Helpful Site

Hey folks, one of my colleagues has been working on a site for Alevel Media Students which you'll find helpful. Check through the tabs but you'll find plenty of advice and approaches to help you with the exam. As always, if you need anything, just drop me an email!

http://www.alevelmedia.co.uk/g322

Music Terminology

The second part of your exam focuses in on the Music Industry.

The areas you need to cover are consumption, production, distribution, marketing, sales, piracy, ownership, convergence, synergy, technological hardware and software. Ultimately you are trying to understand the ways in which the internet and technology has impacted upon the music industry across all of those areas in the last number of years.

Production - making the music product: writing, recording, mixing, etc. (If discussing this in an exam, issues relating to funding for production and the technologies that now enable artists to have home studios, etc. are all relevant).

Distribution - Getting the product/music to the audience, physically or digitally (release strategies are part of this).

Marketing - Often seen as part of the distribution process, this is about reaching an audience and promoting a product. (Consider the traditional forms of promotion, the more innovative approaches using online media, and also, cross media promotion and synergy as part of marketing).

Exchange - point at which the audience consumes or interacts with the music/product. Consider the wide range of ways in which this can happen now.

Independent – artist or label that is not managed by/owned by a Big 3 music group or large media conglomerate.  For example, Adele with XL or Dr Rubberfunk with Jalepeno Records

Major label – The Big 3: Sony, Universal, Warner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Record_label

Mass Audience – Large audience, covering a wide range of demographics, for example Leona Lewis (with Syco records – a Sony label) targeting an international audience.

Niche Audience – Smaller, more specialised audience, for example Dr Rubberfunk appeals to a niche audience and particularly those who are into funk or nu jazz genres of music.

Media Ownership – Who owns the music/media involved? What is the institutional structure? Who has creative control? Who dominates/has power in the music industry?

Conglomerate – Usually refers to huge organisations that own many smaller companies, often across different industries.  For example, Sony corporation who own a range of media and technology companies and are one of the 6 biggest media conglomerates (globally) – Sony Music group is one section of the Sony conglomerate.

Oligopoly – Domination by a few companies, for example the Big 3 dominate the music recording industry making it harder for independents to compete. (monopoly = domination by one, duopoly = domination by two).

Horizontal Integration - Where direct competitors within the same industry merge.  This reduces competition and costs.  Consider the number of record labels that come under the Sony Music Group now.  All the Big 3 are horizontally integrated within the music industry.

Horizontal integration can also be across a range of media industries within a media conglomerate. So, as described above, Sony music group is horizontally integrated as it has many record labels dealing with the production of music (between them they cover a large part of the market).

Lateral Integration - own companies across a range of media and other industries. Sony Corporation is a large media conglomerate who is laterally integrated across a range of media indusries, for example film, music and video games as well as producing media hardware, etc. If you put all of Sony's media companies together then they can be seen to be a dominant institution in global media (one of the 6 biggest media conglomerates).

Vertical integration - Where a company has a stake in production, distribution and exhibition.  Reduces costs and gives complete access to audiences without need to go elsewhere.  I.e. Sony is vertically integrated as has the capability to carryout the whole process from finding/developing talent all the way through to providing live music streaming services to audiences. Jalepeno records are not vertically integrated (they do deals with separate company Kudos for distribution, etc.).

Synergy - Where spin off products and services are created on the back of a successful music track, e.g. music videos.  Often involves companies, products or services coming together for mutual benefit and cross-promotion. 

Cross Media Convergence - This is always a tricky term and it is useful to consider it in relation to both technological convergence and synergy rather than in isolation. Cross media convergence can be understood as different media industries or media companies coming together, often this is to create more opportunities for promotion (including cross promotion and synergy) or to create new revenue streams.  The Beatles Rock Band and BBC's The Voice to demonstrate cross media convergence.  Music videos are also examples of this.  Cross media convergence can also be understood in terms of many forms of media all being accessible from one platform - you can see the overlap with technological convergence here.  There are an increasing number of websites that converge different media. For example, Facebook enables you to watch music videos, listen to Soundcloud clips, read music reviews, interact with the artist/band, play games/widgets relating to an artist, etc.

Technological Convergence - The process by which a range of media platforms are integrated within a single piece of media technology, e.g. a smartphone (used to need a number of different devices to access/use all the different types of media that you can now access/use with a Smartphone).

Proliferation of hardware & content - increasing numbers of new media devices are created which create opportunities for new media content (music, music videos, music apps, music TV, music films, music podcasts, viodcasts, social networking, etc.)

360 degree deal - Artist treated as a whole brand and all possible revenue streams (not just music) are exploited. 
http://www.musicindie.com/news/1270
http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2013/07/02/threesixty/

Meda platform - The technology (hardware or software - so includes websites/applications) that gives you access to media. 

Digital Aggregation - Digital aggregators (such as The Orchard or PIAS Digital) act as distributors in the online world, supplying downloads from labels and artists to online retailers (such as iTunes, Napster etc).



 

G322 INSTITUTIONS AND AUDIENCES past questions from Hélène Galdin-O'Shea 

Revision booklet

Further case studies 1

Death of the Longtail
https://musicindustryblog.wordpress.com/2014/03/04/the-death-of-the-long-tail/

Streaming Music Revenue Passes Downloads At Warner Music Group For 1st Time;
http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2015/05/streaming-music-revenue-passes-downloads-at-warner-music-group-for-1st-time.html

"All models are better than piracy" > WMG boss warns rivals not to do away with freemium streaming
http://musically.com/2015/05/12/wmg-boss-freemium-at-the-stake/

"It won’t make people magically pay $9.99 a month" > Killing Freemium is the Worst Thing for Artists
https://medium.com/cuepoint/killing-freemium-is-the-worst-thing-for-artists-5c1b022bad78

The vinyl chart: album sales saviour or celebration of a small success?
http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/apr/13/the-vinyl-chart-album-sales-saviour-or-celebration-of-a-small-success?CMP=share_btn_tw

Record Store Day.. Who really wins?
https://medium.com/cuepoint/the-toxicity-of-perception-8d4f151246e6

Streaming and Beyond: Apple Will Lead the Way to the Next Music Experience
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellevate/streaming-and-beyond-appl_b_6996898.html?


How much do musicians really make from Spotify, iTunes and YouTube?
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/apr/03/how-much-musicians-make-spotify-itunes-youtube?CMP=twt_gu

Streaming, a "goldmine for acquiring huge fan bases"
http://blog.midem.com/2015/03/interview-nick-parry-streaming-services-goldmine-acquiring-huge-fanbases/#.VVM-x159RBV

94% of Radio 1’s most-played songs in 2014 were major label releases
http://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/94-of-radio-1s-most-played-songs-in-2014-were-major-label-releases/

Streaming Report Card 2014
https://musicindustryblog.wordpress.com/2014/12/19/streaming-report-card-2014/

Ownership structure advice

The last question was Discuss the issues raised by media ownership in the production and exchange of music products in the music industry.

Whilst the focus of the question is OWNERSHIP, it is how this impacts upon the methods of production and exchange (sales, streaming, merchandising, piracy, downloads etc).

Introduction to ownership, what it is and how it has been changed in recent years. Oligopoly vs independence. Conglomerates. Has the playing field been levelled through web 2.0 or is this a misconception? Big 4 has recently become Big 3. Good for consumer/producer?

Areas to discuss:
horizontal/vertical integration/lateral integration and the benefits for large labels in terms of mass production and exchange. Has it led to more choice or a shrinking of the market. Cannibalisation? 
Can independent labels compete?

Synergy- is this only accessible to large labels? How does this affect production and exchange and access to consumption of product?

Mass audience vs Niche Audience... Long-tail? Is the long tail a myth?
360 deals-pros/cons http://www.musicindie.com/news/1270
http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2013/07/02/threesixty/
Are there advantages/disadvantages in terms of producing and exchanging products by being an independent/subsidiary/big label? What about piracy, copyright, rights management, DRM and artistic freedom?

Is it possible to achieve a global reach without being a part of a major label? How so/not?

What does the future hold?

Conclusions

You need to support your argument with a range of major/independent examples and use media terminology throughout.



Examiner advice:

The question has been approached by candidates in a number of different ways. Some candidates chose to examine a media area with a range of examples of ownership, whilst others focused on a single institution and the range of products produced across different media. The most frequently occurring method was to compare two or three different companies, usually a mainstream and an independent media company. Where candidates were focused on the set question and were able to discuss the impact of media ownership on a range of products they found themselves able to articulate a discussion of the contemporary media in relation to ownership. Those who took this approach were able to discuss the forms of ownerships and discuss differences between mainstream, conglomerate led institutions and independent smaller scale companies. Within these responses candidates could quite rightly discuss the impact of horizontal and vertical integration and cross media ownership. As a result candidates got to grips with the range of products and services available, the importance of an institution’s scale and size in relation to its marketing, distribution and its access to local and global markets, and to an extent, how the online age and changing technologies have affected opportunities in the areas outlined above. Lesser performing candidates had little to say on media ownership, many appeared under prepared and could simply describe ownership without any form of discourse on the question set, omitting the use of key evaluation skills. At the bottom end there were many brief responses to question two (or no response offered at all to the question) and at times there appeared to be a common misconception of what was meant by media ownership.

Most candidates’ responses focused on film and music. The strongest responses were derived from detailed case studies of specific institutions with examples of particular texts/artists to illustrate institutional practice, particularly where the case studies offered contrast. The best responses were well focused on the question and were able to shape their case study material accordingly. Many weaker candidates simply presented pre-prepared answers which regurgitated learned material with little actual consideration of the question set - this particularly appeared to be the case where issues of piracy were discussed without any real sense of how this had an impact on the range of products offered by institutions.
Too many candidates are still offering historical accounts of their chosen industries or companies. Equally problematic are the number of candidates focusing on texts rather relationships between institutions and audiences. A significant number of centres are using examples that are no longer contemporary; This Is England (2006) was a common example. 

Ownership exemplar

Discuss the issues raised by media ownership in the production and exchange of music products in the music industry.

Ownership and its effects on the production and exchange of music has become an increasingly prevalent and important topic within the music industry recently. In order to fully understand, however, one must look at what exactly ownership is and how it varies between major and independent record labels. When an artist signs a record deal with a major label, they are signing over the copyright, and therefore the ownership, of the entirety of the music created by them whilst under contract to the label. This can be seen in the case of Placebo and Virgin's recent contract split - Placebo may have parted ways with Virgin, but Virgin still legally owns all of Placebo's music library until they decide to sell the rights, either back to Placebo or to another record label. However, this model of ownership is not the case for every label; some smaller, independent labels allow the artist a greater amount of creative control over their image, style and music ownership rights.

Another aspect of ownership which has effected the production, and certainly the exchange, of music is the idea of Web 2.0. This broad based idea applies to the widening access people now have to the internet and all the benefits, and problems, it can cause in regards to music ownership, particularly for the institutions within the music industry. The idea of Web 2.0 is that people are able to access more music more quickly. This can't be a bad thing, right? Unfortunately, in many respects it is, at least for the issue of ownership within the music industry. People are beginning to demand music everywhere, all the time, and many expect to get this for free. In January 2016, Spotify revealed that it had passed 100 million active users, and while this might seem like a great number, only 25 million users actually pay for Spotify's Premium service, leaving 75 million un-paying 'freemium' tier users. Artists and record labels alike have attacked and even boycotted the 'unlimited' music streaming service over the issue of being compensated fairly for the tracks over which they have right of ownership. Adele, Taylor Swift and Prince are just examples of artists who have taken the fight against Spotify - a fight which they say is for the "up and coming artist...for the future of the music industry." The issue of ownership is especially prevalent within the streaming industry, and artists and record labels will no longer stand for it.

An interesting aspect of music ownership within the Big Three is the idea of "integration". Horizontal Integration allows for the merging of direct competitors within the music industry - for example, the merging of EMI into Sony Music is an immensely significant aspect of horizontal integration which effects the idea of ownership within the industry. Sony Music is now the largest music publisher in the world, claiming ownership of over 2 million songs - Sony's existing 750,000 copyrights and EMI's 1.5 million, including the Estate of Michael Jackson. Many fans of the merge would argue that it allows for a greater choice for consumers in regards to music exchange and, therefore, the expansion of the music industry. However, many critics of this move would argue that this cannibalization means that the a greater market share is going to a smaller number of companies (3) and, thus, it is more difficult for independent labels to compete.

Lateral integration is arguably integral (pardon the pun) for the music industry's survival as it links the ownership of one song - whether it be under the original artist's ownership or under a major record label's ownership - and places it in many different mediums e.g. Film, Video-Games, TV etc. One arguably revolutionary tool has made it easier than ever for artists to engage their ownership of their tracks in lateral integration - that tool is known as Sync Licencing, a feature which CD Baby has recently introduced. This allows smaller, more independent artists to laterally integrate and licence their music for use in video games, movies, YouTube videos and so on. This marks a turning point within the independent music industry - it gives independent artists a greater degree of control over what they do with the ownership rights they have over their music, and allows them to take full advantage of the tools available to record label conglomerates like The Big Three.

One more recent issue surrounding the idea of ownership within the music industry is the emergence of so-called "360-degree" record deals. This is a record deal that hands over permission and responsibility to the label for all aspects of marketing, merchandise, touring, music ownership etc. The catch-all clause of the 360-degree deal is that the artist is essentially giving the label a financial interest in everything else that the artist does in the entertainment business. This is a double-edged sword for many artists, and many may choose not to accept these deals. However, the 360-degree record deal does exist, it is growing and it is having a massive effect on the idea of ownership - not only of music, but on every aspect of an artist's revenue stream. This is a major break away from the ideas of yore when an artist would sign many contracts with many different companies and labels for publishing, distribution, marketing etc. Indeed, acts like the Pussycat Dolls and Paramore are rumoured to have signed to 360-degree record deals, proving their popularity amongst artists.

Synergy, the act of releasing cross-medium promotional material to support music products, is an integral part of music ownership and exchange. This can include the release of music videos, for example. However, one has to wonder whether cross-promotional synergy is for the elite, major record labels and artists only. It only makes sense that the major record labels have the budget and connections to do this with ease. However, I believe that it is a falsity to say that synergy is for the elite. With the widening access that comes with the idea of Web 2.0, it has become easier than ever for smaller, independent labels and artists to pick up a camera and start filming their own music video, which they have complete creative control over, as opposed to the artists under contract with any of the Big Three.

The issue of ownership also affects the production process from within the record labels as well as the external issues of the exchange of music products. It is important to note that there are a number of positives to being under the ownership of a Big Three record label. These directly impact the production of the artist's album. Most prominently these include access to a greater quality recording studio resulting in higher quality, more polished music recordings. Simply put, the Big Three have better connections and budgets than independent labels, and are behind the most music sales in the industry. It might be a case of selling one's soul, but if production value, marketing and 'making it' is all you care about, it might be worth it.

As is evident, the issue of ownership is an interesting, diverse issue which is central to the survival and core of the music industry. It has had rippling effects on both the production and exchange of music products within the industry and is an issue that will no doubt continue to be as controversial, as relevant and as important in the years to come.

Convergence question

Hi folks

If you could work on the following question please:

Digital technologies and cross media convergence have led to much better levels of distribution and consumption. Discuss.

Here's a wee bit on understanding cross media convergence-

Technological convergence refers to the process where new technology is moving towards single platforms delivering multiple media outputs that can be used to reach audiences, for example, a PS3's primary function is video gaming but you can download and watch movies from Lovefilm.com on it and also watch catch up TV and music videos.

Convergent technology is technology that allows an audience to consume more than one type of media from a single platform.

Lots of aspects of the internet e.g. social networking, YouTube, online editions of newspapers and magazines are convergent but candidates cannot quote the internet as the sole aspect of their answer. Their answer needs to be linked into the media area they are talking about (Film, Music, Magazines, Newspapers, Radio, Video Games). E.g if they were talking about newspapers you could link in to their online editions and talk about how this differs from the traditional paper version and the opportunities it presents or if talking about film, candidates could, for example, point to facebook campaigns advertising a film or viral marketing spread via the internet.

Digital projection is convergent technology because films that are produced digitally have moved away from the physical film medium and can be supplied to theatres in digital format (lower costs for distribution versus higher start up costs for theatres switching to digital technology). As the film is in digital format there are also cost savings as potentially less work needs to be done on the film to get it onto Blu-Ray, DVD, internet trailers etc as no physical conversion needs to take place because the film is already in digital format.

Cross Media Convergence is really a Business Studies term and refers to companies coming together vertically or horizontally (or both). The example often cited in exams is of Working Title making use of its parent company(s) to gain access to bigger stars and a better distribution network for their films.

Synergy basically means working together to achieve an objective that couldn't be achieved independently. Cross-media convergence can help with synergy if companies are wise enough to take advantage of the links they have forged. Disney is an obvious example of a synergistic company from the top down from Film Studio to Kids' TV Channel (where it further plays and promotes its films) to the Disney Store (in the street and online) where your kids can pester you to buy all the merchandise and DVDs/CDs they've seen on the TV/Web or in the cinema.