The Recording Industry

Week 4

THE RISE OF RECORDS

• As late as 1880 or 1890, people growing up in a middle-class U.S. household had no recorded music in their homes in the sense that we understand it today

• As with other media industries there are three main themes to remember

1. Sound (or audio) recordings did not arrive in a flash as a result of one inventor’s grand change

2. Audio recordings as a medium of communication developed as a result of social, legal responses to the technology during different periods

3. The recording industry developed and changed as a result of struggles to control audio recordings and their relation to audiences

FIGURE 10.1 Timeline of the Recording Industryhttp://www.routledge.com/cw/turow

TIMELINE: THE RECORDING INDUSTRY

INTERNATIONAL OWNERSHIP

Only one of the three largest recording companies—Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group—is based in the United States

• Universal – France • Sony – Japan• Warner – United States

FIGURE 10.2 Physical Albums, Digital Albums, & Digital Tracks

CONCENTRATION OF DISTRIBUTION

U.S. SALES: SINGLES VS. ALBUMS

SINGLE – a product that contains only one or two individual musical recordings

ALBUM – a collection of a dozen or more individual songs

Making Music

How It’s Made: Vinyl Recordshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbTPKCtdhSA

How It’s Made: Compact Disks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut_40U0t9pU

CHANGING MEDIA PLATFORMS

DIGITAL PLATFORM – vehicle for receiving digital information

DOWNLOADING – transfer of data or programs from a server or host computer to one’s own computer or digital device

RINGTONES – bits of songs (or even new musical compositions) that people download to their mobile phones so that they play when someone calls them

STREAMING – process in which an audio file is delivered to a computer-like device from a website so that it can be heard while it is coming into the device but cannot be saved or stored

INTERNET OR ONLINE RADIO – pre-chosen music streams based around certain genres provided free to listeners and paid for by commercial advertisements much like a radio station

TABLE 10.1 Albums Sold by Genre (in Thousands)

ALBUMS SOLD BY GENRE

PRODUCTION AND THE RECORDING INDUSTRY

LABEL – a division of a recording firm that releases a certain type of music and reflects a certain personality

A & R (ARTIST AND REPERTOIRE) – recording firm executives who screen new acts for a firm and determine whether or not to sign those acts

FIGURE 10.3 Organization of a Typical Recording Company

ORGANIZATION OF A RECORDING COMPANY

ROYALTIES

ROYALTY – the share of money paid to a songwriter or music composer out of the money that the production firm receives from the sale or exhibition of a work

PERFORMANCE ROYALTIES – paid to composers, their publishers, and their record labels when their material is used (live or recorded) in front of audiences via stage acts, jukeboxes, radio, television, or online radio

MECHANICAL ROYALTIES – collected as a result of the sale of physical media (e.g. CDs) and the sale or download of digital recordings, including albums, individual tracks, and ringtones

PRODUCING A RECORD• The firm that has signed a contract to record an artist’s

album will often line up a producer to oversee the recording of the album and its final sound.

• The producer, like the artist, is generally compensated on a royalty basis.

• The producer is responsible for obtaining copyright clearances, lining up session musicians if needed, staying on budget, and delivering a high-quality master tape to the record company

• For many struggling singers and musicians who don’t have a contract with a recording firm, some artists decide to produce their own CDs and then sell them at performances and maybe even in some stores

DISTRIBUTION IN THE RECORDING INDUSTRY

- The importance of convergence in promotion

PROMOTION – the process of scheduling publicity appearances for a recording artist, with the goal of generating excitement about the artist and thereby sales of his or her album

- The Recording Industry and the Radio Industry

PAYOLA – an activity in which promotion personnel pay money to radio personnel to ensure that the latter will devote airtime to artists that the former’s recording companies represent

- Concert Tours

EXHIBITION IN THE RECORDING INDUSTRY

Digital Downloads

Although internet service providers play the critical role of distributor in the sense of allowing the public to access online stores, online merchants that provide digital downloads can also be considered exhibitors in that they offer the distributors’ materials to the public

Physical Sales

For decades, the record store on the street or in the mall was probably the best-known place to buy music. Though the number of these stores has declined, it is still possible to buy music at retail outlets that sells many different products in huge numbers

ETHICAL CONCERNS - Parental Concerns about Lyrics

- Industry Concerns about Piracy

• PIRACY • COUNTERFEITING• BOOTLEGGING• PEER-TO-PEER (P2P)• DIGITAL LOCKER

More about Napster

Napster: Behind the Digital Curtainhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZU4iUDPD00

The History of Napsterhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FP1N-U4VGFM