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.
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The transformation of music
culture?
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The introduction of digital and online technologies
inevitably has an impact upon various aspects of the
music industry
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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
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boyd has argued that digitalisation
affects practice at all levels of a media
industry in three ways:
Translation
 Localization
 Co-option
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Translation:
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Old practices kept in touch but
imported into the new media
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Examples from the music industry:
Localization
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The realisation of more effective and
efficient ways of utilizing the
technology to reach a desired end
goal
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Examples from the music industry:
Co-option
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The formation of new media
languages and practices that are
separate from previous traditions
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Examples from the music industry:
Push factors V. Pull factors?
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Digital technology has opened up
participation within music production
(i.e. participatory culture – Jenkins)
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Relative democratisation and
individualising with the rise of cheap
but powerful computers and
production software
(i.e. the concept of the prosumer – Jenkins)
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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
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Development of universal file formats
and increasing broadband speeds
encouraged the practice of sharing
music - convergence
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The similar audience profile of music
consumers and early adopters of
technology are also significant
Organisation of the Music
Industry
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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
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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
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“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
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Case Study: Would I Lie To You?
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Charles and Eddie record a hit single in
1992
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Who are Charles and Eddie? (wikipedia)
Original music video - Would I Lie To You?
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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.
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Case Study: Would I Lie To You?
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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
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The X Factor - Misha
Case Study: Would I Lie To You?
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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
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Case Study: Would I Lie To You?
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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?
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And one of the interested parties in
this sale?
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Independent article
Capitol/EMI
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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
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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
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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.
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