ENG 4C1

MEDIA LITERACY AND THE

MUSIC INDUSTRY
 4 Corners Debate
 Music leads trends in society, it does not follow them
 Music is used for enjoyment but never persuasion
 Music can have a positive impact on society
 Music is an art form and is not concerned about
commercial implications
 Pop music is more about selling records than making an
impact on society
 The lyrics are more important in a song than the sounds
 Songwriters should have absolute freedom to say what
they want in their songs
What are the purposes of music?

 Personal expression Communication

 To feel good For religious purposes
 For group identity A way to pass on traditions
 Sell products Enhance a film
Purposes of
 Nationalism Music Propaganda
 To dance to To Protest
 To tell a story To create change
 An art form To experiment and have fun
 Music and its commercial
implications
 Believe it or not, the music industry is very
important to the business world.
 Companies use music to influence their customers,
whether it is through a commercial’s use of music
to make you feel a certain way about a product or
by a store using slow, calming music to cause their
customers to slow down while shopping thus
increasing the number of items purchased.
 Companies also rely on major recording artists to
endorse their products
 The Music Industry
e.g., music publishers, producers, studios, engineers
Companies who , record labels, retail and online music stores,
performance rights organizations
create and sell
recorded music
Companies who
Musicians who
present live
perform and /or
music
compose music performances
(booking agents, promoters, music venues,
road crew

Instrument and Professionals

Device who assist artists
manufacturers with their music
and technicians careers
Broadca (talent managers, business managers,

sters
Satellite and broadcast radio entertainment lawyers
The changing face of the
music industry
 18th Century music (1700-1799)

 Until the 18th century, the processes of formal composition and

of the printing of music took place for the most part with the
support of patronage from aristocracies and churches. In the
mid-to-late 18th century, performers and composers such as
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart began to seek commercial
opportunities to market their music and performances to the
general public. After Mozart's death, his wife (Constanze
Weber) continued the process of commercialization of his music
through an unprecedented series of memorial concerts, selling
his manuscripts, and collaborating with her second husband,
Georg Nissen, on a biography of Mozart.
The changing face of the
music industry
 19th Century Music (1800-1899)

 In the 19th century, sheet-music publishers

dominated the music industry. In the United
States, the music industry arose in tandem with
the rise of blackface minstrelsy. In the late part
of the century the group of music publishers and
songwriters which dominated popular music in
the United States became known as Tin Pan
Alley
 The changing face of the
music industry
 20th Century Music (1900-1999)

 At the dawn of the early 20th century, the recording of sound began to function as a
disruptive technology in music markets. With the invention of the phonograph, invented by
Thomas Edison in 1877, and the onset of widespread radio communications, the way music is
heard was changed forever. Opera houses, concert halls, and clubs continued to produce
music and perform live, but the power of radio allowed even the most obscure bands to form
and become popular on a nationwide and sometimes worldwide scale.
 The "record industry" eventually replaced the sheet music publishers as the industry's largest
force. A multitude of record labels came and went.
 Many record companies died out as quickly as they had formed, and by the end of the 1980s,
the "Big 6" — EMI, CBS, BMG, PolyGram, WEA and MCA — dominated the industry. Sony
bought CBS Records in 1987 and changed its name to Sony Music in 1991. In mid-1998,
PolyGram merged into Universal Music Group (formerly MCA), dropping the leaders down to
a "Big 5". They became the "Big 4" in 2004 when Sony acquired BMG.
 Genre-wise, music entrepreneurs expanded their industry models into areas like folk music,
in which composition and performance had continued for centuries on an ad hoc self-
supporting basis. Forming an independent record label, or "indie" label, continues to be a
popular choice for up-and-coming musicians to have their music heard, despite the financial
backing associated with major labels.
The changing face of the
music industry
 21ST Century Music (2000 – 2099)

 In the 21st century, consumers spent less money on recorded music than
they had in 1990s, in all formats. Total revenues for CDs, vinyl, cassettes
and digital downloads in the world dropped 25% from $38.6 billion in
1999 to $27.5 billion in 2008 according to IFPI. Same revenues in the U.S.
dropped from a high of $14.6 billion in 1999 to $10.4 billion in 2008. The
Economist and The New York Times report that the downward trend is
expected to continue for the foreseeable future —Forrester Research
predicts that by 2013, revenues in USA may reach as low as $9.2 billion.
This dramatic decline in revenue has caused large-scale layoffs inside the
industry, driven retailers (such as Tower Records) out of business and
forced record companies, record producers, studios, recording engineers
and musicians to seek new business models.
21st Century music continued
 In the early years of the decade, the record industry took
aggressive action against illegal file sharing. In 2001 it succeeded
in shutting down Napster (the leading on-line source of digital
music), and it has threatened thousands of individuals with legal
action. This failed to slow the decline in revenue and proved a
public-relations disaster. However, some academic studies have
suggested that downloads did not cause the decline. Legal digital
downloads became widely available with the debut of the iTunes
Store in 2003. The popularity of internet music distribution has
increased and in 2009 more than a quarter of all recorded music
industry revenues worldwide are now coming from digital
channels. However, as The Economist reports, "paid digital
downloads grew rapidly, but did not begin to make up for the loss
of revenue from CDs.“
21ST Century Continued
 The turmoil in the recorded music industry changed the twentieth-century balance
between artists, record companies, promoters, retail music-stores and the consumer.
As of 2010, big-box stores such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy retail more music than
music-only stores, which have ceased to function as a player in the industry.
Recording artists now rely on live performance and merchandise for the majority of
their income, which in turn has made them more dependent on music promoters like
Live. Many newer artists no longer see any kind of "record deal" as an integral part of
their business plan at all. Inexpensive recording hardware and software made it
possible to record reasonable quality music in a bedroom and distribute it over the
internet to a worldwide audience. This, in turn, caused problems for recording
studios, record producers and audio engineers: the Los Angeles Times reports that as
many as half of the recording facilities in that city have failed. Changes in the music
industry have given consumers access to a wider variety of music than ever before, at
a price that gradually approaches zero. However, consumer spending on music-
related software and hardware increased dramatically over the last decade,
providing a valuable new income-stream for technology companies such as Apple
Inc.
World Music Market Shares
Product placement in music
lyricsJuly 3, 2007

 Stacy Ann Ferguson has undertaken to include mentions of the brand
Candie’s in her future songs as part of the deal which sees her hit Big Girls
Don’t Cry being used to advertise the women’s clothing line. “With record
sales in decline,” says an industry spokesman, “you must find novel ways
to make money out of the music.” The deal is apparently worth £2m.
 Two years ago, P Diddy was reported to have begun talks about a similar
deal with Range Rover. In 2002, Sean Combs collaborated with Busta
Rhymes and Pharrell Williams on Pass the Courvoisier, reportedly written
thanks to a deal with the manufacturers of the cognac. (Sample lyric:
“Give me some money/You can give me some cars/You can give me the
bitch/Make sure you pass the Courvoisier.”) In the wake of its release, US
magazine Business Week reported that fans of the trio had obediently
developed a taste for upscale brandy, and sales had “taken off”.
 In 2004, Petey Pablo inserted two lines at the behest of Seagram’s gin:
“Now I got to give a shout out to Seagram’s gin/Cause I drink it, and they
payin’ for it” in his Freek-A-Leek hit.
 50 Cent has not only collaborated with Reebok on lines of trainers and
sportswear, but dutifully included the brand in his songs.
Music and advertisements

 One function of music is to sell products. This

is most often done through advertising
jingles, although popular music may also be
co-opted for this purpose.

 Can you sing along with these popular

jingles?
Jingle and Company
 Bah dah bap dah dah… I’m lovin’ it.
 McDonald’s
 M’m, M’m good
 Campbell’s soups
 Frosted Lucky Charms… They’re magically
delicious
 Lucky Charms cereal
 The best part of waking up is Folger’s in your cup
 Folger’s Instant Coffee
Questions to consider about
music and advertisements
 How does the music in a particular
advertisement help to sell the product?
 Are there any similarities between the
product being sold and the music; for
example, toy racing cars and fast tempo
music.
 What are the producers trying to accomplish
with the music?
What do you notice about
this advertisement’s music?

 http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeyEXt7-0jU

 http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jolzhuenqSY&fe
ature=related
What about this advertisement?

 http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMXhtFik-vI
Questions?

 How do you feel about advertisers who use

popular music to advertise their product?

 What do advertisers hope to achieve when

they use music in this manner?
What criteria must a song
meet to be included on the
Billboard Top 100 ?

 Memorable lyrics
 Interesting harmonies and sounds
 Themes based on realities of life
 Good beat
Critique the Piece: Does
this song meet our criteria?

Good Memorab
Beat le Lyrics

Themes based Interesting

on realities of harmonies &
life sounds
 Trends in Society and Music

 In many ways, music both influences and

follows trends in society.
 Many historians often look at music from a
historical era to better understand what was
happening in society at that time.
 Music will vary according to the society’s
values & interests, social or political events &
concerns, technological advancements &
inventions, and previous musical influences
 What can we tell about
this society based on
its music?
Inventions are simplistic. Military is a major focus. Not a lot of
development of musical form. Very serious. (Roman War Drums)

Musical society is much more developed. Use of woodwinds,

drums, and harp are layered to create a harmony of sounds. Has an
eastern influence . Exciting and full of tradition. (Early China)

String instruments suggest that this music comes later in our

history. Very formal feel. Probably this would be appreciated by
upper class citizens (cello quartet from 17th Century)
Much more technologically advanced (synthesizers, electric piano,
sound effect of police siren). Has some soul / blues music
influences. (1980’s pop music)

Electric guitar tells us this society is advanced. It is appealing to

younger generations and all classes.. Not formal but full of
emotion (possibly anger?) (1990’s rock)
Artists who have created
change in society
 Madonna The Beatles Elvis

 Tupac Shakur

 Lady Gaga Kurt Cobain

 Music & Ethics
 Music has become a major social phenomena in
current society. Music is everywhere and there
are many ethical debates surrounding this topic :
 Should rap music be banned because of the
violence and misogyny it portrays?
 Is it ok for artists to use technology such as
synthesizers and autotunes in their music?
 Is illegal downloading okay? Should music be
free?
 Should artists be more concerned about their
actions or lyrics as they are role models for youth