Technology and The Music Industry: An Insight Into Effects on Production, Distribution and Marketing

Kenneth McArthur Student Number: 64916 BMus In Commercial Music Performance NQF Level 4

Lecturer: Harry Leckstein 1st June 2012 Word Count: 2687 words (excluding referencing)

Technology is one of the few things that have managed to integrate themselves into every aspect of our lives. It has affected everything from the way we communicate with each other to the way every day humans express themselves. One of the things almost all humans can relate to is music. And technology has and continues to affect the music we listen to in a very big way. Everything from the instruments that create the music to the way the music is shared from person to person is affected by the ongoing trends of technology (Bhattacharjee et al. 2007) Here the author will attempt to study some of the characteristics of the evolution of technology as well as examples of how they affect the music we listen to, the way its made and how it affects the world as a whole

One of the most obvious ways technology has affected music and the world we live in is that it has given us the ability to save it and listen to it repeatedly. Before the creation of recording technology all music heard had to be performed live and the only way anyone could hear music was if it came directly from the instruments creating it. The very creation of music recording technology forever changed the way songs were written and listened to (Anthony Seeger 2007). Today almost every person on earth has access to unlimited amounts of music with MP3 players and the internet. But if it were not for the ability to record music it would not be able to be shared or spread anywhere.

The technology that is used to record the music we listen to has changed vastly from what was rst used almost a hundred years ago. In recent times we have seen the huge change from analogue recording methods to digital, software-based methods of recording. The shift has caused not only changes in the amount of physical space needed in order for people to record music (today almost anyone can set up an entire virtual studio with just an interface and a mac) but has also changed the way music is edited and distributed to the public.

Early analogue methods of recording were expensive to maintain and to obtain. Just the magnetic tape used to record was expensive and everything relied on moving parts. Heating and maintenance became issues which often cost early studios a large amount of time and money. The magnetic frequencies of the equipment used also affected the sound of recordings, and many early effects such as tape saturation were direct results of the electric atmosphere in which the songs were recorded (Robjohn 2010). The rise of digital recording saw almost all of the old problems of analogue solved. Everything from the space needed to house loads of desks, tubes and valves was replaced with much more compact circuit boards and the costs of maintaining expensive machinery gradually vanished. Today musicians are afforded the luxury of being able to not only do multiple takes of anything at no cost but are also able to save good takes, layering them onto one another in order to make seemingly perfect arrangements and songs, edited to any length and using almost any sound imaginable (Cocchini 2007). How has this affected the way music is made? And what does that mean to the ever-changing trends of the music industry and how does it affect the music people listen to? Some believe that one of the results of this change is that the art of production has encroached upon the creative aspects of creating music (George Cocchini 2007). The reason behind this theory is that because it has become so easy for us to produce and record music with little or no cost we have in a sense thinned out the gene pool of the music industry, releasing songs that may be well produced but have little creative air and are less willing to deviate from the norm. Although this theory may hold some water, there are also positive and creative sides to recent technological changes. The coming of technology has introduced many new concepts to the world of composition and performance. Although electronic, synthesized sounds have been popular in music since the 60s, the invention of MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) has truly opened up a range of possibilities for the creation of

music. As stated by Richard Ingham, a then-visiting professor of jazz at the University of St Andrew Digital editing technology has had a profound effect on the development of rock and pop music with sampling and ease of repetition (Richard Ingham 2007) Nowhere is this more evident than in todays modern dance culture where repetition of rhythm and melody is an integral part of how the audience experiences the music they are listening to. Samples have also been used extensively in creating new forms of music and stretching the boundaries of what can be done by instrumental musicians, allowing us to layer and add sounds and audio textures as we see t. In the authors opinion there has been another task presented with musicians that lies above the debate of whether or not the digital world has affected music in a positive or negative way and that task is for musicians to nd their own personal balance between the creative effects of being deprived of technology and the effects of using technology to record, in detail, every sound one wants to express. In my opinion a true creative nirvana can only be achieved with the balance of these things. But even if we manage to nd the best methods possible for capturing our creative exploits, how would technology affect what the public hear, and how they receive it?

No-one can deny that the development of technology has had a profound effect on marketing. With the creation of the internet comes the ability for people all over the world to connect with one another and share music more easily than ever before. All of this is made possible due to another one of technologies great breakthroughs, the MP3. The compression method known as the MP3 has been responsible for one of the most heated debates to be brought forward in recent years: The question of whether MP3 coupled with the rapid le sharing systems of today will be benecial or hurtful towards the music industry as a whole. Expert analysis on Napster has lead to the notion that the online sampling mechanisms made possible by such sites could lead to an increase in sales

(Fader 2000). Although this this doesnt dispel the fear that online sharing will hurt the industry and prevent people from being interested in buying music, it does show new possibilities when it comes to sharing the music and branching out to people. In terms of connecting with people the internet has changed everything, leading some to believe that new technological innovations will in the end empower creative individuals (Belsky 2011) which will lead to an increase in private viewings of creative material as well a large amount of revenue being collected because of online sales from places such as iTunes.

When considering the amount of research that has been done on the topic, and when considering factors such as the amount of bias the authors of the written work as well as independent studies have against other opinions its no wonder that written work all displays conicting results. As cited by Bhattacharjee recent work analyzed the subject, relating P2P servers with sales of music albums (Oberholtzer and Strumpf 2007). Oberholtzer and Strumpf (2007, p1) found that the effects of downloads on sales where statistically indistinguishable from zero. This along with the idea that because of the ability to download things a decrease in music sales could be because of increased competition for customers time and resources (Godin 1999, Mathews and Peers 2000, Mathews 2000, Boston 2000) illustrates the notion that the current downloading of music is not affecting sales as badly as we may think, even though there are also many studies done by others proving the total opposite.

The effects of online piracy have been greatly researched and seemingly proven as well as debated upon. And the vast majority count towards illegal downloading , end-user piracy, different from for-prot piracy seems to be much more difcult to control. Studies have been done that tried to assess the effect of online piracy on the music industry (Stan Liebowitz 2003) The study looks at a 30 year series of sales is U.S. record history using

numbers from the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). The argument was that the downturn experienced in music sales could have been contributed to the creation and popularity of P2P (peer to peer) technologies. The effects of income and the cost of CDs were omitted (Peitz, Waelbroeck, Pg 2, 2004) and the conclusion was drawn that the appearance of P2P technologies and internet piracy denitely harmed the industry as it lead to a decrease in album sales (Peitz, Waelbroeck, Pg 2, 2004). The debate will continue as to whether we really are on the verge of an entire industry coming to an end or whether we are about to make a break through into a new era of communication and empowerment of individuals and allow music to reach new heights in sales because of the ease of access to music that that comes along with constant internet access as well as the increasing amounts of bandwidth available to each person. There is also the concept of bre optic cabling further increasing the amount of bandwidth available to each person making downloading and streaming of music easier than ever before, much faster, lighter and more durable than conventional steel cabling (Freudenrich) bre optic connections to the household could revolutionize the industry from both a marketing and crowd sourcing point of view. With many communities experiencing a great demand for the product, having private phone companies laying bre optic cables in small town in america as well as it being made available on municipal systems (Erikson 2012) there is no telling what the increased availability of lightning fast internet will do to sales of albums. Previous actions towards declining album sales because of online piracy resulted in the strengthening of copyright law, yet the speed at which the average consumer can download music or any other intellectual property continues to increase (Fleming, Hughes, Pg 54, 2002). This illustrates a trend for music to become more readily available to people in the spaces of their homes to download or access music at any given time (Pg 55, 2002).

So, if we had to forget of a while the threat of technology upon the music industry and instead focus on the benets new technological breakthroughs have given the aspiring musician, and focus on the fact that right now anyone can release music as well as easily take steps to learning the skills necessary in order to create decent quality singles as well as demos with no additional cost other than the capital needed to buy equipment and software it becomes apparent that we are standing on the dawn of a new era if interpersonal communication. Because of this, companies and services are nding it more and more difcult to ght for consumer awareness of the product (Godin, Pg 1, 1999) and this has lead to people desperately nd new ways to approach their target market in a world where the average humans attention is now held by more thins at once than ever before. According to Seth Godin in his 1999 book Permission Marketing (Godin 1999) all advertising has, up until the digital period, been solely interruptive in its delivery to the customer. Marketing techniques rely on adverts to interrupt the consumers usual thought process or daily habits, notice the ad and then make the decision of whether or not to buy it. This raises many problems, not only doe the advert stand little chance against the massive wash of information bombarding the consumer every day, but once it fails to grab the attention of the market it results in a huge waste of money. Godin (Godin 1999) argues that as the average consumer is faced with such an overwhelming amount of adverts and media, its no wonder the concept of mass media advertising has not been successful. This leads us to what is known as niche marketing, an idea that strives to make advertising products more intimate and relevant to their target market.

Niche marketing, or permission marketing (Godin 1999) tries to get the consumer to acknowledge the existence of a product, service or event by merely asking them to be interested in it. The idea revolves around the notion that in todays chaotic and interruptive environment actually stopping to ask consumers whether or not theyll be interested in a

product would stand out and yield an increase in customer interest. The idea carries over into the music industry easily. Bands can now offer free samples of albums as well as free tracks available for download to their fans and many use this as bait for permission marketing. All the fan needs to do is add their name to a mailing list and be promised a reward for it (Free tracks, artwork, access to additional areas of the bands web page etc). Because it is easy to sign up for and promises an instant reward for doing so, promoters, record labels and independent musicians have an easy and cost effective way of obtaining their fans details and keeping them up to date with upcoming events as well as any new music being recorded or released. This, along with the integration or social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter allows for some use of interruptive marketing as well, such as bands posting digital iers or posters on their walls for followers to see, however this remains cost effective and does not result in the loss of money normally attributed to modern interruptive advertising techniques.

But once the audience has been sourced, how do we still keep the permissive form of advertising from slowly slipping into the millions of screened adverts being ignored by consumers on a day to day basis? Current writing on the topic points to the idea that because the means by which the consumer were contacted where permissive, the consumer is more likely to not forget the product because of the feeling of connection with the provider (Godin 2010). If this notion is true for every day brands of things bought at a grocery store then it rings particularly true for music, as the individual groups of people looking to connect with one another has always been there, but up until now the groups have never had people who can lead them in as intimate a way as is possible today.

As you can see the effects of technology upon the music industry, the music we listen to and the way it is sold to those who wish to listen to it have been vast indeed. With so many

new avenues for obtaining music illegally as well as purchasing it and staying connected with fans and audiences who can really tell at this early stage whether or not the new world of connectivity we are about to be introduced to will make or break the music industry. It is the opinion of the author that provided we are given sufcient laws and ways of monitoring the massive wave of online activity that innovative and creative people will nd a way to adapt and grow with a changing industry the way we always have, to quote Seth Godin in his seminar The Tribes We Lead (Godin 2010) The Beatles did not invent the teenager, they just chose to lead them

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