The Music Industry Would I Lie to You? James Baker and Jason Mazzocchi Sources: This presentation is based on the following article: ‘DIGITAL MUSIC – Production, Distribution and Consumption’ by Jamie Sexton in DIGITAL CULTURE: UNDERSTANDING NEW MEDIA ed. Glen Creeber and Royston Martin (OUP, 2009) AS Concepts meets A2 Theory G322 Question 2 demands a contemporary understanding of Institutions and Audiences Spec demands 7 areas of understanding OCR SPEC P20 Mark Scheme Level 4 demands a clear and developed argument which is supported by detailed case study material. The transformation of music culture? The introduction of digital and online technologies inevitably has an impact upon various aspects of the music industry Production of music Distribution and consumption Organisation of the music industry As with all new technologies, the effects are often the cause of tensions between the demands of audiences and the profit drive of institutions danah boyd boyd has argued that digitalisation affects practice at all levels of a media industry in three ways: Translation Localization Co-option Translation: Old practices kept in touch but imported into the new media Examples from the music industry: Localization The realisation of more effective and efficient ways of utilizing the technology to reach a desired end goal Examples from the music industry: Co-option The formation of new media languages and practices that are separate from previous traditions Examples from the music industry: Push factors V. Pull factors? Institutions aim to localise rather than co-opt, using the internet as a broadcast medium Institutions wary of losing control of their products, reluctant to empower audiences Online audiences at the forefront of co-option Online audiences increasingly reject passive consumption – they are prosumers: sharing, chopping and remixing offer new and deeper forms of engagement Therefore, music companies have had to rethink their approach and find new ways of making profit from their products - remember that traditional retail outlets still exist alongside these ‘new’ practices. Production of music Intensifying the shift away from mimicking live performance towards creating an artificial sound world Growth of electronic music from 1980s onwards – house, techno, jungle, ambient genres etc. Blurring the distinction between musician and producer, between instrument and studio Rise of the sample and debates over copyright and creativity DRM or Digital Vampires? Digital Rights Management is the industry standard for copyright control. DRM Wikipedia link Gracenote | iTunes Pete Townshend – described Apple as a digital vampire – wants more of the money to go to the artist. BBC News Article Production of music In contrast to the skill of playing an instrument, the creativity of electronic music producers lies in their ability to find and rearrange existing cultural artefacts. The chief aesthetic tend becomes variability – the emergence of many different versions – the mash up/ remix culture The Language of New Media “New Media is as concerned with accessing and reusing existing media objects as creating new ones” Lev Manovich Production of music Automation and manipulation Increasing manipulability leads to an increasing severance from real world referents However, samples generate cultural currency, linking to memory and emotion. “The musical soundscape of the digital age is thus a blend of the ‘real’ and the ‘illusory’, the recognisable and the strange, the old and the new.” Jamie Sexton Production of music Digital technology has opened up participation within music production (i.e. participatory culture – Jenkins) Relative democratisation and individualising with the rise of cheap but powerful computers and production software (i.e. the concept of the prosumer – Jenkins) Fragmentation and collaboration are more common Research Assignment: Read the following article: What does it suggest about the changing relationships between audiences and music, past and present? A Part of the Party!? Fan-culture on the web 2.0 as a way towards a participatory music culture Distribution and Consumption Development of universal file formats and increasing broadband speeds encouraged the practice of sharing music - convergence The similar audience profile of music consumers and early adopters of technology are also significant Organisation of the Music Industry Changing relationship between singles and album sales Traditional institutional mechanisms – record deals, distribution deals, publishing deals – remain important despite changes to digital landscape New artists can establish their presence through online technologies Established artists can enhance their presence through online technologies Arguably, audiences have wider access to individual artists and access to a wider range of musical genres than ever before But is this reflected in this week’s download chart?: This week's Top 100 singles Music video Online technologies increase the importance of music video Proliferation of music channels on TV Online video hosts such as YouTube and Vimeo Chase and Status Let Yourself Go Or see Hurtwood student version: Student Video Mix “It could be argued that as the formats music is stored on become less material and increasingly stripped of visual dimensions, such loss is compensated by music’s increased connection to other visual formats such as music videos” Jamie Sexton Music culture An era of ‘musical abundance’, in which contemporary and contemporary recordings are increasingly accessible Digital technologies lead to renewed cultural valuation of ‘the past’ Importance of old music media such as vinyl or cassette for certain audiences or music professionals Case Study: Would I Lie To You? Charles and Eddie record a hit single in 1992 Who are Charles and Eddie? (wikipedia) Original music video - Would I Lie To You? Case Study: Would I Lie To You? The single is a success No.1 in UK, Germany, Austria and NZ; top 5 in Australia, France, Spain and Italy; top 20 in the US Winner of three Ivor Novello Awards Ensured the success of their debut album Duophonic. Case Study: Would I Lie To You? However, subsequent singles struggled to gain airplay and follow up album three years later was deemed a musical and commercial disappointment. The band split Eddie Chacon built a career as a producer and songwriter Charles Pettigrew continued to record as a solo artist, but contracted cancer and died in 2001, aged 37 Case Study: Would I Lie To You? 2011 – The X Factor Misha Bryan covers the track in the live show The X Factor - Misha Case Study: Would I Lie To You? Several hours later, downloads of the single have pushed the track into the iTunes real time top 10. For the week, it remains in the Top 100: 1. We Found Love - Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris 2. Lightning - The Wanted 3. Wherever You Will Go - Charlene Soraia 4. Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera 5. Mr Know It All - Kelly Clarkson 6. Stereo Hearts - Gym Class Heroes feat. Adam Levine 7. Jar of Hearts - Christina Perri 8. Sexy and I Know It - LMFAO 9. Without You - David Guetta feat. Usher 10. What Makes You Beautiful - One Direction Also the X factor has had a big influence on the chart as shown after 19. The one that got away - Katy Perry (Last night's performance) 28. Super Bass - Nicki Minaj (Rhythmix performed this 2 weeks ago) 58. Russian Roulette - Rihanna (Marcus sang this on Saturday night) 67. Fix You - Coldplay (Janet's performance from two weeks ago) 70. Cry Baby - Cee Lo Green (His performance in the first live show) 97. Would I Lie to You? - Charles and Eddie (Misha's Saturday performance) Case Study: Would I Lie To You? The relative success of a 20 year old track, by an obscure ‘one hit’ band is a good illustration of the online world’s ‘musical abundance’ – access and consumption of the track is instant despite its age and unfamiliarity However, this process is not as arbitrary as it seems Case Study: Would I Lie To You? Charles and Eddie were signed to Capitol Records, who still own the rights to their back catalogue. Capitol Records website As you can see, Capitol is a subsidiary of EMI. EMI is currently in the process of being sold by Citigroup, the investment company who bought it in February, despite its billion dollar debts. EMI sale article Case Study: Would I Lie To You? And one of the interested parties in this sale? Independent article Capitol/EMI Not a conspiracy theory An illustration of one of the ways in which institutions are finding new strategies to sell music in the online age. Interestingly, Capitol Records have been one of the most aggressive companies in clamping down on ‘prosumer’ use of their material Techdirt article Domino Records Compare this approach to that adopted by smaller companies embracing online possibilities Domino Records use social network systems to generate interest and cascade information about their artists. Although they don’t actively encourage prosumer behaviour, their online presence suggests that it would be expected and accepted Domino Records website My Space Sold by News Corp June 2011 Cannot speculate on reasons why it was sold – but cheap at 35M! Purchased by group backed by Justin Timberlake Desire to develop artist globally and online Music landscape is global – crossing boundaries Re-focus on music creativity My Space sold Conclusion Most Media industries being transformed Level four responses need a clear argument Teach found case studies Evaluate the significance in relation to question set.