'Free content is an inexorable fact of life brought on by the unstoppable advance of technology.' How far do you agree?

The massive recent change in technology has allowed audiences to get hold of music in many new ways, it is now possible to steal music without actually feeling like you've stolen it. In ethical terms it is the same as stealing from a shelf in a shop, but all the purchaser has to do is click a button. It is harder to get caught and does not actually involve much effort, therefore the audience will perhaps not feel any guilt because it just does not seem real.

People try and find the easier option in life, one that will benefit them, it can be seen as though you have two choices on the internet. To click a button on sites such as itunes and have money taken out of your bank account, or click a button on sites such as limewire and have no money taken from you, a free download, it is clear which is more appealing, the internet is based around people that truthfully think it's wrong to steal, or people that do not care or realise what they are doing is wrong, since that the music is not a physical object, it is merely just an mp3 file that is nothing physical.

People would not tend to steal a cd, but in this new generation of technology it is a different context of stealing, whilst in the past people could record from the radio onto a tape, this is stealing and distributing, an illegal market has been created, along with the creation of new laws that try to prevent this, costing alot of money.

The Music Matters Campaign.

"The Music Matters campaign is a collective of people across the music industry, including artists, retailers, songwriters, labels and managers, formed to remind listeners of the significance and value of music.

1. We all know that music matters: why is this initiative important?

We all know that music is important. But with music more available than ever before, it’s worth reminding ourselves of that fact. It’s easy to forget about the extraordinary lengths that performers, songwriters and musicians can go to record their songs, and the powerful effect music has on each and every one of us.
We believe it is important to support the artists and all those involved in making incredible music by choosing to consume music in an ethical way, and that’s why we’ve set up the Music Matters campaign.

2. What is the Music Matters Trustmark?

The Music Matters Trustmark will act as a guide for music fans and help differentiate legal music services from illegal ones. Click here for a list of all supporting sites and look for the Music MattersTrustmark when choosing new music.
When you choose sites carrying the trustmark you can be sure the site is legal and the copyright holders are paid for their creative work.

3. Why do we need a trustmark?

Globally, 19 out of every 20 tracks downloaded are done so illegally. In an evolving digital landscape, there can be confusion over which sites are legal. We think music fans would like to know that when the site that they are using is legitimate they are supporting the artists, musicians, songwriters and everyone involved in creating the music.

4. My favourite band is unsigned — does this mean I can download their material without paying for it?

It is exactly the same for unknown, unsigned bands as it is for bands with record deals. Unless the unsigned band chooses to offer their music to fans for free, downloading or sharing that music for free is illegal.

5. What is the difference between a streaming and downloading music service?

With a downloading service, tracks are stored on an individual’s iPod, iPhone or preferred device and can be listened to when and where the consumer chooses.
Online streaming services make the music available to listen to online without purchasing and downloading the files.
Both of these are legitimate ways to consume music. Look for the Music Matters Trustmark to find legal sites.

6. Pop stars and record companies are rich. Does it really matter if I download one or two tracks without paying?

Every creator has a right to be paid for the time, effort and money invested in producing quality music for us to enjoy. The money received can be reinvested in music and the people that make it. When music is downloaded for free, the investment cycle is broken, and that has an adverse impact on investment in emerging talent.

7. How can I tell if I am using a legal or illegal site to obtain music?

The Music Matters Certification Scheme is working with legal digital music services to ensure they carry the Music Matters trustmark. This will help audiences differentiate legal music sites from illegal sites. There are currently dozens of legitimate digital music services in the UK. Check out the list of legal sites here.

8. If I have an iPhone, is iTunes the only download service I can use?

No — this is a common myth which can be very confusing. Most online stores now offer music files which can be played on different devices. These are known as DRM-free files."

Music Matters Campaign

The Music Matters Campaign is set up to support the legal purchasing of music.

They offer you links to sites where you can legally purchase and download music, they also implement a music matters trust mark, which allows legal manufacturers to apply this to their websites to ensure the purchaser that what they are doing is fully legal.

 

when asked why they needed a trust mark they replied.

"Globally, 19 out of every 20 tracks downloaded are done so illegally. In an evolving digital landscape, there can be confusion over which sites are legal. We think music fans would like to know that when the site that they are using is legitimate they are supporting the artists, musicians, songwriters and everyone involved in creating the music."

They offer a list of ways to legally download and enjoy digital music, here is a few.

-Play.com
-Itunes
-Spotify
-We 7
-Orange
-T Mobile
-Napster (which in the past was not legal)
-Groove Shark
- 7 Digital
-Amazon
-Sky Songs
-HMV
-O2
-Vodafone.

Discuss the issues raised by increasing globalisation of media institutions and their ability to target national (especially British) audiences.

The globalisation for media institutions has meant that many parts of the world can now be reached with the same music, therefore bringing the market of the media group more profit for the same artist.

Mass media conglomerates such as UMG focus their audience around the world, at different types of music enthusiasts, they do this by having subsidiaries, which are in essence smaller record labels entwined into the big UMG label, subsidiaries of UMG are labels such Island Records which hosts artists such as Mumford & Sons and Bob Marley.

Smaller labels such as Domino Records do not have the money or the size to reach out and create subsidiaries, so therefore they focus their audience on a single country, usually where they are based, for example for Domino Records this is England, their two main artists are The Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand.

Smaller labels are at another disadvantage, because they do not have as many global connections they will find it more difficult to converge with television and film and have their music put on programmes and film, whilst large labels such as UMG will have many connections and will keep on getting profit and more audiences.

The artists signed to UMG however may find that their needs are not being met, because UMG is so large it is trying to appeal to a mass audience and artists with a niche audience will find it harder to find success with their type of music if the label they are signed to is trying to appeal to a mass market.

This effect could mean that the artist will have to become more main stream in which case will lose their original audience and could end up leading to a plummit in sales, it is safer for an artist with a very distinct and unique sound to stay with a smaller label that will focus more on their genre for example acoustic artists will benefit more from being signed to island records because that genre of music is their main focus.

Music survey results

I conducted a survey based around the music industry, I asked questions regarding the way in which the different aspects of the industry affects the public, or in another respect how they affect the industry. I asked 10 people. Here are my results

How do you purchase your music?

• Traditionally in shops: 3/10 people brought from shops
• Online via services such as itunes: 4/10 brought online
• Illegally via file sharing sites: 3/10 brought illegally

With these results I found that more people purchased online, I also found a trend in the older generation of people buying music in shops, because that is the way they have been brought up to use and also the idea of mp3 files with probably confuse them.
However asking people if they buy music illegally can put people off answering truthfully, therefore when you ask about illegal download, the answers you get may not be true.

How do you find out about new artists?

• Magazines: 2/10
• Streaming Sites like Spotify:4/10
• Television:1/10
• Friends: 3/10

The new generation of the music industry is the streaming service, this seams to be the most popular way in which people will find new artists.

Does the cost of music really bother you, or is it how easy it is to obtain?

• The cost matters: 3/10
• The way to obtain it matters: 7/10

From the results i gathered here, it is really about how easy it is to get hold of, instead of the price, this suprised me because with the many ways in which music can be purchased these days, illegal downloading should not be happening depending on these results.

Does it matter to you if the artist is signed to a label or not?

• Yes: 4/10
• No: 6/10

When asking the reason why for this, the only real concern people had was that if they were not signed to an artist their music would not come out as regularly.

What is it that attracts you to an artist?

• Their look: 3/10
• Their voice:6/10
• Their confidence:
• Their lifestyle: 1/10

It seems as though the voice is the most important thing, however having a good look and lifestyle will make people look up to the artists and therefore grab a stronger audience.

The online revolution has proved as damaging to independent labels as to multinational companies. How far do you agree?

The online revolution has proved as damaging to independent labels as to multinational companies. How far do you agree?

The online revolution can be described as something that has ultimately destroyed the music industry, or has helped to improve it, although coming with mass amounts of problems it can also add in some major benefits, for example the introduction of services such as Itunes has made it easier for music to be bought, at any time of day or night from the convienience of the consumers household, instead of waiting for shops to open and actually physically going to get it. The use of electronic copies of tracks or albums has also allowed unlimited supply of music in technological form, instead of only being able to be purchased in a physical form where supplies can run out. It can also be argued that music is cheaper on services like Itunes, where the music you want can be downloaded for prices as cheap as 79p and albums being approximately £5 instead of the average of £9 for a new album in the shops. Although instead of buying a whole album the consumer can chose the only songs they want from the album therefore it can be argues that the artist is looseing out because their entire album may not be purchased.

Sadly The Internet Revolution is not all legal, many file sharing sites allow music to be downloaded and shared illegally without any price, this has caused alot of money to be put into stopping illegal download, such as the service Limewire which has recently been closed down after much legal documentation and money being put towards Lawyers. Sites like Napster have been in legal issues with bands such as Heavy Metal group Metallica, where they sewed the company for distributing their music free on the internet, most artists see there music as art and should not be given away for free.

There are services on the internet that allow the audience to stream music online, it is legal because it does not allow the consumer to download illegally but listen to the music for free, larger multinational companies can cope with this sort of service, by signing deals with sites such as Spotify or Myspace, UMG for example made a deal with Myspace that music on the site owned by UMG can only have 30 second previews to encourage the consumer to purchase the music instead of just listen to it, smaller labels suffer in this prospect because they cannot make deals with streaming sites easily and so it is the streaming websites that are more in charge of what they do.

However independant labels can benefit greatly, the ease of access on the internet allows their music to be listened to and purchased far more easily, advertising on services like Spotify is a way to do this, getting their music out there into the public domain.

Smaller labels can also give out their music for free if this is their wish, allowing audiences to be able to listen to the music that would not be easily heard of.
An example of an artist benefitting from the online revolution is the artist Ed Sheeran who managed to get himself heard over Myspace, gaining a huge fan base and even becoming the top of the download charts on Itunes, beating major artists like Rhianna. He has since signed Atlantic Records and is still using the online revolution to get his music out there to boost his reputation and the profit of Atlantic Records.

Multinational companies benefit from the online revolution slightly, they succomb to the ravages of illegal downloading however, they were suited well to the music industry before the online revolution, loseing money to websites like Limewire has made them have to take a different approach to selling their music and Streaming websites like Spotify or We7 have proved to have been an inconvienience for them, needing to keep up with the times by allowing their music to be available for streaming listening, although they are probably loseing more out of this because people are not downloading as much because they can listen to the music whenever they feel they want too. But if they do not fit into the streaming trend they will lose out on possible customers.
The smaller labels however will benefit from the online revolution, allowing their music to be easily put out to the audience.

Technological Convergence

Technological Convergence is the term that best describes how technology has managed to "merge" itself together to fufill similar needs.

For example websites for television programmes such as that of Being Human a programme that is broadcast on BBC Three, also includes the chance for the programme to be watched on their website via the BBC iplayer, it also encorporates new spin off stories that can only be viewed online, meaning that this can be advertised on the television programme or just after it so people can view it online, showing that these two media platforms have converged, in context it means that the gaps between different media platforms are closing.

Perception of the audience has changed, the majority of the public will now see that The internet is now a television and a music souce, whilst in the past the internet would have just been purely for reading, the television would have been purely independant and music was only available on the radio or in shops.

A term that is becoming quite well used is Web 2.0, this term is used to describe how the internet has transformed from a source of information to a mass media service, which includes being able to watch television, purchase and listen to music and share files.

Technological Convergence means that the audience now gets a free choice and an easier access to different media platforms,
Television and Music are converging to make a wider profit and fan base, for example shows like The X Factor, Glee and Brittania High are doing this, by showing music on the television show and then releasing it on the internet via Itunes or in shops.
Music and The Internet have also converged, examples of this are software and websites such as Spotify, We7 and Groove Shark that allow the audience to stream music for free, transforming the internet into a mass media server.

To conclude, Technological Convergence does...

• Closes the gap between the audience and the producer
• Allows artists to promote their work easily
• Free distribution, means that music suppliers do not have to worry about packaging and post
• Allows instant access of the audience to apply their needs to many different media platforms

However Technological Convergence also allows people to steal music by illegal downloading it, it also allows the music and files to be shared via illegal file sharing services.

Subsidiaries

Fascination Records and Island Records are two subsidiaries from the mass Music Label Universal Music Group. The reason for having a subsidiary record label is that it allows the Universal Music Group to encorporate the needs of different genres of music, because Universal Music Group is such a large conglomerate it means that it will find difficulty in being able to make the decisions that please different fans of different genres of music.

The record label Island Records is particularly aiming at music such as reggae, artists such as Bob Marley are attached to this record, the website relates to this particular genre of music by giving it an informal look, it has tropical colours, a rather vintage and "relaxed" theme, this is important because it shows what artists and fans the label are trying to encorporate.
Although the label is trying to encorporate a reggae theme, it also is the label for artists such as Devlin and N-Dubz which are very different from artists such as Bob Marley and Mumford & Sons.
therefore Island Records are trying to appeal to a mass audience, despite the website looking like it only provides for a niche audience.

Fascination Records is under The Universal Music Group label also, it however tries to appeal to a more mainstream audience, by having artists such as Girls Aloud and The Saturdays, this is clear from the layout of the website, by trying to appeal a mass audience they have gone for quite a sleek design that can appeal to a mass audience, since there is no specific theme like there is on Island Records.


The label Island Records was founded in Jamaica by Chris Backwell and Graeme Goodall, the fact that the label was founded in Jamaica, shows that the label has tried to stick to their roots with their main artists and website theme, their logo is of a palm tree, which en corporates the "Island" theme. The label is now based in New York City in America, this shows that despite moving location, the label is still very keen to keep to its "roots".

The label Fascination Records was created in The United Kingdom and has remained there, it mainly has British artists under its name, they are mainstream bands such as Girls Aloud, it has also imported artists such as The Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus, they are trying to appeal to a mass audience, I have also noted that most of the artists that Fascination Records try to appeal to are of a female audience, Island Records however are trying to appeal to both genders.

Universal Music Group will benefit from having subsidiaries based in different countries because it allows the subsidiaries to focus on the mass needs of the country they are based in, meaning that Universal Music Group can appeal to a mass audience world wide.

Both labels appear to be separate from Universal Music Group, this is important to note, because it means that the bands and fans can not feel daunted whilst dealing with a mass group, meaning that they can focus on their specific genre. Fascination Records could have promoted the band The Saturdays because they are very similar to Girls Aloud who are also part of the label, this would make fans of Girls Aloud find out more about The Saturdays, featuring them in similar situations and promoting them in similar ways.

Fascination Records has also used Synergy, they have The Skins soundtrack released under their name, this again expresses the mass market appeal they are trying to aim for, because Skins is a mass market Television drama, it was released under their name because they have the specialty in dealing with mass market audiences.

To conclude, both Subsidiaries are used to maximize the chance of gaining potential audiences, specific to genre, the Universal Music Group needs subsidiaries so that it appeal to a more specific group of people, because The Universal Music Group is so large it will not be able to appeal to certain genres without the use of subsidiaries such as Island Records and Fascination Records.

How far do you think developments in technology have changed the way the music industry operates?

The music industry has been subject to change and development since the implementation of radical new media products within the last 10 years.
In the 1970's and 80's, the only way for illegal recordings to be made and distributed was for people to record the songs from the radio using a cassette.
These days however, due to the change in musical formats, such as mp3's, it is now possible for people to download music from filesharing websites illegally, without paying any money, it involves a simple download and the downloader has the song for free.
This makes the music industry corrupt because it is not possible for all the downloads to be tracked, therefore the charts that used to make a large impact on the music industry is no longer legit, meaning that even though a song has made it to the charts, it doesn't particularly mean it is the most popular at the time, it is just the song that most people have payed for instead of using an illegal download service.
Another way the development of technology has changed the music industry is the introduction to free online streaming sites, that allow a person to listen to the music online via a service such as Spotify or We7, the service is fully legal because the artist gets to decide whether their music is uploaded to it, however it may be that the artist does not particularly want their music to be listened to for free because it causes some people to not bother purchasing or downloading the music because they can listen to it as much as they want but they feel they have to because other artists are allowing their music to be streamed and gaining popularity. Another flaw with streaming is that it is not yet that portable, some services such as Youtube are accessible through portable internet such as using a mobile phone, but the files are not easily accessible on the move.
Sites such as Myspace provide this streaming option, The music label Universal Music Group in 2008 made it so that every artist under their label could only have a 30 second preview of their songs on Myspace to ensure that people were not just streaming their music and not downloading it. This in turn caused the popularity of Myspace to decrease because of the mass size of The Universal Music Group and the vast amount of artists under their name.
The introduction of Apple and Itunes to the music industry ensure that artists could have their music easily downloaded whenever the purchaser wanted too, any song of any album can be purchased for the average price of 79 pence, however artists may find that their entire albums are not downloaded and only particular songs are downloaded, this will cause for a loss of profit for the bands, because when an entire album is purchased it allows the band to gain much profit, even for songs that are not particularly enjoyed but are on the album, but now with the choice is buying single songs it allows the music fan to pick out songs and save money.
An advantage of Itunes is that it allows the artist to upload mini albums or "EP's" that would not usually be accessible to be purchased within shops, it also allows singles and new songs to be purchased and advertised more frequently and easily.
An artist does not particularly need a record label to be put on Itunes or other websites that allow download or music streaming such as Spotify.
The introduction of the internet in its own right allows people to follow bands progress on websites like Twitter and Facebook or even the artists own site, the internet is the best and most efficient way for artists to share their music, although it comes with its disadvantages.
To conclude, the developments in technology has improved the way the music industry operates, it makes it more efficient for bands to be followed and for their music to be purchased, although it comes with its major disadvantages, such as illegal downloading sites such as Limewire which has been closed down due to legal infringement, it can corrupt the way the charts are calculated and can stop bands from gaining money from their music.

Universal Music Group

The Universal Music group is the largest group of record labels in the recording industry. It is the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations.

It is owned by the company Vivendi, it's previous parent company however was Universal that owned the company from 1996 until 2006.
Currently the key people that own the company are: Lucian Grainge: CEO
                                                                               Doug Morris: Chairman

The company is based in New York City in America.
As stated before it is owned by the company Vivendi
 
The company vivendi produces products that will be shown on television, adverts and video games, this will allow the music that is produced under the Universal Music Group label to have easy access to other media products, this will ultimately help the artist/band achieve a higher fame status and gain money out of this. This music sharing strategy will ensure that both Artist, Record Label and Parent Company will gain a profit out of it, be it money or publicity.

Record Labels

Record Labels are used primarily to promote an artist or band. By using a record label the band or artist can have their music used within media products such as films, television programmes and/or promotional advertising.
The record label can also help the songs and the overall music of the artist develop, in style and also that of pleasing the masses, with the support of people that can do the research.
A record label is essentially a publishing company, it will ensure that the music is recorded and sold as an album and/or single.
Record labels are also a good thing in the music industry, because they manage to find and nurture talent, mainly give the head start to bands that are not confident in business, it allows bands to create a career out of their music.

The way in which Record labels sign deals is by giving the band an "advance", which means an amount of money to get the career going, then they will slowly be payed back with profit that the bands make, this gives bands that have signed with record labels a headstart over the bands that are trying to make it in the music industry independantly.
To gain money, Record Labels have Revenue Stream which means the income, the ways in which they make profit are by:
Selling music
Selling tickets to live gigs/concerts/festivals
Selling Merchandise that relate to the band
If the song is played on a television show, advert or film
Film soundtracks
Covers of the original song, done by a different artist
Video games.

In the music industry, there are "The Big Four" Record labels, these are

Universal Music which is the record label for artists like Eminem and Lady Gaga
EMI Music which is the record label for artists like Tinie Tempah and Katy Perry
Sony Music which is the record label for artists like Britney Spears and Foo Fighters
Warner Music Group is the record label for artists like Paolo Nutini and Green Day.

Music Research Introduction

AS Media Studies Unit G323 - exam

Section B: Institutions and Audiences

For Section B, we shall be studying the music industry. We shall focus on case studies of two record labels within the contemporary music industry which target British audiences, including their patterns of production, distribution, marketing and consumption by audiences. This will be accompanied by study of the strategies used by record labels to counter the practice of file sharing and their impact on music production, marketing and consumption.

Candidates should be prepared to understand and discuss the processes of production, distribution, marketing and exchange as they relate to contemporary media institutions, as well as, the nature of audience consumption and the relationship between audiences and institutions. In addition candidates should be familiar with:

·         the issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice;

·         the importance of cross media convergence and synergy, in production, distribution and marketing;

·         the technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, marketing and exchange;

·         the significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences;

·         the importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences;

·         the issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international and global institutions;

·         the ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour.