The Dynamics of Mass Communication

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The Dynamics ofMass Communication
Seventh Edition

• Joseph R. Dominick

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Part 3 Electronic Media
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Chapter 8 Sound Recording
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Recording History

• . Thomas Edison invents phonograph in 1877
  (records on metal cylinder format) earliest uses
  thought to be for dictation and other business
  needs.
• . Emile Berliner patents gramophone makes spiral
  track recordings on a flat disc.
  
• . nickelodeons 1890s amusement arcade device
  plays back a two-minute recording for 5 cents
  very popular

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Rivalry

• Berliner premiers the Victrola in 1906
• Design superiority of Victrola and flat-disc
  record system ends rival-systems conflict between
  him, Edison, and the Columbia Record Company
  
• By 1914, record players and collections spur a
  national boom in sales trend runs hot through
  the 1920s

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Radios Impact on Recording Industry

• Audiences preference for radios live music
  cuts record player sales in half by 1923
  
• Though the recording industry vastly improved
  their sound system and radio-record player
  combination devices were promoted, audiences
  continued to identify radio as the home of live
  music and recorded music as a canned sound.

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The Depression, WW II, and After

• The Great Depression
• Hard economy imposes big losses on industry, but
  a new coin-operated record player called a juke
  box installed in bars and diners helps rescue the
  industry. Record sales soar 500.
• World War II and After
• Shellac, an ingredient used in records, is deemed
  a vital war commodity by government, and record
  making plummets.
  
• American Federation of Musicians' strike,
  1942-44 they fear losing jobs to canned music.
  
• Capitol records starts sending free records to
  radio stations to promote certain songs.

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Battle of the Speeds

• 3M Company introduces magnetic recording tape in
  1947, makes music editing and multitrack
  recording possible.
  
• In 1948 Columbia Records introduces the 33 1/3
  long-playing record (the LP). RCA debuts 45 rpm
  record. That starts the "Battle of the Speeds"
  for format dominance. Soon the 33 1/3 becomes
  preferred format for albums, the 45 the choice
  for single hits the older 78 rpm format quietly
  disappears.
• In the 1950s, stereo players debut, which quickly
  doubles the number of records being sold.

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Birth and Evolution of Rock and Roll

• Rock and roll, a blend of jazz, rhythm and blues,
  country-western, and popular music, debuts in
  1950s.
  
• RR, now a very profitable format, takes a more
  wholesome and commercial track in late 1950s,
  early 1960s.
  
• In 1964, Beatles spearhead upbeat sound from
  Britain later, other sounds such as folk and
  Motown create more diversity.

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Transitions and Trends 1960s-1990s

• Always facing roller coaster profitability, the
  industry gets help from several major trends
  
• 1960s new music energy reflects social
  experimentation and freedom of the times
  
• 1970s disco, big name artists, and intro of
  CDs
  
• 1980s debut of music videos and MTV
• 1990s strong new sounds, such as hip hop, rap

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RECORDING IN THE DIGITAL AGE

• Napsters big (and lasting) impact on industry
• Napsters free file-sharing service becomes a new
  way to find and distribute music.
  
• Industry begins to react with new marketing and
  distribution strategies, such as unlimited music
  files by subscription fee and free downloads in
  return for home page advertising exposure.
• Disintermediation trend keeps direction of
  industry and consumers shrouded in uncertainty.

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DEFINING FEATURES OF RECORDING

• Recordings are cultural forces, characterizing
  social groups, defining movements, setting social
  trends and shaping our modern culture.
  
• Recording is an international business (one U.S.
  and four foreign companies dominate the global
  market).
  
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• The industry is a unique blend of business and
  talent.
  

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RECORDING INDUSTRY ORGANIZATION

• The industry can be divided into four areas
• talent
• production
• distribution (five major types)
• direct retail, rack jobbers, one-stops, direct
  consumer sales, and online sales
  
• retail

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OWNERSHIP TRENDS

• The recording industry is one of the most
  concentrated of all media industries, with five
  companies accounting for more than 85 percent of
  all sales. These companies are also
  multinational conglomerates, with interests in
  many different industries.

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PRODUCING RECORDSDepartments and Staff

• The seven departments in a typical recording
  company
  
• . artists and repertoire (AR)
• . sales and distribution
• . advertising and merchandising
• . business
• . promotion
• . publicity
• . artist development

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Making an Original CD or Tape

• Step 1 A group makes a demonstration tape, or
  demo.
  
• Step 2 An agent introduces the demo to
  recording studio.
  
• Step 3 The studio then records a master tape,
  often using up to 48 tracks, in a process
  called multitracking.
  
• Step 4 The recording is professionally blended
  together. Using multitrackings ability to
  record and edit each sound separately, a band
  can fine tune each person, instrument, person,
  and effect

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Making an Original CD or Tape (Cont)

• Step 5 Next comes the mix down, when
  multiple tracks are blended into a two-track
  stereo master.
  
• Step 6 Finally, a master is reproduced on
  tape or disc.

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INDUSTRY AND ARTIST ECONOMICS
Subject to up and down profits, the industry is
currently enjoying an upswing, with a 20
profit jump in the last few years on sales of
14.5 billion. CDs account for 83 of sales,
singles 9, tapes 8. Artists, except for supe
rstars, barely earn enough in royalties to cover
the advances made for production expenses.
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FEEDBACK
Feedback is measured by Billboards weekly
ratings. Its Hot-100 Chart is based on two
components sales and exposure.
For sales figures, Billboard measures the top 50
retail markets on a weekly basis, choosing 185
of the most influential music outlets.
Billboard measures exposure by surveying play li
sts from 240 leading radio stations, each
weighted by audience reach (bigger audiences
count more than smaller markets).
The magazine then combines those two figures to
forge a final composite figure which is reported
as that songs rating.
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AUDIENCE
Since the industry supports itself by music sales
rather than ads, there is little demographic data
about its audiences. The data that does exist d
eals mostly with the number and types of sound
equipment, CDs, and tapes in the average
household. Sales data, on the other hand, tell
us that the over 30 crowd accounts for 55 of all
sales, with sliding sales figures for the under
19 crowd.
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End of Chapter 8Recording Industry