Sound recording: Week 3 LectureNotes COM130

1. Sound Recording Music shapes identity,
comforts, entertains, and
stirs.

2. The Medium
ofSound
Recording
 This PowerPoint addresses the
following questions:
 What are the origins of sound
recording?
 What is the social impact of
music?
 What was the threat of radio
to sound recording?
 What is the impact of the
Internet on music and the
music industry?
 What are the economic issues
facing the recording industry
today?

3. Writing Music
 In 1000AD, a method of
writing music is invented. It is
used for church music.
 In European Renaissance in the
14th century, classical music
appears.
 Fast forward to America in the
1800s, when sheet music is the
moneymaker for music. In 1831,
because of pressure from music
publishers, music was included
in American copyright law for
the first time.
 A best selling song could sell
more than 1 million copies of
sheet music.

4. Sound
Recording
Milestones
1877—Thomas Edison says “Mary Had
a Little Lamb” into a recording device
called a a phonograph. It uses tinfoil on
a cylinder that tears up with re-use)
1887- German Immigrant Emile
Berliner invents the flat disc.The
gramophone recorded onto this disc;
its predecessor (the graphophone)
recorded onto a wax cylinder. The
gramophone was patented.
Edison used analog recording.
Analog: a representative of the sound
wave is stored directly onto the
recording medium
Digital recording breaks the sound
down electronically and assigns each
note a numerical code based on a
series of 1s and 0s.

5. The first
FormatWars
A gramophone
(patented by
Emile Berliner
who founded
the Victor
Talking
Machine
Company)
played using a
flat disk. Edison
used a cylinder
(it produced
better sound)
and the first
format wars
begin. You
were either a
disc person or a
cylinder person!
The disks are
cheaper and
easier to mass-
produce.
The Victor
company
introduced the
Victrola in
1906. At the
dawn of the
1900s, visitors
to penny
arcades and
amusement
parks could pay
five cents and
listen to a brief
recording
through a
machine called
a nickelodeon.
Eventually 78-
revolutions per
minute (rpm)
became the
industry
standard for
recording—
whether disc or
cylinder.
The disc won
the format
wars. Edison
switched to disc
in 1913.

6. U.S.Source of
Music
Tin Pan Alley was a district in
NewYork City where songs
were written for Broadway
shows. Ragtime music
becomes popular.
In 1914 theTin Pan Alley
publishers joined to form the
American Society of
Composer, Authors and
Publishers.
Then radio ended the boom
period the recording industry
enjoyed prior toWorldWar I.
The first major media
convergence was between
sound recording and the
radio.
ASCAP fought radio for
using copyright protection.
A blanket fee –a payment
based on the percentage of
station revenue for music
played over the radio.
The Great Depression had a
severe impact on the
recording industry, but
thanks to the jukebox
(1927), the industry again
became profitable.

7. Sound
Recording and
Radio
Record sales dropped
off in 1924 due to the
emergence of radio.
ASCAP established
music rights fees for
radio by 1925.
Began to cooperate
when television
became popular
Royalties issue arose
again with music
streaming companies.

8. From Phonographs
toCDs
 Milestones
 Plastic magnetic audiotape, 1940s
 Stereo sound, 1958
 Digital recording, 1970s
 Compact discs, 1983
 MP3s, “music in the cloud,” and music piracy issues,
now
 In 1992 Congress passed the Audio Home Recording
Act: levies a 2 percent royalty on the wholesale price of
digital recorders and a 3 percent royalty on blank digital
tapes and discs.

9. It’s the music,
not the
technology!
The invention of rock and
roll is attributed to Sam
Phillips—Memphis DJ of Sun
Studio.
The first national rock hit
was Bill Haley’s “Crazy Man
Crazy in 1953 (a minor label
produced this).
Then ELVIS redefines music
and musicians for a
generation.
Rock was revived in 1963
with the Beatles.
Rock music dominated the
recording industry in terms
of sales until 2009 when
Country” became the top
money-making genre.
Rap: speaking in rhyme over
drum beats and hip hop
(backing music for rap)
emerged.
Fear of juvenile delinquency
led to censorship of rock and
roll.

10. The
Reemergence
of Pop
Despite the emergence
and popularity of other
forms of music, pop
music has endured.
• Biggest purveyor of pop
• Again made the single the
dominant unit of music
iTunes
Streaming services
expanded accessibility
to music

11. Music Labels
Influence the
Industry
United States and
global music
business still
constitute an
oligopoly.
Fewer major labels
control more music.
• Play a major role as the music industry’s
risk-takers
• Often swallowed up by major labels when
successful
The indies spot the
trends.

12. Sound
Recording,
Free
Expression,
and
Democracy
 Battle over rock’s
controversial aspects speaks
to the heart of democratic
expression.
 How can popular music uphold
a legacy of free expression
while resisting domination by
giant companies?
 Popular music speaks to
individual and universal
themes.
 To find out how the music
industry is doing, check out
Billboard magazine

13. MarketShare
of Major
Labels
Figure 4.2:
U.S. Market Share of the Major Labels, 2015

14. Making,
Selling, and
Profiting from
Music
Making the music Labels are driven by A&R
(artist & repertoire) agents
Selling the music
iTunes, Anderson
Merchandisers (Walmart
and Best Buy), Amazon
Subscription services
Dividing the profits Depends on the medium

15. Figure 4.3:
Where the
MoneyGoes