The Recording Industry

Media Today ◽  
2016 ◽  
pp. 295-324
Keyword(s):  
Author(s):  
Damon J. Phillips

There are over a million jazz recordings, but only a few hundred tunes have been recorded repeatedly. Why did a minority of songs become jazz standards? Why do some songs—and not others—get re-recorded by many musicians? This book answers this question and more, exploring the underappreciated yet crucial roles played by initial production and markets—in particular, organizations and geography—in the development of early twentieth-century jazz. The book considers why places like New York played more important roles as engines of diffusion than as the sources of standards. It demonstrates why and when certain geographical references in tune and group titles were considered more desirable. It also explains why a place like Berlin, which produced jazz abundantly from the 1920s to early 1930s, is now on jazz's historical sidelines. The book shows the key influences of firms in the recording industry, including how record labels and their executives affected what music was recorded, and why major companies would re-release recordings under artistic pseudonyms. It indicates how a recording's appeal was related to the narrative around its creation, and how the identities of its firm and musicians influenced the tune's long-run popularity. Applying fascinating ideas about market emergence to a music's commercialization, the book offers a unique look at the origins of a groundbreaking art form.


Author(s):  
Travis D. Stimeling

Nashville Cats: Record Production in Music City, 1945–1975 is the first history of record production during country music’s so-called Nashville Sound era. This period of country music history produced some of the genre’s most celebrated recording artists, including Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves, and Floyd Cramer, and marked the establishment of a recording industry that has come to define Nashville in the national and international consciousness. Yet, despite country music’s overwhelming popularity during this period and the continued legacy of the studios that were built in Nashville during the 1950s and 1960s, little attention has been given to the ways in which recording engineers, session musicians, and record producers shaped the sounds of country music during the time. Drawing upon a rich array of previously unexplored primary sources, Nashville Cats: Record Production in Music City, 1945–1975 is the first book to take a global view of record production in Nashville during the three decades that the city’s musicians established the city as the leading center for the production and distribution of country music.


Popular Music ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nakamura Tôyô

What was the first Japanese pop hit? The answer will vary according to definition, but undoubtedly come from one of the following five songs:(1) ‘Kachûsha no Uta’ (Kachusha's Song): first sung on stage by Matsui Sumako in March 1914; words by Shimamura Hôgetsu and Sôma Gyofû, music by Nakayama Shimpei; recorded by Matsui for Orient Records under the title of ‘Fukkatsu Shôka.(2) ‘Sendô Kouta’ (A Boatman's Ditty): released in sheet music form in March 1921; words by Noguchi Ujō, music by Nakayama Shimpei.(3) ‘Habu no Minato’ (The Harbour of Habu): written in 1923; words by Noguchi Ujô, music by Nakayama Shimpei; originally recorded by Satô Chiyako for Victor Records in April 1928.(4) ‘Kimi Koishi’ (You, Sweetheart): written in 1928; words by Shiguré Otowa, music by Sasa Kôka; originally recorded by Futamura Tei'ichi for Victor Records in December 1928.(5) ‘Tokyo Kôshin-kyoku’ (Tokyo March): written in 1929; words by Saijô Yaso, music by Nakayama Shimpei; originally sung by Satô Chiyako for Victor Records in June 1929.By looking at how these five songs were put together and became hits, we may be able to understand the origins of the professional song writer in Japan and the early growth of the domestic recording industry.


Popular Music ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Christianen

With the publication of the article ‘Cycles in symbol production’ (Peterson and Berger 1975) a discussion started concerning the advantages and disadvantages of the production of cultural goods under market conditions. The analysis by Peterson and Berger showed a negative correlation between concentration in the recording industry, on the one hand, and the diversity and innovativeness of the music, on the other. Repetition of the analysis using data from the 1980s (Burnett 1990; Lopes 1992) has shown that for this period Peterson and Berger's hypotheses should be rejected. Is there a connection between concentration and diversity and innovation? Are there cycles in symbol production? There seems to be no conclusive answer. In this article, I will attempt to clear up this matter. First, I will repeat the analysis of the relation between concentration and diversity/innovation, using the same model as Peterson and Berger, but with different definitions for the variables concentration, diversity and innovation. Then I will suggest a new model, which can be helpful in uncovering other factors influencing diversity and innovation in the music industry. I will come to that later. Let me first give the reader a brief overview of previous research.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 617-630
Author(s):  
David Arditi

Before the digital era, music consumption was limited to purchasing LPs, tapes and CDs, or attending concerts. With digitization and mobile technologies in tow, the consumption of music exploded. Music is now literally everywhere—but none of it is actually free. Our consumption of it on television and cable, through games on our computers and our phones, through subscriptions or sites with built-in never-ending streams of advertising always has a price. Music is everywhere, but how did this happen? How has digital distribution and production changed the recording industry? What are the consequences of ubiquitous music? In this article, I argue that the digital music trap is an outgrowth of digital capitalism that commodifies our everyday existence.


2004 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Bach

The battle between the recording industry and those illegal sharing music over the Internet has gripped headlines over the last few years like few others related to the digital age. At its core, it is a battle about the meaning of property and thus a battle over the heart of the emerging information economy. This article critically examines the double punch of law and technology – the simultaneous and interwoven deployment of legal and electronic measures to protect digital content – and asks whether it is merely a defense strategy against piracy, as the industry asserts, or rather an attempt to fundamentally redefine the producer-consumer relationship. Based on some initial evidence for the latter proposition, the article analyzes reasons for concern, outlines the current politics of copyright policymaking that have given producers the upper hand, and sketches elements of a strategy to fight music piracy that does not infringe on basic consumer rights.


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