28 Replies to “August 30”

  1. I didn’t know smaller Indy labels played a fairly large roll in the past with creating and launching new artists as well as introducing new styles of music to the industry. Even now a large majority of the artists I listen to are signed by the big league labels. I was shocked however to also see how much revenue and independents had made in 2016.

    https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8006977/indie-record-labels-global-market-share-2016-win-report

  2. I learned about a lot of things in reading this article but there were two that stood out to me the most. The first about Mamie Smith being the first African-American artist to record a song that sold one million copies. The name of that song was “Crazy Blues” and was recorded in 1921, less than 100 years ago. This is defiantly not widely known information, like a lot of facts about people of color in positive light and succeeding. The second aspect of the article that stood out to me was that before 1951 Rhythm and Blues songs were called “race” records. The title was changed by Billboard because it was deemed offensive. That fact reminds me that you can always use music and the music industry as a ruler on how societies view on controversial topics. In similarity to a lot of today’s African-American musicians writing and preforming songs about police brutality.

    The link I am attaching talks more about Mamie Smith and how she helped to grow the blues industry

    https://www.npr.org/2006/11/11/6473116/mamie-smith-and-the-birth-of-the-blues-market

    1. Lainey, I found those topics very interesting as well because there is a lot of Black American history that is either not taught or has been forgotten. On the topic of music, genres such as jazz, blues and soul were all developed within the Black community, specifically within the bonds of slavery. The blues has had a huge impact on American music, where its influence can be found in everything ranging from jazz to rock, rhythm and blues, country and even classical music.

      The following link provides a deeper insight into 20th century music in America and the history and influence Black culture has had on it, as well as birthing entirely new genres: http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/20th-century-music/

  3. Something that I found very interested and that stood out was John Philip. I thought it was pretty cool that he demanded royalties. He also made a good point with him being convinced it would threaten the livelihoods of musicians in the long term. I think he spoke that into existing because as you keep reading through the article you can see that when radio came records where somewhat shook at what was going on

    This article goes into more depth on how recored labels get over artists. Being in the industry artist tend to put up with a lot and most of the time get under paid. https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2010/apr/15/artists-held-hostage-labels

  4. While there were many aspects of this article that I found interesting, the main instance that stuck out to me was the advent of the mechanical coin-operated phonographs. The impact that these machines had was very huge, and one product that I can see that shared a similar breakthrough moment is the first portable CD player. Sony’s Discman D-50 (which debuted in the 1980s) made astronomical developments in the field of music technology, similarly to the aforementioned phonographs. What baffles me, is the fact that the large and bulky phonograph machine would eventually lead to the age of today, where we can buy, play, and stream music directly from our phones!

    For more information on the history of the compact disc, click here: http://lowendmac.com/2014/history-of-the-compact-disc/

  5. I found this article very informative, especially regarding the evolution of the modern record. I was not aware of the commercial battle between Columbia’s “LP” and RCA’s “45”, which not only pitted the two companies against each other, but also created a rift between consumers. It is interesting how even today, there’s a consumer market for both outmoded styles of recorded music, despite the modern ease of listening to high quality music on more convenient streaming devices. It seems that different generations may be socialized to prefer certain versions of recorded music, which may contribute to the contemporary resurgence of Vinyl sales.

    Here is a link to an article that further discusses Vinyl sales and consumer demographics today:

    https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/aug/12/vinyl-destination-who-is-actually-buying-records

  6. I found it very interesting to learn that Capitol Records was the first major label to introduce the concept of giving free promo records to radio stations. Other labels at the time were trying to receive royalties from radio stations and even filed lawsuits, so this was a bold move. This method picked up and by 1948 all of the major labels were doing it. Record labels and Radio stations really began to work together to help each other out from this point on. I did find an article, however, that discusses current legal disputes between radio and record labels that is very similar to those back in the 1940’s. This brings up the topic of whether or not the promotional value that radio play provides an artist is enough without getting paid.

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2017/04/05/record-labels-could-yank-their-music-off-us-radio-under-new-bill/100101578/

  7. What stuck out to me the most was the fact that record labels used jukeboxes to promote the music they were trying to sell. It reminded me of record labels now uploading music videos and lyric videos for the songs they are publishing as a way to promote. Because technology is so advanced, Record labels can now upload the song to the web and immediately promote it for free. They don’t have to go through the hassle of physically putting in the records or CDs. This is super cost efficient because they don’t have to go through much to promote their music.

    https://heroic.academy/winning-youtube-power-music-promotion-channels/

    1. I wanted to add on to how cost effective promotion through the internet is. I read that and thought about how it works as sort of a trade-off due to all the revenue lost from the increased accessibility of recorded music online. I think many people have the misconception that the music industry used to make a lot more money than it does now because of streaming platforms. However, I think that in reality, there is a give and take when it come to using evolving technology, therefore the record labels do not have a drastically different profit margin comparing their business before and after the rise of the internet. The only difference is how the money is made and/or spent.

      https://www.musicindustryhowto.com/how-do-record-labels-make-money-we-reveal-all/

  8. This Part Two article of the History of the Record Industry covered a lot of information with which I am unfamiliar. Primarily Unions, and other workers associations. I will admit that I did not pay much attention to these topics in school, although I do understand the general concept and roles of unions. I was confused on what role Musicians Unions play today in the modern music industry.

    I have attached a link to an article that explains the specific roles and benefits that AFM provides for musicians. This article also explains why the AFM is beneficial to traditional music (orchestras, musicals, and operas), but does not benefit performances of new music. This is largely due to the fact that it is less of a standard employer-employee environment, but closer to a fluid group of cooperative professionals.

    This article from New Music USA explains these topics in much more depth while breaking down each benefit:
    https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/are-unions-relevant-to-new-music/

  9. The main thing that stood out to me in the article is how so many musicians were trying to stay afloat during all the ups and downs of the record industry, and then later on as radio came into play. I had no idea it was so hard to get a job, and it was really interesting to read that this even played a big part in the emergence of the DJ. Of course today with so much music out there, artists continue to have the same struggle. It is well documented that musicians in decently popular signed bands still have to work normal day jobs just to get by. It makes one wonder if the nature of the business was ever worth the struggle.

    This article gives a little insight into how musicians made money in the past: https://reverb.com/news/a-brief-history-of-how-musicians-get-paid

    1. I love how this caught your attention because it is something that captures my interest currently within the industry. For most artists who are considered “mainstream” or “major”, there is often overlooked hustling and hard work that was done for years and years prior. Until I read this article, I didn’t really understand just how much history repeats itself in that aspect. Dr. Renard had stated before that there are no new ideas, just rethought ideas. This interests me because, in a way, I feel as if the industry favors those artists who are the least unique, and the most generic. Back in the 20’s-50’s however, I feel as if these pioneers in music had to be different and stand apart from the rest in order to be successful in the business. I just find it a bit odd how things seemed switched now. Perhaps new ideas will one day save music.

      Here is a link that shows music in a “Then Vs. Now” format:
      https://www.theodysseyonline.com/music-now-vs-then

  10. One thing that caught my attention, and that I suppose I should have assumed already, was that during the rise of national radio networks the majority of artists on the radio were playing it safe. They weren’t comfortable with playing lesser known songs or trying out cutting edge styles. This made me curious as to when these artists became more comfortable with trying new things, when these new styles and genre changes began to occur, and which artists were major parts of those changes.

    I found this Medium article that lists the major genre and style shifts throughout the years as well as the main artists involved in them, and it helped me get an idea as to where these shifts took place.
    https://medium.com/@Rifftime_Music/music-trends-through-the-decades-b8c5cbbae08b

  11. One thing that stood out to me in this article was the LP, the amount of invention that went on to promote it, and the man behind it all. I found it interesting that a man as innovative as Peter Goldmark, hadn’t become as well a known a name as say perhaps, Alexander Graham Bell. To ensure the success of the LP, Goldmark reevaluated the entirety of the sound reproduction system, invented a completely new microphone and even the modern speaker. What surprised me even further was that this was the man who invented color television!

    Check out the articles for more information of the man behind the LP, and some of his other inventions: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Peter-Carl-Goldmark

    http://www.madehow.com/inventorbios/56/Peter-Carl-Goldmark.html

  12. One of the things I found interesting in this article was all of the various legal battles that arose with the onset of new technologies. It seemed like every time a new technological advancement made its way into the public scene, there was an onslaught of people trying to regulate or even outright ban it because they thought it posed a threat to the current status quo of the music industry. As we know, most of these fears were ultimately unwarranted, but it was interesting how the legal aspects played a role. This made me think of the creation of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) and how its creation and existence come into play with the events described in the article.

    Here’s an article about the history of ASCAP. http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/the-american-society-of-composers-authors-and-publishers-ascap-history/

  13. My curiosity about this article lies in the paragraph about Enrico Caruso and what he did for the record industry. The claim “Popular opera singer Enrico Caruso single-highhandedly raised the reputation of recorded music when he signed a contract with Victor in 1904” is made but little detail is provided with how his recordings helped an entire industry grow. I personally have only heard his music a hand full of times and know even less about his work with the actual industry, but I was able to find two article that shed some light on the subject. After doing some research, it turns out that his music was more than just a commodity that people wanted to buy, but inspiring to those who wanted to capture, preserve and recreate his music pushing them to develop new technology for recording. Also to put in perspective how big his career was for those who are unfamiliar with him, the article stated he was worth $5,000,000 around 1920, which in today’s money is close to $65,000,000.

    Here is an article that goes over Enrico Caruso’s career and some of the technology used to record his singing.
    https://www.nytimes.com/1973/02/25/archives/will-we-ever-hear-all-of-caruso-recordings-all-of-caruso.html

    Here is an article about Enrico Caruso and Fred Gaisberg, a man who pioneered the recording industry and was inspired by Caruso to perfect recording.
    https://soundofthehound.com/2011/01/16/the-invention-of-the-modern-music-star-in-a-hotel-bedroom-in-milan/

  14. This is literally the dawn of our industry, which seems to have shared today’s concerns of consumers listening to music for free. With the introduction of Jazz and Blues to a wider market, the larger label and indie label divide also grew larger and larger. Ever at the center is the artist or the musician, who have seemingly gotten the lowest revenue streams.

  15. The fact that the first release of 45s distinguished the genres by colors was very interesting. However, I appreciate the different art on vinyls, nowadays. Although, it is a higher cost to print colored vinyls; I think art on vinyls have a positive effect on sales. I find myself wanting to buy the “cool” vinyls all the time and sometimes discover that they have already been sold out.

    https://www.amoeba.com/blog/2016/09/people-s-republic-of-northern-california/a-brief-but-groovy-journey-into-the-history-of-colored-vinyl.html

  16. This article was very interesting to brush up on the history of the music industry. I thought it was crazy that an opera singer, Enrico Caruso, single-handedly raised the reputation of recorded music. Back when records cost about $1-$1.50 he still profited $4000 a song and made up to 5 million. Another part I found very interesting was reading up on the history of the radio and how David Sarnoff had a thought that one day this “wireless world” could carry music into people’s homes. It’s so wild to think about the times when people couldn’t wake up to music, play it when they’re cleaning or doing homework, writing papers, going to sleep etc. We have any music we ever wanted to listen to at the click of a button these days it is just crazy to think about how only 100 years ago it was silence in the household. The boom started in 1924 when a famous violinist sold 3000 tickets to their concert and when the radio finally got the go to air live music, people started asking for their money back because they knew the radio was starting a revolution of free music anywhere they’d want to listen from.

    This article goes more in depth about how artists do and don’t receive payment for their posted music. https://www.theguardian.com/music/shortcuts/2013/jul/15/spotify-musicians-money-thom-yorke

  17. According to the article ” The History of the record industry”, in the early 1930’s RCA Victor pushed for new technological advances in the record industry before releasing their own version of the first component record player in 1934.

    One of the more interesting parts in the article explained the type of music that helped account for almost 40% of all record sales, Big Band Jazz in the 1920’s. Band leaders both White and Black gained popularity in the radio, record, and music industry. This later became the standard popular that the “New Younger” generation of people would listen to in that era.

    Here’s an article summarizing the Big Band Jazz era and its effects on the record industry.

    https://acousticmusic.org/research/history/musical-styles-and-venues-in-america/big-bands-and-the-swing-era/

  18. What I found interesting, was the fact that many corporate executives, and label leaders did not learn from the previous period, especially lessons pertaining to the positive aspects of competition in the music industry (or any industry). Also, the emphasis on achieving economies of scale through different methods of production and distribution seemed to be of more importance than the art or the artists.
    Below is an article I found with an interesting perspective on this issue.

    http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2012/11/15/music_is_about_copyright_and_competition_not_record_manufacturing.html

  20. It’s really interesting to read and see how the music industry began. I was enlightened to the influence that the record companies have had in the actual sale and even existence (to some degree) of different genres or styles of music. For example, smaller independent companies were able to capture the local/regional music and then sell it to regions that had never heard this music, most likely resulting in an increase of people experimenting with different styles. However, major label companies have been less interested in styles and more interested in what will sell the most copies, essentially defining what is “popular” and what is not.

    Below I have attached an article that basically describes some of the pros and cons of signing to indie or major labels, which is nice for artists trying to decide their route to success.
    https://bandzoogle.com/blog/major-vs-indie-what-really-happens-when-you-sign-a-record-deal

    1. I agree and feel that defining “popularity” is what restricts so many artists. Music through indie labels can still produce songs that are true to them and gaining success through those labels is more rewarding to the artist’s individual talent than on a popular or mainstream label. While doing it on your own is also rewarding it helps to have at least a few people around with more experience. I started to wonder however how big of a role collabs can play in gaining popularity.

      Here’s an article about the influence of collabs

      http://www.thebigmusicproject.co.uk/music-collaboration/

  21. I was rather unsuprised with this article’s depiction of how the music industry fluctuated back in the early 20th century. First and foremost it should be noted that the formats in which music is published have undeniably changed in distribution and popularity has definitely changed over the last century. With the ever changing market and our adaptibility as a species it’s only expected that we continue to improve our inventions and change our methods to better fit with the current trends. For example, recently vinyls have been seeing revived interest and therefore the market has seen an increase in their production. However, another thing that I’ve unsurprisingly noticed is that “food chain” of the music industry has remained almost identical since the 1920’s. Though record labels were not constantly on top of other departments in the industry in terms of revenue, as evidenced in the article by their struggles against certain competitors in the market, the battle for dominance in the music industry has been between the labels and everyone except the recording artists themselves. Labels went up against radio, pressing companies, etc. throughout their tenure, however it should be noted that the artists have been receiving the smallest cut of of their pie since the 1920’s. Compare how the artists were buried underneath the battle between record labels and radio competing for dominance over the potential revenue for music from consumer demand to how they are faring now in 2018 and the differences between today’s industry and that of the past will seem a little smaller than they might appear at first glance. Record labels have definitely come a long way and have undergone multiple phases and changes including the music styles they sought to keep with current trends and the services they provide for the artist working with them. However exploitation of lesser known artists and the fronting of big names has been prevalent since the decline of live musicians as the most popular form of “consuming” music.

  22. Similarly to my last post, the evolution of how people consume media, especially music but also including day to day information, photos, etc. has completely moved away from the use of wires to be able to keep up with our day to day schedules. Something those that were first listening to music through the phonograph tubes couldn’t even begin to fathom, and yet the future market is set up to continue this trend. Bluetooth is what brought to the table a revolution that opened the door to said future, to our phones sending music to our bluetooth headphones and even to our daily house devices, more and more devices rely on this system to communicate effectively and efficiently with others.

    https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.engadget.com/amp/2016/12/09/bluetooth-inventor-jaap-haartsen-interview

    this is an interview with the inventor of Bluetooth, and he mentions how bluetooth impacted the market, especially with Apple moving away from the headphone jack, and what the future for bluetooth holds in terms of improvements

  23. When the article mentions bluetooth it mentions it as “The Threatening New Menace of The Music Industry”. Although I feel that bluetooth not only impacted music in a good way but it impacted everyones daily lives. From wireless telegraphy to appliances playing music, and how we talk to each other on the phone. The invention of bluetooth or wireless appliances has helped improve technology in the past century making it not a threat but a gift. Here is an article I read talking more about the benefits of bluetooth: https://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/22358/car_parts/how_bluetooth_technology_has_changed_the_way_we_communicate.html

  24. One thing that caught my eye that actually made me have to stop and reread multiple times is “claiming that the quality of union musicians was getting lower because they were guaranteed work whether they were good or not… couldn’t find musicians competent enough to please their customers.” My mind went directly to how now a days this would never happen. Labels and artists will do whatever it takes to please “customers”. Soundcloud rappers are the biggest example. Soundcloud rappers are making it big for two reason, one, they are actually good, and two, people make so much fun of them that they become famous and people start listening to their music as a joke, example: Rif Raf. Labels do not care if the artist is talented or not anymore. If they can make money off of them they will sign them. https://www.quora.com/How-come-talentless-people-get-record-deals

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