Sound Recording and Popular Music Chapter 3
Music and the Internet It s not supposed to be a model for anything else. It was simply a response to situation. We re out of contract. We have our own studio. We have this new server. What the hell else would we do? This was the obvious thing. But it only works for us because of where we are. Radiohead s Thom Yorke
Youth, Music, and Repression 1700s waltz viewed as savage 1800s tango viewed as primitive, sexual banned in Argentina attacked by the French clergy 1920s the Charleston vilified 1950s through 1980s rock and roll decried as too sexual, violent The generation gap persists
Early History of Recording de Martinville, France, 1850s Edison, U.S., 1877 Berliner, U.S., 1880s Victor Talking Machine, U.S., 1900s Radio gets an edge over recording industry, 1920s
History (cont.) Edison s wax cylinders Berliner and vinyl records Magnetic audiotape (Germany, 1940s) Stereo sound (1950s) Digital recording (1970s) Compact discs (1980s) DVDs (1990s) MP3 and music piracy issues (now)
Figure 3.1
Many of them have no resources to pay the $3,000 penalty. They are students. Lee Bowie, Mount Holyoke College dean, on the thirteen college students forced to pay $3,000 settlements to the recording industry (or risk a lawsuit) for illegal music downloads, 2008
Records and Radio 1914: ASCAP founded to collect copyright fees for music writers and publishers. 1924: Radio competition cut s record sales in half. However, costs of royalties force many radio stations off the air. Radio and the recording industry join forces in the 1950s.
U.S. Pop Music Music should never be harmless. Robbie Robertson of The Band Pop music starts as low culture. It appeals to the masses. Likewise blues, country, Tejano, salsa, jazz, rock, reggae, rap, hip-hop, easy listening, and more
Rock Music Divides and Joins High and low culture Chuck Berry s Roll Over Beethoven Sinatra vs. Elvis Masculine and feminine Country and city North and South Sacred and secular Ray Charles s gospel origins
Cover Music and Racism Dick Clark promotes white covers of black music. Elvis listed as co-writer Pat Boone king of cover music Little Richard outsings Boone Ray Charles gets #1 with cover of white musician
Payola Payola Scandals The practice of record promoters paying deejays to play their songs on the air Alan Freed ruined Congressional hearings in 1959 By 2005: Payola persists.
The white boy who sang colored 1950s sees radio losing programming to TV. Creates void filled by rock and roll Led by R&B penetration (25% by 1953) Overtly sexual lyrics Declining segregation Elvis Alan Freed (Cleveland deejay)
Crossover Heroes Bill Haley and the Comets (R&B) Johnnie Ray (R&B) Chuck Berry (country) ex. Maybellene Ray Charles plays in a white band. Southern music (gospel and country/folk) regains cultural respectability after CW. Delta blues, rockabilly, Hooker and Holly
The Times They Were A-Changin The 1960s The British Invasion The Beatles The Rolling Stones Motown The Supremes Marvin Gaye
Oh Brother Where Art Thou? Broadly, folk music = songs performed by untrained musicians and passed down through oral traditions Considered a democratic and participatory form Folk music was popularized by radio and by grassroots activists like Woody Guthrie, who championed peace and social justice.
Punk Revives Rock Return to the basics of rock and roll: simple chord structures, catchy melodies, and politically or socially challenging lyrics The Ramones Blondie The Clash The Sex Pistols
The World According to Hip-Hop Started in NYC s party scene By mid-1980s had commercial success One of the most popular music forms today Questions class and racial boundaries Challenges status quo values
The Sound of Music The music industry experienced significant losses beginning in 2000. File-sharing began to undercut CD sales. Global Oligopoly: Four corporations control most of industry worldwide.
Figure 3.2
Making Recordings Artist development (A&R agents) Technical facilities: technical production specialists Sales and distribution Direct retail Music clubs Internet sales Advertising and promotion Radio MTV Administrative operations
Music Sony BMG Music Entertainment (50% ownership) Arista, Arista Nashville, Columbia, Epic, Jive, LaFace, RCA, RCA Victor, Sony BMG Masterworks. Sony/ATV Music Publishing (50% ownership) Movies Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Classics, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures Sony Pictures Studios Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Sony Pictures Home Entertainment What Sony Owns Television Sony Pictures Television Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune, Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless, Dragon Tales, Just Shoot Me!, The Nanny, Mad about You, NewsRadio, Seinfeld Crackle Game Show Network Electronics Sony Electronics Inc. DVD and Blu-ray Disc players Bravia HDTVs OLED digital TVs VAIO computers Handycam Camcorders Cyber-shot Digital Cameras Walkman Video MP3 players Sony Reader Digital Book Software Sony Creative Software: Vegas, ACID Pro, Sound Forge, Media Manager Digital Games Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. PlayStation PlayStation Portable PlayStation Network PlayStation games Mobile Phones Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications (50% ownership)
Figure 3.3
Figure 3.4
Free Expression and Democracy How can popular music uphold a legacy of free expression while resisting co-optation by giant companies?