Madonna's Voyage to the iWorld - Term Paper Example

?Manuk Petrosyan Andrew Tomasello 01 March Music and technology have always gone hand-in-hand. As far as 1877, when the voice was first recordedwith the inventions of the phonograph and graphophone, the music industry has already been assisted and improved by what innovation has to offer. Given that Madonna’s rise to stardom happened in the 80s, this is also where this paper will begin to trace the chronology of the technological development in the music industry and how Madonna figured out in all of them. By the end of the 1970s, music sales drop and various record companies start campaigns within the industry to restrain or even eliminate home taping. However, in 1979, cassette popularity skyrocketed with the launch of the Sony Walkman. This introduction corresponds to the upgrading of the sound quality of the cassette. Instantly, the cassette tape became the sole format that can be used in your home, carried in your pocket and played in your vehicle. The Recording Industry Association of America, which is the lobbying and trade organization of the record industry, constantly fought for taxes placed on blank tapes up until the 1980s. Eventually, legislators gave the music labels a part of the sale of each blank tape. In 1978, Sony and Philips revealed their proposal to collaborate and produce an identical format for the Compact Disc. Record labels then revealed, in 1982, a global standard that guarantees that all kinds of CDs will work on every CD player there is. During the same year, “52nd Street” by Billy Joel was made public in Japan, which is the first ever CD to be launched in the world. Come 1988, the CD exceeded the LP in terms of sales percentage. The 80s was considered the most important period in the history of the recorded audio industry, primarily because of the launch of the Compact Disc. Within three years of the arrival of the compact disc in the industry, one million CD players have already been sold in the electronics market. In comparison, it took more than a decade for the manufacturers of colored television to sell one million TVs. Shortly after the introduction of the CD, the Digital Audio Tape (DAT) was launched. Unfortunately, it was met with abrupt opposition from music publishers and composers since they feared the possibility of the piracy, especially because of the almost perfect duplication capability and excellent sound quality of the DAT. From the kick-off, RIAA contends for a tool to be positioned inside the recorder in order to prevent duplication. Even after this tool, which is known as the "serial copy management system”, was placed on all DAT recorders sent to the United States, composers and music publishers continued claiming for fees on every DAT tape or machine sold as a compensation in case of home taping. This dispute led to the lack of support of the format from the record industry. Seeing that the DAT format is not feasible, record labels decided not to produce or market pre-recorded DATs. Since there is no pre-recorded tape, no one will buy a recorder. Ultimately, since there are no sales for recorders, a market for pre-recorded tape is non-existent. In 1990, the mishmash of the Internet and digital audio started an explosive phenomenon – the creation of the Moving Pictures Experts Group-1 Layer-3 or simply MP3. This is a compressed audio file with a small size but still the same sound quality. This format makes file transfer way easier. Madonna knew well how she can make use of these new technological developments in the music industry to the fullest. The internet also made her popularity easier to enhance and spread out. However, along with advantages are disadvantages brought about by the same technological innovations. A proof of pop superstar Madonna’s awareness of how technology can advance her career is her fight to gain tight and control over a domain name that clearly alludes to her name and makes use of her popularity. The said domain, madonna.com, is actually a pornographic website that is obviously riding with her name’s popularity. Upon learning of its existence, Madonna immediately filed a case to gain control of said domain with the purpose of protecting her name, thus her career. Eventually, Madonna won her case in international court which was presided by U.N. arbitrators and managed to evict from the internet the concerned New York cybersquatters. The case was filed by Madonna in Geneva at the WITO (World Intellectual Property Organization) versus Dan Parisi, a businessman who first registered the subject domain (Reuters). After deliberations, the WIPO’s 3-member panel ordered the domain to be transferred to Madonna and evicted cybersquatter Parisi. They further declared that Parisi lacked trademark rights to the “Madonna” name and was not able to prove his valid interest on the disputed internet address. It was therefore found that he registered it in bad faith and only hoped to make fast cash out of its use. Parisi was also found to have used other popular names as domain for the same purposes, e.g., wallstreetjournal.com. In her argument, Madonna insisted that the site, having carried pornographic materials, tarnished her name and reputation. Having used her name, “Madonna”, since 1979, it became easier for the WIPO body to award the case to her (Reuters). What this event proved is that Madonna is quite aware of the importance of domain names. When its importance catapulted in the internet world, it has become important for celebrities to get the best domain names that would be identified with them. These domains are on a first come, first served basis thus its importance. Failure to act fast in claiming the names that would matter to an artist like Madonna can easily bring them to legal situations that they would rather not. Since digital recording can easily pave way for piracy, digital recorder manufacturers are required to pay a 2% royalty fee to copyright holders as reimbursement, as stated in the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992. Furthermore, devices for digital audio recording must comprise of another device that forbids serial copying. One of the first lawsuits against digital technology was filed by the music industry in 1993. Online service CompuServe was sued by Frank Music Corporation in support of over 140 Harry Fox Agency music publishers. It was argued in the case that the music forum of CompuServe enables users to download audio files for free without the copyright owners’ consent. In 1995, the case was settled and CompuServe was required to recompense Harry Fox Agency a fee of $600 for each song supposedly infringed. During the same year, 1995, RealAudio was able to successfully release the first major audio streaming service. Streaming audio became famous, especially since audio file downloading involved a long wait. Diamond Multimedia, manufacturer of the Rio MP3 player, was sued by the RIAA in 1998. RIAA argues that the player does not have the device that prevents serial copying, a violation of the Act of 1992. Thus, the players cannot be distributed and sold. The Artist Formerly Known as Prince announced in August that his upcoming album will be available only through an 800 number or the Internet. This action is a figurative assertion that in the World Wide Web, an artist is untied from economic restraints of record stores and labels. He went on to sell 100,000 albums without a label backing him up, although this went on to show how difficult it is to start from scratch and distribute independently. In 1998, RIAA faces another case yet again when they accused three unidentified “pirates” of publicizing audio files, enabling any user to easily download the files for free. The three pirates had a settlement with the RIAA and vowed not to post any file again. In exchange, RIAA waived all fines involved, which totalled approximately $1 million for every violation. Later on, the RIAA seeks to also take legal actions against individuals who download songs that are copyrighted. The RIAA has attempted to file suit against 1,977 individuals for supposedly downloading and sharing audio files illegally via file-sharing networks as of March 2004. On May 1999, Sean Parker and Shawn Fanning launched Napster, a peer-to-peer file sharing network. In December of the same year, RIAA sued Napster for suspected copyright infringement. Come April, rapper Dr. Dre and heavy metal band Metallica also filed suit. After several legal battles, it was demanded in 2001 that Napster eliminate all kinds of copyrighted material from its entire network. In July 2001, the network had shut down. The company and the National Music Publisher’s Association then strike a deal to disburse a total of $36 million for past abuses and future royalties. The shutdown of Napster has not stopped the release of other peer-to-peer networks like Morpheus, Grokster and Kazaa. Unlike Napster, however, these networks do not have a centralized server. In October 2001, RIAA once again files suit against the networks for copyright infringement. Two years after, 2003, it was ruled out by U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson that these file-sharing networks have not violated any copyright laws for they are not legally responsible for any illegal activity conducted by users that are happening in their network. Madonna was not exempt from these music pirates. She has always been known to be a person that does not mince words. She proved this once again when she was forthright in referring to music pirates in her American Life album. Madonna does not only use technology to enhance and improve her performance and career but even to prevent eventualities that may hurt it. For instance, in her pursuit to fight against piracy, which greatly hurt the music industry, she made use of the very medium that is also used by those responsible for piracy, i.e., file-sharing. What Madonna did, to get back at pirates is to flood file-sharing internet networks with her tracks containing her recorded voice saying "What the fuck do you think you are doing?" instead of her songs. Despite her efforts however, her album was still already accessible in a number of MP3 websites before it was released to the public. This fake track appeared to be a full-length Madonna single that those downloading them will not immediately know that they are being tricked until they played the song in full. This action from Madonna, along with Warner Brothers Records, is done to prevent her American Life tracks from being downloaded and copied from the internet for free even before it goes public. Madonna experienced similar problems with piracy in her Music album (BBC News). Apple Inc. then launched the iTunes store in 2003, which is currently the most profitable online music store in the world. During its first year, the store sold 70 million songs worth $0.99 each, generating virtually $70 million worth of legal Internet music. The question now, however, is how the legal music market will influence physical CD sales and whether or not it will affect music consumption. Technology continues to advance even more. Madonna, being the great live performer that she is, is aware of how she can maximize the use of the developments in innovations to her career’s advantage. It was apparent in most, if not all of her live performances. She always tries to outdo her last and in her 2007 concert tour entitled Confessions, a revolution in the technology applied in live performance took place. The concert was not only popular for its ticket prices and Madonna’s crucifixion poses but more so with how her stage production broke ground with how modelling and computer technology are used in the performance environment. Madonna’s recent concert tour had her audience shaking in excitement due mainly to the technology behind it. Indeed, Madonna knows how to put on a performance that can end all others. A concert by Madonna has her vocals as its main ingredient. She wanted her live voice to sound the same as the recorded one in her Confession on a Dance Floor album that sold 9 million copies. To make this possible, two technological advances were used, Logic plug-ins from Apple and Focusrite Liquid Mix. The former is responsible in replicating the sound of her vocals same as in her album and the latter is responsible for the sonic consistency. It was also Logic that Madonna and Confession’s producer, Stuart Price, used in Madonna’s album. The concert paved the way for a ground-breaking mastery of Focusrite Liquid Channel and Logic. This fact showed how conscious Madonna is with her craft and performances. She would go the extra mile and will not let any stones unturned just to ensure success in her career. Further state-of-the art technology was used by Madonna and her entourage in this concert alone. Her Sennheiser mic was enhanced by the Focusrite Liquid Channel. More preamps hardware was used even for the rehearsals to perfect the sounds of the vocals Madonna wanted to achieve. Using it in the rehearsals allowed them to try various settings before the actual concert tour and made them achieve the best way Liquid Channel is used. Likewise, numerous algorithms were produced instead of just having a single one. When the right settings gave Madonna the live vocal she wanted to achieve, it became obvious how magnificently reliable Liquid Channel was. This is just one of the technological advances in the music industry that was showcased in Madonna’s concert tour. More highly technological equipment, hardware and software made possible a great concert tour that Madonna can very well consider as another feather in her hat. In fact, computers are not responsible only with the desired vocal. Apple Inc. machines were widely used in ensuring that on-stage rigs and lights were not only controlled well but will capture the audience’s attention all throughout her performance. The entire mix that controls and monitors these are set up in a virtual mixing desk along with the studio effects. The abovementioned technology used in Madonna’s concert is just a tip of the iceberg. More were used and have become effective in perfecting her performance. She has always given her 100% either in live or recorded performances and she expects everything else to also be perfect. However, just as advancement in technologies managed to promote career of music artists, the same technologies also brought some disadvantages to the music industry itself. For the music industry, it has been the worst of times. The latest innovations in the technology have made business models, which made top-selling artists and executives much richer, nothing but old-fashioned and no longer “in”. Mp3 players were popularized by Apple’s iPod, which uses digital music and meant lowered prices for consumers. As a result, the succeeding sales of CD albums got lower. Sales of albums in the United Kingdom have collapsed for six years in a row. The UK is the third largest market in the world, accounting for almost 10% of the world market. The year 2010 marked the rise of the music sales total for the first time in seven years. According to BPI, download sales mainly helped with this boost. Sadly, a full recovery of the sales is farfetched. As cited by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, total worldwide revenues for all kinds of music (even digital downloads) declined from $38.6 billion in year 1999 to $27.5 billion in year 2008 – a staggering 25%. Luckily, while the recorded music industry is going through this bad time, the live music industry has been prosperous. This is because both established acts and newcomers are relying on tours to spawn much more income. Predominantly, touring on the road is no longer about launching a new single or album but rather a way to earn money. For big stars like Madonna however, such downturn in the industry may have effects but it can never ruin her. This is due mainly to her various capabilities that allowed her to do other things that are welcome to fans and at the same time what is technologically available, such as having profitable concert and performances in the internet. An evidence of such event was the webcast made by Madonna which happened to be the biggest the internet world has seen. It was done in year 2000 and was to be Madonna’s first UK concert in 7-year broadcast. Ironically, it was performed in a shabby location in the south of London. Based on Microsoft’s records, the viewers who logged on to webcast totaled 9 million during the first week it was telecast. More of these millions are expected to view Madonna’s web concert from the archive in the coming weeks. This easily eclipsed the similar webcast made by Paul McCartney in 1999. Despite the fact that this webcast lasted only 29 minutes and contained only 6 new songs from Madonna’s new album, much fuss and viewers was generated by it. While this webcast was meant only to promote her album, it was reported that Madonna fetched 2 million pounds for it when a producer bought its rights (Dobson). Another proof of Madonna’s cunning and ability is her use whatever new innovation has to offer. The past ten years saw an explosive rise in live music in the United Kingdom, wherein the summer festival scene and a couple of other musical events are highly recognized. As a matter of fact, UK has more musical events compared to all other places in the Western world. As stated in “Adding Up the UK Music Industry 2009”, between the years 2008 and 2009, there was a 9.4% increase in ticket sales. The growth rate may be slowing but it may be spurred by proposals to shoot more concert performances in 3D, imitating the live happening for new audiences. The dawning of 3D technology may change the way the music industry looks at modern technology and find that it is actually beneficial. Since experiments with shooting live sport in 3D were found to be lucrative, there have been plans to utilize the same technology for live concerts, hoping to generate an additional revenue stream that is similar to the profits gained by TV and film industries when DVDs were released and at their peak during the ‘90s. Another reason why 3D is eagerly anticipated by the music industry is that it mainly wins over piracy. Piracy is the industry’s main enemy, costing it millions worth of audio and video files. With 3D films, they can assure that almost no piracy will take place since it is practically impossible to duplicate and will cost a lot of money to copy. Also, 3D film concerts may even overwhelm the actual event. At a normal concert, the only way to get a good look at the band is if you are in the front area of the venue. While there are 2D concert films, it will not be stimulating and is likely to be flat. With 3D, however, it becomes a totally different vibe because it is more realistic and invigorating. Filmed 3D performances were established by rock band U2 with the launch of their movie in 1998 - U2 3D. Since then, there have been numerous performances that are along this line of production. Perhaps the most notable is that of Justin Bieber, the Canadian teen sensation. His performance at the Madison Square Garden was filmed for his own 3D movie. The difference, however, is that the movie is a biopic as opposed to U2’s filmed concert. The Hot Ticket, an experimental company by Sony Pictures, was made to yield live shows and has recently launched “Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D”, a 3D film centered on the country singer. Popular group Black Eyed Peas will also make public a 3D tour documentary in 2011 to be directed by renowned director James Cameron, the genius behind the two top-grossing films of all time – Titanic and Avatar. Singer Kylie Minouge also had success in this area, having sold out her Toronto concert performance in 3D. This was directed by Marcus Viner under Nineteen Fifteen, a production company in the UK which is known for live events filming. For the 3D technology to successfully take-off, there might be a need to improve even further so that the use of 3D glasses are no longer required. While the entertainment world is trying to work on it, such technology would need years and years of planning and development before it can be fully established. 3D filming is expensive and labor intensive since it necessitates more cameras to seize all angles of the artists. However, since monetary costs are gradually decreasing, one may expect more and more videos to be captured in 3D. If the abovementioned big names in the music industry made use of the latest in technology in their performances, it would be easy to deduce that Madonna would not be left behind. In fact, in her performance in the 2006 Grammy’s Awards, Madonna made use of the 3D technology to give a stellar performance that wowed the audience. The holographic projection technology, i.e., Musion Eyeliner System, was responsible for the animation in 3D of the animated Gorillaz band which allowed them to perform live in the same Grammys Awards night. It is through the same system that allowed the performance on the 3D stage of a virtual Madonna, where she sung Hung Up, he latest hit single at the time. The audience was not aware that the performers were not actually on stage and that they were just the virtual images of Madonna and Gorillaz (Glamour Vanity). This new technology allows for the production of high resolution images that gives unmistakably real results. Madonna’s opening number in the Grammy’s was proof to it. In conclusion, it is quite clear, as this paper presented, that along with the development of technological innovations in the music industry is the development of Madonna’s career with the use of said technology. Madonna is not only a brilliant performer but also an intelligent one. She knew how to make use of the available resources to her advantage. She ages but she did not look it with her ability to make use of new changes to give her career a continuously fresh image. The iWorld was easily a home for Madonna. From the time CDs has been created to the use of holographic and 3D technologies today, Madonna managed to easily adopt, nay excel. She can boast of having participated in most, if not all media offered. Aside from being a highly successful recording artist, she also is an excellent concert performer. She made the best music videos any music artist can ever hope for. She starred in films. She even gave a voice to cartoon characters. Whatever is in fashion, she can adjust to it. Whatever is new, she can make use of it. Madonna is presently very rich. She owns it to her own hard work and business acumen. She knew exactly what to do to strengthen and promote her own career. Name the technological advancement available to the music industry and she would have made use of it to further her career. It therefore comes as no surprise that Madonna is now an institution in the music industry and would remain to be one for many years to come. (Additional) Works Cited BBC News. “Madonna swears at music pirates”. BBC Website. 22 April 2003. Web. 1 May 2011. Dobson, Sean. “Madonna’s Web Record”. guardian.com.uk. 7 December 2000. Web. 1 May 2011. D'Souza, Sean. "Is Your Marketing as Fresh as Madonna's?" www.sigmawebstudios.com. Web. 1 May 2011. Glamour Vanity. “Five Most Memorable Grammy Duets. Glamour Vanity Website. 22 February 2009. Web. 1 May 2011. Haring, Bruce. “Beyond the Charts: MP3 and the Digital Revolution”. Los Angeles: JM Northern Media LLC, 2000. Web. 1 May 2011. Reuters. “Madonna wins domain name battle”. CNN.com. 16 October 2000. Web. 1 May 2011. Schifrin, M. and Newcomb, P. "A brain for sin and a bod for business," Forbes, 1st October 1990, Vol. 146, Issue 7, pp.162-165. Print. Schoenherr, Steve. “Recording Technology History”. Revised Feb. 16, 2004. Web. 1 May 2011. Read More