Glossary

Production is the act of creating output, a good or service which has value and contributes to the utility of individuals.

Distribution is the he way in which something is shared out among a group or spread over an area.

Marketing the process of promoting and selling a product or service based on decisions about what the product image should be and who is most likely to buy it.

Consumption is the using of a resource.

The music industry is the business of performing, recording, and selling music through a number of different methods. There are many different types of people involved in this industry, from musicians who create and play music to sound engineers who work to properly record music and producers who oversee the entire process.

File Sharing  is the practice of distributing or providing access to digitally stored information, such as computer programs, multimedia (audio, images and video), documents, or electronic books.

Vertical Integration is the combination in one company of two or more stages of production normally operated by separate companies. One of the earliest, largest and most famous examples of vertical integration was the Carnegie Steel company. The company controlled not only the mills where the steel was made, but also the mines where the iron ore was extracted, the coal mines that supplied the coal, the ships that transported the iron ore and the railroads that transported the coal to the factory, the coke ovens where the coal was cooked, etc. The company also focused heavily on developing talent internally from the bottom up, rather than importing it from other companies. Later on, Carnegie even established an institute of higher learning to teach the steel processes to the next generation.

Synergy is the working together of two things to produce an effect greater than the sum of their individual effects.

Convergence is the occurrence of two or more things coming together.

Copy right is the exclusive legal right, given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same.

Conventions the rand predictable forms and techniques used by the media to communicate certain ideas or to convey a desired impression.

Demographics are common characteristics used for population segmentation including age, gender, post code and income

Download means is to copy data from one computer to another.

 

Hardware is the machines, wiring, and other physical components of a computer or other electronic system.

 

Independent means to be free from control and authority.

 

Subsidiary is a company controlled by a holding company.

 

Horizontal Interrogation is the absorption into a single firm of several firms involved in the same level of production and sharing resources at that level. An example of horizontal integration and external growth: Virgin Active (which is majority owned by Branson) has agreed to pay £77.6 million in deal to buy 55 Esporta gyms - a move that will nearly double Virgin Active’s size in the UK.  The scale of the takeover means that it will need to be cleared by the Competition Commission, but no signs as yet that the competition authorities will block the deal.

 

The big 3  refers to the largest companies in the industry at any one point in time. At this moment in time these are Warner Music Group, Universal Music and  Sony Entertainment.

 

 

 
  




  

Soul Jazz Records

What ways does Soul Jazz records allow us to purchase music?

It enables us to buy music in the form of CDs, DVDs and vinalys.


What kinds of music do Soul Jazz Records produce?

Soul Jazz Records distribute a variety of genres. For example, Reggae, Dubstep, cosmic/leftfield, house, techno, electro, disco classics, hip-hop, punk, funk sound, jazz, latin, brazilian and funk and soul.  They are an independent record label, and they target a wide spread audience as it distributes a variety of genre's in music to suit different people.

What strategies do they use to promote and distribute their music?

One of the strategies in which the label helps to promote their music is a 'wishlist'. This allows people to save the record in which they want to purchase so they can buy it sometime in future. This allows customers to save music they like and remember exactly what it is that they wanted to buy.  

The website contains a merchandising link which allows their audience to purchase clothing and bags etc. This is used as a promotional device as it allows the brand to create a unique brand identity and gets their company well known. 

The website also advertises clubs, tours and events. This allows the audience to view information on dates, times and venues as well as other significant information, for the band/artists they promote. They also have links that allow their audience to purchase tickets. They are usually cheap or free which will interest their audience as it is a promotional device for people to attend these events and become associated with the label.

They can also sign up to weekly newsletters, which gives then the latest news about the latest bands/artists, merchandising, latest events, and latest albums/singles.

Soul Jazz Records also have sister labels such as 'Studio One' and 'Universal sound'. They produce and sell music of the same genre. This suggests they distribute their music to a wider audience because all of the labels are connected and therefore make a larger profit.

Who is the audience?

From visiting the website it is clear that it offers a range of music that isn't main stream and it more alternate. This could target an older audience, however it could also target a younger audience as many are interested in old music with different other types of music being introduced more these days in are society. The webpage suggests that the label has a wide audience as it deals with several sub genres for each genre of music having their own sub section. This suggests it caters for a range of different of music fans who are interested in different genres of music which creates a unique audience. It contains a lot of genres which suggests that it has a lot of different audiences due to the variation in sub genres.

What is the relationship between SJR and the mainstream music industry?

Soul Jazz Records is an independent record label unlike mainstream record labels. Mainstream usually promote popular artists and usually represent on particular genre. Whereas, Soul Jazz records promote a variation in genre. This gives people an opportunity to hear new music rather than what is the most popular music.  The music within Soul Jazz Records are evidently a lot cheaper as they are not as popular. Also, a lot of their events they advertise are free or really cheap unlike mainstream artists/bands who do events for reasonably high prices, depending on their celeb-status.  This encourages people to try out the new music styles as it wont cost them much.

Music Consumption

• what do we mean by music consumption?

Music consumption means the methods we use to listen to music. From downloading, to listening to the radio to playing CDs.

• Before the technological revolution so to speak, how was music consumed?

Before the technological revolution when we bought music we had a physical copy of the music. The only music we had access to was those we owned and those of friends and family. Individual songs only existed within the context of the other songs on the mix tape, radio playlist, or album.  Since, more often than not, the singles from the album were the only songs that existed outside of the album, most of the casual fans of an artist never listened to or came into to contact with the other songs on it. 

•  What is the digital revolution?

The Digital Revolution refers to the advancement of technology from analogy electronic and mechanical devices to the digital technology available today. The era started to during the 1980s and is on going. The Digital Revolution is sometimes also called the Third Industrial Revolution. The development and advancement of digital technologies started with one fundamental idea: The Internet.

• How has this transformed the ways in which audiences consume music?

   The evo­lu­tion of tech­nology has changed the way we listen to our favorite songs and interact with music. An example of this is when Justin Bieber got dis­cov­ered through YouTube and became one of the top-​​selling artists of all time.       Online ser­vices that allow people access to music every­where, any­time is quickly trans­forming the music industry and the way we relate to music. The fact that recorded music is more acces­sible now than ever before, how­ever, does not nec­es­sarily diminish the value of the music expe­ri­ence. From the record labels’ point of view, the value of the recorded music busi­ness has cer­tainly dimin­ished, but from music lis­teners’ point of view, it is the oppo­site. Legal sub­scrip­tion ser­vices such as Pan­dora and Spo­tify make it pos­sible for music lis­teners to expe­ri­ence sounds and genres they hardly would have encoun­tered in the 20th-​​century music economy. Their music expe­ri­ence is more diverse and more omnipresent than ever. Research shows that music con­sumers of today do not spend less money on music com­pared to a decade ago — they simply spend that money dif­fer­ently.    

• Along with digital consumption, what other ways do people still consume music and it's related products today? CD sales? Concert tickets?

Fans show support to their favourite artists by buying concert tickets, which are often expensive. It is also common for people to travel great distances just to get to see this favourite artists live in concert. Although CD sales have declined, they are still popular with many people. Some people prefer to have a physical copy rather than a digital download saved on their computer.  

 

Independent research on changes in production in the music industry in the last 10 years

As time goes on, the way we listen to music is constantly changing, from cassettes to CD's, to HiFis to mp3s. I think this has happened because music is such an important aspect of life to many people and business' have realised this and learnt that people are always looking for easier and cheaper ways to listen to their favourite songs. I personally cant go a day without listening to music. On the go I always have my ipod and at home spotify allows me access to any music I desire unlimitedly. With the amount of musical technology about, the actual hardware of a CD is no longer needed. Sales have fallen massively, as the recent closure of many HMV stores throughout the country as shown. In my opinion, downloading music is a lot faster, easier, and cheaper. When we download music we don't even need to leave our homes, we have the music quickly and easily and saved for as long as we want. As digital music consumption continues to increase, artists and consumers are finding new ways to engage within the digital landscape. Spotify, the leading digital music service, is helping to driving this digital conversation by providing a music discovery and sharing platform which caters to the modern, social consumer, supporting the artist as a engagement tool, and driving increasing revenues back into the music industry.
However, according to a recent study, the radio is still the most popular way people to listen to and discover new music. "The accessibility of music has seen tremendous expansion and diversification," said David Bakula, SVP Client Development, Nielsen. "While younger listeners opt for technologically advanced methods, traditional methods of discovery like radio and word-of-mouth continue to be strong drivers."
From acoustic, through electronic to digital recording techniques, through shellac, vinyl, tape and then CD music formats, and the various media forms on which the music can be accessed, it is hard sometimes to see it all as the same industry.


The digital recording revolution has democratized the music production industry. By lowering the cost barriers to entry and offering nearly limitless creative possibilities, a new breed of modern producers/engineers have been born. I think it’s fair to say that this development has permanently changed music forever. Nowadays, anyone with Pro-Tools and a little cash can call themselves a Producer  and whip up professional recordings without ever stepping foot inside a “real” studio or knowing how to operate a 24 track. The tracking of live instruments is fast becoming obsolete in light of the steady improvement in virtual instrument technology. Using samples libraries recorded from the highest quality instruments or modelled sounds from advanced synth plug-ins, modern studios can create realistic, professional sounding tracks without the expense or difficulty of actually tracking a live instrument performance. The audible shortcomings of virtual instruments, especially complex ones like drums, are quickly being refined and improved upon. This technology is already being used on major releases without any appreciable difference from true live performances. It is only a matter of time before live recording becomes an expensive novelty.

We all know that the age of selling physical “copies” of music (such as CDs) is over. Now we are we are reaching the point where the era of downloading compressed audio formats like MP3s is headed the same way. Owning digital copies of content is becoming obsolete with the transition to streaming content delivery services like spotify. When you subscribe to these services, you are paying for access to enjoy the content, without having to own it. With internet speeds increasing everyday and the explosion of mobile internet devices, streaming services will allow you to listen to the high-quality music you want anywhere.

 

Music Reflection

To obtain music there are many different methods, from buying CDS to buying tracks from iTunes. Personally, I download my music from torrent sites as this is a free, quick method of getting all the music I want. My ipod allows me to store all my favourite music and to get listening to different types of music, I use different sites like youtube and programmes like spotify allow me to listen to an unlimited amount of music. All my music is saved on my laptop and my iTunes account manages and organises all my files to an easily accessible manner.
Many people use the argument that how will artists make money if people are downloading music illegally. I show my support of the artists I like by buying tickets to see them in concert, which are often very expensive.  If I was to buy every song I wanted to listen to, I would never discover most of the music I now listen to, nor would I have very many songs on my ipod as I simply would not be able to afford it.
All of my friends consume their music in the same way I do. However, in my family the methods of obtaining music vary. My parents would buy all their music in the form of CDs. Although this is not because they disagree with the downloading of illegal music, but because they have not been brought up with the technology which allows us to do so, and so are unsure on how they would get music without having to pay for it.
Legal action/disconnection from internet worried me ages ago when I began to hear of more stories of people being fined for having illegally downloaded files. But as time went on and I realised most people I know do it and haven't been caught so why would I be any different.  My parents who pay for my broadband do know how I access my music, and their only compliant is often the virus' that come with the files I download which tend to lead to damage on my laptop which then needs to be paid for to be prepared.
Statistics show that more people are downloading rather than buying discs, and more often or not, are downloading illegally, as people want the cheapest they can get things.