Chapter 3: Sound Recording and Popular Music

Some guiding questions zHow did the technologies for sound recording develop? zHow did popular music become a mass media industry? zWhat was the influence of rock-and-roll on two media industries? zWhat companies control the sound recording industry today?

How has popular music made an impact upon 20th-century American culture?

What role has recorded music played in your life? How has it shaped and reflected your identity?

What has been the relationship between rock music and youth culture ?

INNOVATIONS IN MEDIA TECHNOLOGY Three developmental stages: yNOVELTY stage yENTREPRENEURIAL stage yCONSUMER MARKETING stage

Early sound recording technology zdeMartinville, France, 1850s zEdison, USA, 1877 zBerliner, USA, 1880s zVictor Talking Machine, USA, 1900s

Forms of recording zEdison’s wax cylinders: analog recording zBerliner’s flat disk  vinyl records zMagnetic audiotape (Germany, 1940s) zStereo sound (1950s) zDigital recording (1970s) zCompact discs (1980s) zDVDs zMP3

Listening to recorded music zVictrolas and then electric record players became popular zIn 1915, 30 million phonograph records sold zMusic was played and consumed individually

THE RISE OF RADIO Issues of paying to broadcast copyrighted music y1914: ASCAP founded to collect copyright fees for music writers and publishers. y1924: radio competition cut record sales in half. yHowever, costs of royalties forced many radio stations off the air.

1930s: Period of courtship between radio and recording industries THEIR MARRIAGE TOOK PLACE IN THE 1950s

What is POP MUSIC? zAppeals to broad public or to demographic subgroups zAppeals to popular (that is, not just highbrow) tastes and styles zIncludes blues, country, Tejano, salsa, jazz, rock, reggae, rap, hip hop, easy listening, and more

THE RISE OF POP MUSIC zMass-marketed publishing of sheet music: Tin Pan Alley in late 1800s zBirth of JAZZ in New Orleans: fusing rhythm & blues and gospel into swing bands zPopular vocal stars (harmonies and crooners) from vaudeville zROCK AND ROLL came like a storm in the 1950s

ROCK AND ROLL is born! zFused traditions of country, R&B, pop zSignificantly merged music of black and white cultures in the American South zNo music style has ever had such widespread impact. zTransformed the structure of two mass media industries: recording and radio

ROCK MUSIC BLURRED BOUNDARIES zHigh and low culture zMasculine and feminine zBlack and white zNorth and South zSacred and secular

BATTLES and SCANDALS in the MUSIC INDUSTRY zCover Music and Racism zPayola: the practice of record promoters paying DJ’s to play their songs on the air yCongressional hearings in 1959 y1998: promotional strategy called pay-for-play emerged

A CHANGING INDUSTRY post-1960 zThe British Invasion: sound recording goes international zDevelopment of Soul and the Motown label zPolitical impact of folk rock zPunk and grunge movements zRap and the rise of black urban style

MOTOWN and SOUL - Mix of R&B, rock, pop and gospel -Motown label founded by Berry Gordy in 1960 in Detroit

FOLK MUSIC zBroadly, folk music = songs performed by untrained musicians and passed down through oral traditions. zConsidered a democratic and participatory form. zFolk music was popularized by radio and by grassroots activists like Woody Guthrie, who championed peace and social justice.

Folk Rock and Sixties Counterculture zAcoustic singer-songwriters made folk popular (Dylan, Baez, Taylor, Mitchell). zThe Byrds electrified folk in early 1960s to invent FOLK ROCK. zRock and Folk-Rock provided soundtrack for the Sixties Generation, and became more mainstream in the 1970s.

ALTERNATIVE SOUNDS Punk Rock: challenged commercialism of record industry -Represents alienation and anarchy Grunge: spirit of punk infused with more melody

RAP defies mainstream culture zLike punk, developed in opposition to polished sound of commercial music industry. zCombined black urban social politics, masculinity and comic lyrics. zIncorporated black tradition of rhythmic spoken word.

Rise of Techno/Electronica zBegan in Britain in 1980s, Detroit house music in 1990s. zFeatures keyboards, drum machine, music sampling sequenced by computers. zCreators are largely anonymous. zAssociated with RAVE dance party culture. zFrequently used in television commercials.

THE BUSINESS OF SOUND RECORDING

What is the line between ARTISTIC EXPRESSION (performing) and BUSINESS (recording and selling)?

A GLOBAL OLIGOPOLY zRecording industry generates more revenue than all other media except TV zA GLOBAL OLIGOPOLY: A few corporations control most of industry worldwide

How does the global oligopoly affect the kinds of music you are able to buy and hear?

MAJOR RECORDING LABELS Five corporations produce 85% of all American CDs/tapes, 80% of global market: yVivendi Universal yWarner ySony (CBS Records) yEMI (Capitol/Virgin) yBMG/RCA Records

What about independent labels? “Indies” produce 16% of America’s music Can the smaller production houses survive in the global marketplace?

Making a Recording zArtist development (A& R agents) zTechnical facilities: technical production specialists oversee recording and postproduction zSales and distribution: direct retail, music clubs, Internet sales zAdvertising and promotion: radio, MTV zAdministrative operations

What do you think? Has the birth of the Internet helped--or hurt--the chances for alternative musical voices to be heard?