Digital Revolution in the Music Industry - Research Paper Example

Digital Revolution in the Music Industry al Affiliation Industries are basically concerned with the production of goods for mass consumption. Apart from production, industries today are also involved in marketing and distribution of most of their products, which include intangible goods and services. The music industry constitutes recording, publishing, and live performance. Since the eighteenth century the music industry has undergone changes that led to a digital revolution. The ability to store music in digital format has numerous benefits, such as lack of music degradation in the making of copies, and improved ability to share music. Nevertheless, the digital revolution has posed several challenges especially on management in the music industry. This has been mainly due to piracy and illegal downloading of music. Ways to mitigate these challenges have been found, for example introduction of legitimate downloading services and lawsuits for illegal downloading of music. The music industry has also restructured its strategies and focused on developments such as involvement in advertisements, computer games, the television, films, as well as sale of ringtones, which are alternative revenue streams. Keywords: Digital Revolution, Technology, Music, Music Industry, Piracy, Illegal Download, Technology, Records, Labels, Internet, Development, Sales Introduction Industries are basically concerned with the production of goods for mass consumption. Apart from production, industries today are also involved in marketing and distribution of most of their products, which include intangible goods and services. The term music industry has had numerous definitions, which make the meaning of the term unclear. Some definitions suggest that song writers, producers, musicians, music publishers, and record companies form the core of the definition of the music industry. At this point, live music is regarded to be part of the performing arts industry. According to Wikstrom, “the music industry consists of those companies concerned with developing musical content and personalities which can be communicated across multiple media” (2009, p. 49). The music industry however constitutes recording, publishing, and live performance. The music industry began with the commencement of mass distribution and commercial use of music. The industrialization of music began in the late nineteenth century, and was marked by “mass production and organized marketing of musical instruments and sheet music copies, plus the organization of professional musical entertainment in the theatre, vaudeville show, music hall or dance hall” (Horn, Laing, Oliver, & Wicke, 2003, p. 251). The second half of the nineteenth century was marked by great expansion in the manufacture of pianos in Europe and North America. Hands, rather than machinery were used to assemble pianos, while specialist firms in the United States and Germany provided the manufacturers with all the important components. From the mid nineteenth century, mass production of printed music applied the factory system. Developments continued in the twentieth century as disks and piano rolls were produced, and individuals sold their performances or copyrights to publishers and labels. Advancements led to the division of labor, which in turn provided employment to different categories of people such as musicians and singers, composers, venue staff and concert promoters in the live music sector, booking agents, copyists and pluggers in music publishing, marketing specialists, recording engineers, and factory hands. Consequently, trade unions were formed to make negotiations on pay and working conditions for these people. With the introduction of the internet, the music industry underwent a digital revolution, which brought about both benefits and limitations. Fast internet access led to huge profits in the music industry. Nevertheless, the management of the music industry faced threats due to piracy and illegal downloading of music. Legal and technological solutions to piracy and illegal downloading of music have been sought, as well as alternative streams of revenue to record sales. History of the Music Industry The music industry is an industry with some unique features, despite being a fundamental part of the broader media industries sector. Music products have been significant in the establishment of different types of media technology. According to Branston and Stafford, “the music industry has arguably always been concerned with synergy and convergence-helping the development of other media industries through the sales of related music products and through the incorporation of music performances in other products” (1996, p. 254). The history of the music industry began with the invention of the gramophone and film projection, to the radio, jukebox, rock ‘n’ roll, soundtrack albums, MTV, and in the late twentieth century, music went digital. The first sound recordings were made in the 1800s by Thomas Edison, who “recorded ‘Mary had a Little Lamb’ on a phonograph. A needle recorded the sound into a groove on a foil-covered cylinder (tube). The machine played back the sound through a horn” (Throp & Colson, 2011, p. 6). In the early nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the gramophone and film projection were invented. Branston and Stafford point out that “the first companies to exploit the possibilities of the gramophone produced both the machines themselves and the ‘software’-cylinders at first, but then the familiar discs……recorded music was one of the first forms of mass-produced ‘home entertainment’” (1996, p. 254). Earlier, in order to play music at home, people were required to purchase musical instruments and learn to play them. In the 1920s, the gramophone industry received a boost from the introduction of commercial radio services (Branston & Stafford, 1996). With the introduction of the commercial radio services, recorded music could be played to a mass audience. Gramophone manufacturers on the other hand got involved in the production of radio sets. During this period, sound was developed in the cinema using disc in the beginning, and later shifting to film. The Radio Corporation was formed during this period, and together with Keith-Albee-Orpheum, RKO radio Pictures Company was formed. Branston and Stafford point out that RKO “was also one of the first media conglomerates encompassing radio, recorded music, vaudeville (live light entertainment), and cinema with its showcase at the six-thousand-seat Radio City Music Hall in New York” (1996, p. 255). In the 1930s, the Great Depression led to a decrease in record sales. However, the power of recorded music continued to spread. “The jukebox, a striking example of ‘new technology’ playing sixteen or twenty-four different records, became an alternative to radio as a means of both providing entertainment in bars and clubs and creating interest in particular performance” (Branston & Stafford, 1996, p. 255 ). Films in the 1930s and 1940s incorporated music in them, while popular music stars got to be featured in musical shorts. The 1930s and 1940s were very significant in the music industry, since the period held great developments. Country music, which was also known as hillbilly, and black music, which was also known as race music, were institutionalized during the same period. According to Branston and Stafford (1996), “supported by a distinctive culture and a chain of dedicated radio stations and record labels, these were the first indications of both ‘market segmentation’ and ‘roots culture’ in the commercial media environment” (p. 255). During the 1950s, the music industry grew. This was after the rise of a mixture of country music and black music, which had been insignificant in the 1930s. There was also an increasing wealth of young record buyers, and heavy fragile discs that had been in use for storage of music were replaced by durable discs, that had the capacity to store more music. The television became an essential piece of entertainment at home, consequently attracting young viewers who had increased as audiences in Hollywood studios. In the 1950s and 1960s, the connection between radio, television, music, and film grew strong (Branston & Stafford, 1996). In the 1950s and the 1960s, stars were embraced in Hollywood due to their attraction of youth audiences. In the 1970s, various films that were produced changed the relationship between the music industry and Hollywood. The relationship was very tight that selling a film meant selling the album. Music companies made negotiations with studios and in turn, they became more powerful. Branston and Stafford point out that “at the end of the 1970s, music on film also benefited from the introduction of Dolby Stereo into theatres” (1996, p. 256). During the 1980s, a number of technological innovations took place. These included the videocassette, the Compact Disc (CD), as well as satellite and cable broadcasting. Through the Compact Discs, customers were able to purchase new versions of their favorite music in a format that was both new and appealing. “At the same time, the videocassette increased interest in the possibility of collecting video recordings of music stars and helped to launch the new format” (Branston & Stafford, 1996, p. 256). Videocassettes and CDs increased the idea of music television, due to the demand for the production of video and film recordings. Developments in cable television and satellite broadcasting provided a dedicated channel for the music television concept. During the same period, portable recording and playback devices were manufactured. An example is the Walkman, which “allowed music fans to change the way they listened to music in effect to consume more music, because they were not restricted by location. Initially a cassette technology, walkmans moved to CD and then to MiniDisc” (Branston & Stafford, 1996, p. 257). With the introduction of the Compact Disks, music could be stored in a digital format. Consequently, by the early 1990s, music went digital. The term digital revolution is used to refer to this change. According to Parsons and Oja, “the digital revolution is an ongoing process of social, political, and economic change brought about by digital technology, such as computers and the internet” (2010, p. 4). The digital revolution of the music industry was brought about by advances in technology. It was assisted by the “development of suitable hardware and software for distribution of digital files over computer networks. This was achieved largely through compression techniques that eventually produced the MP3 standard” (Branston & Stafford, 1996, p. 257). MP3 introduced new possibilities such as the possibility of copying a CD, converting digital music in a disk to files that can be played on a computer, transfer of files, and swapping over the internet. Growth of the internet has benefited the music industry by promoting both music and artists using the transaction cost approach. However, it poses dangers to the music industry such as piracy and illegal downloading of music. Impacts of the Digital Revolution in the Music Industry The digital revolution has had numerous impacts in the music industry, especially on marketing and promotion. Today, selling of music does not require a physical record store. The music industry has moved away from selling tangible music CDs, to selling music through concerts, live music, and online. Innovative models are being implemented in the music industry and this offers customers a digital experience, and the advantage of customer lockdown to the music industry. Transaction cost economics are applied in the music industry. With the introduction of loyalty collection mechanisms brought about by the internet, such as SESAC, BMI, and ASCAP, transaction costs in the music industry are lowered. This has also fostered effective communication between music sellers and buyers. According to Zhang, “the lowered transaction cost will have profound effects on the music distribution companies” (2002, p.6). Copying music and video files is now quite easy and inexpensive. In addition, copies of the music and video files are as good as the original copy and do not get degraded. Sheetz points out that in the use of LP albums and cassette tapes “copies become degraded with each new generation. Even with high-quality analog recording equipment the nature of the beast means that the first copy of the original will be of lower quality than the original” (2007, p. 103). Music sharing has been made possible by the digital revolution. Due to the worse nature of later copies of music that existed before, people lacked interest in sharing music. Digital technology and media makes perfect copies of music and files, in a process that is much faster compared to earlier methods of making copies of music and files. For example, “in the 1970s, when you wanted to copy an album to cassette or dub a cassette, you usually had to play the entire album or cassette from start to finish” (Sheetz, 2007, p. 103). The music industry has faced a decline in sales in recent years. This decline has mainly been associated with piracy and peer-to-peer platforms that pose a threat to record sales. According to Klein, “with technological developments in digital music and faster internet access, the illegal downloading of music has caused a panic for the recording industry, which has traditionally relied heavily, though never fully on record sales profits” (2009, p. 68). As a result of this, the music industry has sought technological and legal solutions to piracy and illegal downloading of music. Alternative revenue streams for the music industry have also been explored. Due to the influence of the internet, recording companies have found other ways to stay in business, such as through publishing rights and licensing of performance. According to Klein (2009), “downloading will not necessarily replace physical formats of music, but the industry is becoming increasingly involved in legitimate downloading services and lawsuits to decrease the use of illegitimate services” (p. 68). The music industry has also restructured its strategies and focused on developments, such as involvement in advertisements, computer games, the television, and films, as well as sale of ringtones. In conclusion, the music industry constitutes recording, publishing, and live performance. Over the centuries, the industry has undergone numerous changes, which have in turn influenced the quality and durability of music. The changes have been stimulated by the constantly changing technology and the need to stay in business. This has been referred to as the digital revolution. Despite the many benefits that the digital revolution has impacted on the music industry, there have been several implications. However, players in the industry have sought and implemented ways to stay in business. Music Information Systems Music is an organization of information in form of tonal data. The tonal data is systemized “in a particular way that has meaning to the composer and listener” (Ratzan, 2004, p. 179). The digital revolution has had far reaching effects in the music industry. This also brought about the need for music data management. Modern management has also been pushed to the use of information systems by the recent information revolution. In response to these needs, music information systems were introduced in the music industry in order to ensure the survival of the industry, offer a competitive advantage, raise profits from solidarity with customers, assist in the introduction of new music in the market, and assist in the industry’s operations. Sadagopan supports these facts by stating that globalization, liberalization, and competition, together with innovation, efficiency, timeliness, customer orientation, and quality have allowed information to be disseminated in a timely and accurate manner all over the world (2004). Music information systems are thus similar to management information systems applied in other industries. The two are similar due to the facts that they are used in management, they utilize computers in organization of industry-wide information, and support decision making. The music industry applies music information retrieval systems, music databases, music information retrieval user interfaces, queries, and objects to manage music. Ratzan points out that “Music Information Retrieval (MIR) is the process of identifying, locating, and accessing structured auditory information or its representations” (2004, p. 189). However, the process is different from conventional retrieval of text, due to the fact that the information contained in music is multidimensional and highly structured with attributes like tone, pitch, rhythm, and harmony. Music information is auditory, and despite the fact that it is meant to be heard, it can be read. Music related applications such as music information systems, user interfaces used to traverse music collections, and recommender systems apply the use of metadata. Metadata is significant in its role of “describing properties of a music entity, such as an artist, an album, or a song” (Li, 2012, p. 221) in different music related applications. A variety of music related information usually for different music entities is offered by music information systems. Li gives an example of information usually offered for a band or an artist, which comprises of “biographies, discographies, band members and instruments, tour and concert dates, and photographs” (2012, p. 221). Information may be song or track specific comprising of similar tracks, lyrics, and at times, preview snippets. According to Li, “popular examples of music information systems are Last.fm, allmusic.com, and Discogs; but also the lesser known systems, such as Ishkur’s Guide to Electronic Music, Map of Metal, or the Automatically Generated Music Information System (AGMIS), are also interesting examples” (2012, p. 221). Recommendations to music users are provided by music recommender systems by use of content-based feature extraction or collaborative filtering. Last.fm. It has offered and excellent means to find and listen to new music. It is an Internet radio and music community website based in the United Kingdom. It is owned by CBS Interactive and was founded in 2002. Huang, Yang, & Pei state that the Internet radio and music community website generates and archives charts and statistics from music users every week (2009). From here the recommendation system is used to recommend music to users. Allmusic.com. The service was earlier known as All Music Guide. Since 2011, allmusic.com music and movies are found in a marketing database known as Allrovi. Discogs. It is located in the United States and is owned by Zink Media, Inc. Its database holds millions of releases and artists. According to Bello, Chew, & Turnbull, “Discogs offers a neat web service with good pointers to different production houses and publishers” (2008, p.2 49). Ishkur’s Guide to Electronic Music. Just as its name implies, it is a guide to electronic music. However, the site makes use of flash player. Comer points out that “the ease of navigation, pithy genre descriptions and fairly accurate audio accompaniment make the site one of the most well-organized and ambitious tutorials for those looking to see just how deep the rabbit hole goes” (April 2001, p. 89). Map of Metal. The site is like the Ishkur’s Guide to Electronic Music and uses flash player. However, it uses a map of connected metals to show subgenres of music. Automatically Generated Music Information System. This is a project that was started in 2008 aimed at gathering bands and music artists’ information. The service allows labor-free processing of music information. Reference List Bello, J. P., Chew, E., & Turnbull, D. (Eds.). (2008). ISMIR 2008: Proceedings of the 9th International Conference of Music Information Retrieval. Philadelphia: Drexel University. Branston, G. & Roy Stafford. (Eds.). (1996). The Media Students Book. London: Routledge. Comer, M. T. (April 2001). Mixed Signals. CMJ New Music Monthly, 106, 89. Horn, D., Laing, D., Oliver, P., & Peter Wicke. (2003). Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World Part 1 Media, Industry and Society. London: Continuum.  Huang, R., Yang, Q. & Pei, J. (Eds.). (2009). Advanced Data Mining and Applications: 5th International Conference, ADMA 2009 Beijing, China, August 2009 Proceedings. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Klein, Bethany. (2009). As Heard on TV: Popular Music in Advertising. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing Limited. Li, T., Ogihara, M., & Tzanetakis, G. (Eds.). (2012). Music Data Mining. Florida: Taylor & Francis Group. Parsons, J. J. & Dan Oja. (2010). New Perspectives on Computer Concepts 2010, Brief. Boston: Course Technology Cengage Learning. Ratzan, Lee. (2004). Understanding Information: What They Do and Why We Need Them. Illinois: American Library Association. Sadagopan S. (2004). Management Information Systems. New-Delhi: Prentice-Hall of India Pvt. Ltd. Sheetz, Michael. (2007). Computer Forensics: An Essential Guide for Accountants, Lawyers, and Managers. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Throp, C. & Mary Colson. (2011). Digital Music: A Revolution in Music. London: Capstone Global Library Limited. Wikstrom, Patrik. (2009). The Music Industry: Music in the Cloud. Cambridge: Polity Press. Zhang, Michael X. (2002). A Review of Economic Properties of Music Distribution. Retrieved February 13, 2013, from http://web.mit.edu/zxq/www/mit/15575/musicreview.pdf Read More