SUMMER 2020 TASK 2 INDUSTRY RESEARCH

The following 2 posts are the main resource for this task/theme, 1 of the 3 basic research areas of the coursework (CIA - though with the added emphasis on media language and theory, this is more like MICA or TICA).

http://musividz.blogspot.lu/2016/04/industry-digital-streamed-past-physical.html

https://musividz.blogspot.com/2018/11/big-3-universal-boom-as-physical.html

The basic themes follow, but 1st some useful Ppts, which may be swapped out for updated versions over time:

Industry music bicep tbc from DB3igs

Merch metallica from DB3igs

MUSIC VIDEO HISTORY + PROTOTYPES
in a nutshell, read the Austerlitz book which is specifically on this point. There's an extensive history before MTV made them a default promo device, going back decades earlier than even the key archetype (The Beatles 1960s film A Hard Day's Night).

ANALOGUE FORMATS: RISE AND FALL 
show understanding of how the music industry has undergone changes before digitisation. Sheet music was the revenue driver a century ago, with gramophone records slower to become dominant. Vinyl became notably dominant with the rise of the teen as a distinct demographic with disposable income in the 1950s. Cassettes slowly rose as a rival from the 1960s, becoming the biggest format by the 70s/80s - especially when the Sony Walkman hit. Vinyl and tape sales slowly collapsed as CDs kickstarted the digital revolution in the 80s ... but have taken on hipster coolness and are ironically zeitgeisty - why?

DIGITAL MARKETS: CDs, CRAZY FROGS, PIRATES + NAPSTER, SPOTIFY... 
Carefully + specifically establish when + why the music industry's global revenues peaked, and why they began falling again ... until very recently they've finally began rising again. Consider the piracy issue, engaging with web 2.0 as you do. Explain how UGC eventually became a revenue-raising tool for the record labels. Look at the controversies over payment rates, and how radically they differ across platforms. Do a case study of 1 or more acts with music on multiple platforms (like my Bicep case study).

MODERN REVENUE DRIVERS: MERCH, TIX ETC 
While vinyl's high price means low sales do bring in useful revenue, look at how merch (analyse the range of items for some bands + how these usually reflect a wide audience IF they're for big or older/long-established acts like Metallica), live concerts (VIP tix etc), licensing (games, TV, film) + sponsorships now bring in most of artists' income.

BANNED IN THE USA: CENSORSHIP + REGULATION 
There is limited formal regulation, though the BBFC (UK) do have a voluntary system, and YouTube at least notionally apply an age-rating system - plus the parental advisory/explicit lyrics stickers in the US. Just like the film industry, the music biz has faced times of extreme governmental/political pressure fuelled by the press: the 80s metal/rap moral panic leading to hearings (and arrests for selling a 2 Live Crew record); the Dixie Chicks and Beatles record-burnings from different eras; the Gulf War radio blacklist of songs about war ... and peace; Elvis wiggling his hips; UK grime artists effectively banned by the police

OWNERSHIP: INDIES AND BIG 3 
Just how dominant are they? How can Indies compete? This is a very similar issue/debate to your AS film industry learning - online/social media + crowdfunding + self-distribution + self-marketing [AM's use of MySpace a great early archetype] are all important.

SUMMER 2020 CONVENTIONS TASK

I'll add notes + any documents in this post to make it easier to find than lengthy Teams threads, but the main hub post for your summer work is this post, which has been updated and tweaked across two years of use by A2 students: general conventions research guide post.

Here's a quick reminder of what that post breaks down ... in considerable detail!


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There is flexibility built into this - you can present this as a number of individual case studies, addressing the yellow-highlighted points, + provide an overall summary through GC10. Or you can merge 1 or more theme. Or you can simply stick to the 10-post structure - so long as your analysis is detailed and spans multiple examples (a minimum of 10 mixed-genre general examples specifically referenced, each at least once in at least one category).

You would be advised to make some use of the very detailed post with a compilation of videos picked for specific useful features, each with further detail/analysis/pointers below, and in many cases additional separate posts too. That's this post, which, like the GCs guide, is included in the top links list for easy reference!

Before you access my notes, see if you think you can think of useful points from the clips in this compilation (the basis of that post):


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