, as artists and consumers employed hardware and software to continue to try and regain ground lost to technological advancements. And with the music biz in a recession along with the rest of the country, a flood and a concert downtown didn’t help matters. Here's a look at pop music in 2010:

In a year in which concert megalith Live Nation merged with ticketing giant Ticketmaster, the business of music witnessed another blow to its bottom line: The concert industry fell on hard times. Pop diva Rihanna, above, postponed six dates on her "Last Girl on Earth" tour; the Lilith Tour was forced by poor attendance to cancel many of its dates; and Christina Aguilera pulled the plug on her 20-date tour because of "prior commitments" in June. Even the "American Idol" brand suffered as producers canceled eight engagements and rescheduled other dates on the "Idols Live!" tour.

Related: Musical acts' summer tours encounter heavy weather