Speaking of Motown music, did you know it was started by Berry Gordy who founded Motown Records in 1958? I know. Ancient history to you, maybe, but Berry is one of America’s musical pioneers.
Notes/points of emphasis for chapter 5 “Recordings: Demanding Choices”
Be sure after you read this chapter, you can define and explain the “Key Terms” in top left corner of page 104.
And know the answers to the “Critical Questions” (on the same page) just below the “Key Terms.”
Prerequisite for popular music (or music of any kind) was the means of recording and distributing it. In this respect, we owe deep thanks to the early efforts of Thomas Edison. Thanks largely to him, and to Emile Berliner of Germany, the world—in the late 19th century and early 20th century—got the phonograph and gramophone. These inventions led much later to the LP and compact disc.
Phonograph (and eventually radio) allowed vast expansion of people’s access to music and sound. Before invention of phonograph, folks had to go to a concert hall or theatre or other venue to hear music if they didn’t play it themselves.
Phonograph and radio brought a wider range of music to everyone but they also led to loss of so-called social music (music that folks played and sang for one another in their homes or other social settings.)
So what other forms of “technology” or devices have harnessed music and made it more accessible to millions of us down through the ages? Some include: 33 1/3 rpm records, 45 rpm records, 78 rpm records, transistor radios, Walkmans, CDs, iPod music players, Apple’s iTunes online music store, the Apple iPhone.
A few quick important facts about the recording industry:
1. Apple started iTunes, Apple’s online music store, in 2003. Billions and billions of 99-cent downloads later, iTunes has become a household brand in America.
2. Most popular forms of music in America (or the kinds of music that most people purchase) are: Rock, Country, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rhythm & Blues/Urban, Pop, Religious or Gospel…
3. The main (or most important) recording centers in the U.S are: LA, New York and Nashville. But most of you, I’m sure, already, know or have heard that Nashville is “Music City USA.”
4. Many recordings or artists who cut records depend on radio to succeed. The more radio play time of their music these artists get, the more likely they are to sell a ton of their records.
5. One of the most muscially focused magazines in the U.S. is “Rolling Stone.” Read it to get the latest reviews about recordings and profiles on the artists and bands who create those recordings.
6. “Billboard” is another important magazine focused on music. Known as the music industry’s leading trade magazine, “Billboard” regularly publishes the country’s top-selling records.
7. Content labeling is a big issue in the recording industry. So big that the Recording Industry Association of America (which has a lot of clout in the U.S.) has strongly encouraged its members to provide a warning label or to print lyrics on albums with potentially offensive content. This is a form of self-regulation by the music industry. It is not federally mandated regulation. Why would the recording industry want to self-regulate itself?
8. Overseas piracy is another big issue in the recording industry. We’ve all heard or read about countries such as China “stealing” or counterfeit copying American artists’ music. On top of that, the counterfeited music—which is a flagrant violation of copyright laws—is often not of the same high quality as the original. Unfortunately, policing international piracy of music is difficult and costly.
9. Yet another big recording industry issue is file sharing on the Internet. What is file sharing? Our textbook defines it as: peer-to-peer distribution of copyrighted material on the Internet without the copyright owner’s permission. MP3 player technology makes this very easy to do. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against the process of Internet file sharing or illegal copying of music.
10. Illegal Internet file sharing of music threatens the entire recording industry. Licensed music is protected by international copyright law, and the recording industry aggressively goes after those unscrupulous users who steal or copy (without permission) an artist’s music. Some of the counterfeiters end up being successfully prosecuted, but many escape. Why? The Internet is vast and wild and untamed (for the most part) and it’s hard, at best, to catch those who steal an artist’s or recording company’s music. Illegal music downloads are a thorn in the side of the recording industry.
11. So where does the recording industry make its money? The pie chart on pg. 100 tells us. Interestingly, according to this chart, digital (Internet) sales account for 50 percent of the music industry’s income. That equals the 50 percent of the music industry’s income from physical sales.
12. In terms of the music or recording industry, what is Pandora? How about Spotify? Look these up, if you don’t already know what they are, and be able to define/describe them.
Okay, enough for now about chapter 5. What are your favorite songs? Who are your favorite artists? We might listen to a few of them soon in class.
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