Audiences

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media

This website should be added to your ‘favourites’ and you should be updating your knowledge regularly from this site.

Each week there will be a prize for any new information about the music industry’s audiences or institutions

the issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice;

the importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing;

the technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange;

the significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences;

the importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences;

the issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international or global institutions;

the ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour.


the importance of cross media synergy in production, distribution and marketing;













The changing relationship between record labels and consumers

To understand the relationship between audiences and institutions within the music industry

What hardware do you listen to music on?What are your views on music piracy / illegal

downloading as a consumer?

Where do you purchase music from?Online?Smartphone applications?

Me : as a consumer

Mass? Global? Niche? Localised?

What type of audience does Universal target?

What type of audience does Domino Records target?

Mass audiences due to its global appeal Many of the artists are signed for their

mainstream appeal The label invests a lot of money in

developing and promoting each artist so they need their music to be successful fairly quickly and make a good profit

Niche, localised audiences. Consumers who want to hear new music

and discover artists who have been allowed to develop a unique sound

Specialist collectors of well-designed, interesting items eg. long playing records

Record collectors are now a niche market – since the majors are no longer catering for them, Domino does well by providing for them

“The media environment is now being shaped into two seemingly contradictory trends: on the one hand, new media technologies have lowered production and distribution costs, expanded the range of available delivery channels and enabled consumers to archive, appropriate, annotate and recirculate media content in powerful new ways.

At the same time, there has been an alarming concentration of the ownership of mainstream commercial media, with a small handful of multinational media conglomerates dominating all sectors of the entertainment industry.

Some fear that the media is out of control, others that it is too controlled.”

Henry Jenkins: Convergence Culture (2008)

Conglomerates like Universal struggle to persuade audiences to buy their music legally.

Audiences argue that the labels should realise that they have brought this on themselves by failing to keep up with the consumer demand created by new technologies and the new ‘instant gratification’ culture of on demand services.

Example:If music is playing on the radio, consumers want to

buy it, but legal downloads/CDs won’t be released for months. Consumers argue that labels should see that people want to use the technology the entertainment industry has provided (Mp3 players, mobiles, laptops) to take the music they want.

Audience vs

Instutution

Between the years 2007 and 2012 – according to research conducted by Jupiter Research – the cumulative cost to record labels (both independent and conglomorate) will be

£1.2 billion

Conglomerates are realising that they need to move with the times and provide ways for consumers to enjoy their music while still maximising revenues.

Vevo will make money from advertising so consumers can watch music for free and legally.

More streaming websites (like Spotify) will charge moderate subscriptions and share revenue with the labels. http://www.we7.com/#/about/

In Dec 2009, Universal joined with Sony to launch VEVO in the US – a website for music videos.

videos hosted by YouTube (owned by Google)

advertising revenue shared by Vevo and Google .

launched worldwide in 2010 aims to attract high end advertising to

maximise revenue from music video.

Look at the article ‘Pledgemusic’How does this demonstrate how audiences

are now in a position of control over the music industry?

Look at the article ‘Tunited’How does this concept bring artists and

audiences together?

Challenge:Using the internet, find 10 different ways in

which modern audiences consume music now and explain their benefits

5 must be hardware technologies (eg. Smartphone technology/ MP3 etc)

5 must be web applications (eg. Spotify / Vevo / Shazam etc.)

Use specific examples from case study material (Domino and Universal) to support your points.

Refer to question throughout answer – what have institutions done to regain control?

Provide an argument in your essayIntro – main (PEE) – conclusion (go back to

the question)


the importance of cross media synergy in production, distribution and marketing;













What to include: Battle of control between audiences and

institutions Birth of new software apps and websites

(Hardware and software) eg. Spotify. Vevo, We7, Subscription services etc.

The use of online marketing to replace the need for record labels ef. Viral marketing, social network sites, online piracy

Institutions vs Audiences

What problems do institutions have in the music industry?

What issues do audiences have with the music industry?

Labels controlled which artists were releasing music to be sold and played on the radio by choosing artists to sign

Labels controlled when audiences would buy the singles and albums

The radio chart shows would be influential in creasing the popularity of artists

Audiences have gained more control over which artists they listen to: the internet, MP3 players

Labels have less control over the whereabouts of their music as they have no control over the internet.

New media such as Social Networking sites are now influential in creating fan bases.

On your A3 sheet, mindmap your answers to the questions on the board using

(a)You knowledge from the last 6 weeks(b)Case study material - articles from the

Media Guardian(c)Your own experience

AUDIENCES:Consumer Culture in

2011

Are audiences buying music any more? Have the new generation of music audiences

got ‘out of the culture’ of spending money on music?

Are institutions no longer needed or necessary?

Can artists distribute their music without the need for a record label?

Where is money being lost? Where do record labels find their revenue

(money) from now? What is the future for the music industry?

‘Record Labels Must Work Harder’

‘Record Industry Fights its Corner’

To understand the various ways in which Record Labels are fighting back against the change in culture of audiences.

Provide better services by embracing the ‘online revolution’

OR Fight against illegal downloading through

the use of fines and penalties

So what have institutions done

about the problem?

Birth of new software apps and websites (Hardware and software) eg. Spotify, Subscription services etc.

Universal have developed:Vevo, We7, etc.

The use of web 2:0 (social networking sites) to distribute music

The use of websites which can play music videos, act as online shops etc – DominoMart, DominoCast

In Dec 2009, Universal joined with Sony to launch VEVO in the US – a website for music videos.

videos hosted by YouTube (owned by Google)

advertising revenue shared by Vevo and Google .

launched worldwide in 2010 aims to attract high end advertising to

maximise revenue from music video.

Conglomerates have also fought back by attacking illegal downloaders:

CDs were encoded so they could not be converted to MP3

Illegal downloaders were fined Napster and other sites were taken down Tracks uploaded to YouTube were taken

down PirateBay has been shut down The Digital Economy Act was passed in

2010

On your A3 sheet, mindmap your answers to the questions on the board using

(a)You knowledge from the last 6 weeks(b)Case study material - articles from the

Media Guardian(c)Your own experience

AUDIENCES:Consumer Culture in

2011

To understand how modern marketing strategies have changed the music industry over the last 10 years

To have written down 10 ways different modern marketing strategies

“The record industry is declining but the music

industry is thriving”

Mercury Records are no longer making CDs. Music is distributed only through downloads

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47JeVVYRvnA&feature=player_embedded

VIRAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN FOR LILLY ALLENS THE FEAR

http://www.musicindustrysectionb.blogspot.com/

Videogames too are an important part of music and will continue to grow. The staggering

success of Rock Band, Guitar Hero, SingStar and Wii Music has managed to present music

in a whole new environment.

The massive success of the iPod and iTunes (and now the iPhone) were just the starting point.

With download services like 7digital, Napster, eMusic, Amazon and Bleep, we now have an incredibly rich digital marketplace that never rests and where innovations continue to startle.

While most music sales today are à la carte (i.e. download a track to own), we are seeing very clear signs that services are moving towards ‘access’ as well as 'ownership'. Subscription services like Napster were the first wave here - allowing you unlimited streaming access/tethered downloads to their entire catalogue for a set fee each month. But as ways of accessing music are developing, so too are the ways that you will ‘pay’ for that access.

Services like Last.fm and Spotify are based on streaming and are paid for through advertising.

You can upgrade on a service like Spotify to an ad-free tier for a set fee each month.

Even YouTube is operating this way as more and more acts and their record labels set up dedicated YouTube channels.

How has We7 changed it’s business model over the years?

http://www.musicindustrysectionb.blogspot

.com/

To consider what the music-to-mobile franchise is

To understand how new technologies have had an impact on the music industry








http://vimeo.com/10334683

Audimated is a website which helps artists and fans distribute independent music without the

need for a record label. With Audimated, both artists and fans get paid for

their content.

How will this have an impact on artists?

How will this have an impact on record labels?

The idea of shared playlists (seen most obviously on Spotify and Last.fm) will also shape the coming few years.

Technology (in terms of both devices and services) is facilitating this, empowering consumers in ways that were unimaginable even five years ago.

List 5 technologies that have supported the growth of the music industry.

What does this tell you about how new technologies have impacted on the music

industry?

The iPhone has helped take the idea of music on your mobile way beyond ringtones and the arrival at the end of 2008 of Nokia’s ‘Comes With Music’ (unlimited downloads for a year bundled into the cost of the handset) is a very clear sign of the ways things are moving.

As more mobile users upgrade to 3G connections, we will see even more developments here, with mobile audio and video streaming set to become commonplace.

The likes of We7 and Qtrax, where you ‘pay’ for the download in exchange for listening to ads, are showing how ad-funding and à la carte can coexist .

Then there are the sites that allow you to invest in new bands (such as SellaBand, Slicethepie, PledgeMusic, Tunited and Bandstock), placing the fan at the very centre of things, supporting grassroots acts and benefiting financially from their success.

The future of music is diverse and exciting. There won’t be one way of accessing and consuming music, instead, lots of different services will sit side-by-side, giving music fans unparalleled access and choice. The possibilities are endless.

For next lesson find out 10 facts about the ‘Music Matters’ campaign. Bring your findings to the lesson next Tuesday.

Present them imaginatively: powerpoint / poster / mp3?

Find out what AUDIMATED is and

one other modern marketing technique

ADD THIS TO YOUR WORKSHEET

To understand what the latest campaign against online digital piracy is and why it is gaining popularity.

To gather statistics and facts about the British Recorded Music Industry using the BPI website

http://www.musicindustrysectionb.blogspot.com/

10 facts about the ‘Music Matters’ campaign.

Present them imaginatively: powerpoint / poster / mp3?

http://www.whymusicmatters.org/

“19 out of every 20 tracks downloaded are done so illegally. In an evolving digital landscape, there can be confusion over

which sites are legal. We think music fans would like to know that when the site that

they are using is legitimate they are supporting the artists, musicians, songwriters and everyone involved in creating the music.

“

The Music Matters trust mark will act as a guide for music fans and help differentiate legal music services from illegal ones.

Unknown, unsigned bands are treated the same as bands with record deals. Unless the unsigned band chooses to offer their music to fans for free, downloading or sharing that music for free is illegal.

The Music Matters Certification Scheme is working with legal digital music services to ensure they carry the Music Matters trustmark. This will help audiences differentiate legal music sites from illegal sites. There are currently dozens of legitimate digital music services in the UK.

http://www.whymusicmatters.org/about-digital-music

http://www.whymusicmatters.org/1. What is they key reason why the Music Matters

Campaign has been set up?2. How does it hope to achieve its aim?

3. How is the Music Matters campaign making use of web 2:0 to gain publicity and an audience

following?4. Why is there a need for campaigning like this?5. How will it affect (a) audiences (b) institutions?

6. Do you think this is a more successful method than the passing of a government bill such as the Digital

Economy Bill?

Research 5 key news items related to the music industry and the work we have covered (Domino and Universal) from the websites below:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music http://www.musicweek.com http://www.ifpi.org http://www.bpi.co.uk/ http://www.universalmusic.com/ www.dominorecordco.com Be ready to present your findings to the class in the lesson

either on powerpoint or in a factsheet that will be copied to the rest of the class.

Revise notes for planning an essay question on Wednesday 27th April

Log on to the:The British Recorded Music Industry

Website

This website will provide you with the key features of the Music Industry in preparation for the G322 exam.

Use it to complete the tasks on your worksheet.

360 degree deals Pre-release piracy Vertical integration Horizontal integration

Education

Audiences