Recorded Music a Paradigm in Transition - Essay Example

Recorded Music: A Paradigm in Transition Introduction Music has been a part of human civilizationsince the earliest times of human existence. The evolution of music over the centuries has made it an almost integral part of human life to the extent that music stars become heroes of a country and are immortalized in memory, stamps, or statues and by their very own work. From the classical producers of music like Beethoven and Bach, the rock stars of the 60s to the boy band fever of the 90s, music has been an essential aspect of art and culture for our society. However, while music is treated as art and entertainment by the majority of the public, it is also a very serious business with costs of production, marketing, distribution and development running into the billions of dollars. At the same time, there are huge profits to be made if a music venture is successful and things like concerts, videos, CDs, mp3s and several other means of accessing music mean that artists and record labels have many different avenues of making money (Daley, 1999). Undoubtedly, while other industries like the automobile manufacturing sector has been affected by technology, the music industry has possibly got the worst shock and the rude awakening of the digital age has forced the music makers to rush into a transition (Bruno, 2006). Historical Development The Recording Industry Association of America was created in the early 50s and was similar to the radio industry group that governed the use of airwaves by radio distributors who were once thought to be distributing music free of cost much like the internet is thought of today. The first task for the RIAA was to create technical standards for the recording industry and it has conducted that part of its functions admirably till now (Daley, 1999). The second function of the association is to certify various albums and singles which reach high sales figures as gold or platinum (Flick, 2001). The third and possibly most important business function of the RIAA holds the responsibility of it being the collector, administrator and the distributor of music licenses and royalties which were completely ignored by the users of Napster (Bruno, 2006). From the RIAA statistics, it is clear that CD sales actually went up during the time Napster and Napster like services were running full steam. On the other hand, once Napster’s old model of free for all sharing was closed down, the CD sales showed a dip in activity (RIAA, 2006). The Dead Radio Star In recent times, Apple computer’s iPod and the related iTunes music store have shown high signs of activity with more than one billion songs sold online. This is the predominant development in the sale and distribution of music which can be expected to change the market in significant terms (Hammond, 2006). Apple has also managed to enter the video market as well as the audio market since now the iTunes store distributes videos as well as songs and what was the mainstay of MTV, VH1 and BET is now a service offered by a computer company. However, this has not had a negative effect on the viewers of MTV, VH1 or BET since they are primarily channels for entertainment. They have shows which are more concerned with music than just showing music videos and nothing else. For instance, Pimp My Ride can not be considered a music show in any significant way nor can Where Are They Now be considered a show about music since it is more concerned with the people who produced music in the past but have now faded from the limelight (Hammond, 2006). While the credit does go to them for killing the radio star, it is Apple which can be expected to bring Music Videos to the next millennium as a digital product rather than something a person would wait to come on TV. Distribution Channels It is essentially the element of choice and being able to select what a person wants to hear and see which has taken the music industry to become a part of the communications business where ring tones and cell phones can be used to distribute, share, access and download musical content from the internet. The Nokia tone is instantly recognizable as is having some of the greatest music hits on a person’s phone set as a ring tone. These are immensely popular amongst the younger generation and the sale of music ring tones could be one area in which the cell phone companies could collaborate with the music industry (Bruno, 2006). Recent developments show that this is already happening and more of the same could be expected in the future. More important than the impact of cell phones is the impact of the internet on the music industry which has often been at odds with the open and accessible nature of music distribution over the internet (Hammond, 2006). The problem was ignored by the music industry and the internet was never considered to be a serious medium for distribution of music content (Bruno, 2006). However, the situation soon changed once droves of people began using Napster. The historical battle between Napster, Metallica and the RIAA concluded with a victory for the RIAA but it seems to be a Hydra like problem for the music industry (Knopper, 2005). Once Napster was shut down, there were several alternatives available for illegally downloading music and distributing copyrighted content over the internet. One can mention programs like e-mule, limewire, Kazaa and several others which allow the same functionality as Napster and also let users share software programs, images, documents and video files. In fact, the movie industry is becoming afraid of losing its customers if the free trade of files over the internet continues at its current pace (Knopper, 2005). While the illegal distribution of copyrighted material over the internet is certainly a problem for the music industry, it has also been helped by the legal distribution of material with music portals and the Apple created iTunes store that works with the most popular MP3 Player in the world. The use of technology which lets people play their music on a limited number of computers, the inability of sharing copy righted music and video files across networks and compatibility with the iPod makes iTunes a very lucrative source of revenue for both Apple and the music industry and the success of the store speaks for itself. The store is not limited to selling videos and music since it also engages in podcasts and audio streaming. Podcasting is a technique developed specifically for the iPod since it allows video or audio content to be directly downloaded to the iPod of the person who wishes to listen or view a podcast. It is similar to streaming content but a podcast can be saved to a person’s computer for later listening while a content stream has to be played while the computer is connected to the internet and it is very difficult to download a stream to a person’s computer for later review. By mixing podcasts and streams a music provider has the ability to get greater control over how music is distributed by them online (Knopper, 2005). A hit! Although the store sells all sorts of music from around the world, the storefront always presents the hits which are on top of the charts at the moment. This does generate the question as to what makes a song a hit in this day and age. The easiest answer to this is simply what the public demand (Paoletta, 2004). An artist has to be in tune with the zeitgeist to know what will be a success and what won’t be a hit on the charts (Flick, 2001). It is doubtful that Macarena could have been a hit had it been launched on 9/11. On the other hand, the soulful songs released after the terrorist attacks were certainly hits in their own rights because they carried the sentiments which the people were going through. Music is about emotion and emotional representations, if a song is able to move people to sing, to cry, to laugh, even move them to political action then that particular song will be a hit (Flick, 2001). This holds true as much today as it will in the times to come for as long as human being continue to be moved by music and voice, anyone can create a hit if they know what will move people (Paoletta, 2004). Essentially and at the very heart of the matter is the fact that music is an art and good artists will always give the people what they want which in turn will be bought in enough numbers to be called hits (Hammond, 2006). Art and Business Therefore a balance will always need to be present between those who appreciate art and those who sell it for profit. Large distributors like Wal-Mart and Best Buy can even dictate their terms to the manufacturers and producers of music, they can even impose their own censorship on certain artists and recording labels therefore it can be said that they control the distribution networks more than the RIAA or the musicians themselves would like them to. However, since the sales figures and the distribution network of marketing giants like these is so large, their terms often have to be accepted otherwise the music industry could lose a lot of revenue (Knopper, 2005). This is the same situation which is developing with Apple Computers since it controls the largest sales point for legal online music, it often is given a upper hand in negotiating with the music and now the television/video industry because a positive relationship is beneficial for both. Although the music industry has complained about the pricing model and the distribution structure of Apple, they continue to fall in line when they see the number of music files they are able to sell by being friends with Apple rather than its enemy. Conclusion This idea does not apply to apple alone, technology itself must be seen as a friend and as another way to distribute music which is much more cost effective than producing CDs, tapes or records. Until the music companies recognize and accept that the future of music is digital and the distribution channels have been altered significantly they will continue to battle with those who have accepted technology as a given. Music is not and should not be free and piracy should be eliminated since it does not benefit anyone involved in the process expect the pirates (RIAA, 2006). However, the distribution of recorded music will always involve piracy and without allowing consumers to access online music legally, the music industry would simply be ignoring a vast stream of revenue which is never going to make good business sense. Word Count: 1,916 Works Cited Bruno, A. 2006. ‘Analog Hole’ Bill A Digital Chasm. Billboard 118(2): 22-24. Daley, D. 1999. Recording Studios and AES. Billboard 111(39): 60-62. Flick, L. 2001. Strength Of Teen Pop Dips In 2001. Billboard 113(52): 16-21. Hammond, L. 2006. On His Own Terms. Electronic Musician 22(2): 67-76 Knopper, S. 2005. The music industry has targeted 11,456 illegal downloaders -- has it done any good? Rolling Stone Magazine. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/7380412/riaa_will_keep_on_suing/ (accessed May 9, 2006). Paoletta, M. 2004. Where Have All The Divas Gone? Billboard 116(18): 32-34. RIAA. 2006. Recording Industry Association of America. Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/about/default.asp (accessed May 7, 2006). Read More