978-1305580985 Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Recordings: Streaming Sound

Chapter Outline

• Edison Introduces His Talking Machine

• Goldmark Perfects Long-Playing Records

• Paley Battles Sarnoff for Record Format

• Hi-Fi and Stereo Rock In

• Recording Industry at Work

• Concerts Bring In Essential Revenue

• Three Major Companies Dominate

• Music Sales and Licensing Drive Industry Income

Direct Sales

Music Licensing: ASCAP Versus BMI

• Music Industry Fights to Protect Content

Music Content Labeling

Overseas Music Piracy

Internet File Sharing

• Recording Industry Association Sues Downloaders

• U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against Illegal File Sharing

• Music Industry Wins Legal Action Against Downloader

• U.S. Justice Department Targets Megaupload

• Digital Technology Transforms Delivery

• Internet Brings New Obstacles and New Audiences

Suggested Activities, Discussions, and Exercises

1. Bring examples of different recording media to class (45, 78 and 33-1/3

rpm records, eight-track, cassette, CD, iPod), and discuss the evolution of

recording. If you have the facilities available in class, ask students to bring

in music they’ve downloaded to share.

2. Invite a representative from a local recording studio to discuss the

business and technology of music recording today. (Better yet, if you have

a relatively small class, plan a field trip to a recording studio.) If not,

perhaps invite a speaker from a local music store or music distributor.

3. Ask groups of students to debate recent controversies in the recording

industry (distributing a song over an online service, controversial music

lyrics, lip synching).

4. Assign your students to analyze a music video from a marketing and

promotion perspective. How does the video serve the artist? Will it help

the recording sell?

5. Ask each student to choose an invention or inventor mentioned in

Media/Impact, Chapter 5, do more research on that invention and on the

inventor or the company that developed the invention, and write a brief

paper in which they include revealing information not specifically included

in the textbook about the invention and/or the person or company.

Students can be asked to present the information in their papers to the

class or in an online discussion forum.

Activity Pages

Use the following activity pages as class handouts for exercises and to

accompany some of the classroom Ideas described above.

Shop for Music on the Internet

As an exercise, go “shopping” at a site that sells music to locate 10 new albums

you would like to buy. Be sure to record specific albums and their individual

costs, as well as the total cost for your choices. Be prepared to discuss how this

compares to online streaming costs and overall selection.

1. Name of recording:

Artist:

Cost:

————————————-

2. Name of recording:

Artist:

Cost:

————————————-

3. Name of recording:

Artist:

Cost:

————————————-

4. Name of recording:

Artist:

Cost:

————————————-

5. Name of recording:

Artist:

Cost:

————————————-

6. Name of recording:

Artist:

Cost:

————————————-

7. Name of recording:

Artist:

Cost:

————————————-

8. Name of recording:

Artist:

Cost:

————————————-

9. Name of recording:

Artist:

Cost:

————————————-

10. Name of recording:

Artist:

Cost:

————————————-

Do Your Own Sound System Evaluation

After doing research—reading consumer audio publications, looking at new

products online, and talking with knowledgeable audio sales people—please

answer the following questions. Be prepared to share your research with the class

or write a brief paper.

1. What does your present sound system consist of? (You may list home, car, or

portable music devices.)

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

f.

2. How do your system components compare to the latest consumer technology?

3. How would you upgrade or replace your current system? (Explain your choices on the

back of the page, how much each would cost, and whether you think the cost would be

justified.)

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

4. Which of the new competing technologies and products do you think will survive 5

years or more? Why?

5. What is your prediction for the future of sound recording and playback technology?

Recording Industry Guest Speaker

Invite a person who plays in a band, works in a local recording studio, at a music

store, as a disk jockey or in some other facet of the recording industry to class.

Make up a list of questions to ask (the following are suggestions to get you

started) and be prepared to discuss the answers in class or to write a brief paper.

• What is the proper spelling of your

name and job title?

• Where do you work? How long have

you worked there? What do you do?

• How large is your company? Who

started it and when?

• How did you come to do what you’re

doing now? What brought you to where

you are now?

• What kinds of musical changes have

taken place in the industry since you

have worked in it?

• What kinds of technological changes

have taken place in the industry since

you started working in it?

• Who are the people who buy your

product?

• If you work in a recording studio,

explain how people come to use your

studio, what it costs, and what happens

to the music they record there.

• If you work in a music store or some

other part of the industry, explain how

people use your products or services.

• What kinds of music or artists are most

popular now?

• What kinds of music do you expect to

be popular in five years? Ten years?

• Which of the new competing

technologies and products do you think

will survive 5 years or more?

• What is your prediction for the future of

audio recording and playback

technology?

• What are some of your industry’s

biggest challenges for the next 10

years?

• What do you like best about your job?

What do you like least?

• Do you use the Internet to promote

recordings of your station or store?

How?

• How do you envision your business

growing and changing in the next 50

years?

Chapter 5 Quiz

Multiple Choice

1. The inventor of the phonograph in 1877 was:

a. Emile Berliner.

b. Joseph Maxfield.

c. Peter Goldmark.

d. Thomas Edison.

2. The man who created the long-playing record was:

a. Emile Berliner.

b. Thomas Edison.

c. Peter Goldmark.

d. William S. Paley.

3. Which of the following is true?

a. The first records were 45 rpm.

b. The 45 rpm was David Sarnoff’s idea.

c. Thomas Edison designed the first jukebox.

d. All of these are true.

4. What is Jammie Thomas’ claim to fame?

a. She was the first person to be legally fined for music piracy.

b. He founded Motown Records.

c. She was a member of The Supremes.

d. He invented LPs.

5. The most threatening widespread type of piracy for the industry is:

a. copying of prerecorded music in the United States and its sale overseas.

b. copying of prerecorded music overseas and its sale in the United States.

c. when disc jockeys accept copied music for radio station play.

d. theft of masters from the recording companies.

6. The two licensing companies that handle most of the rights to play

music for broadcast are:

a. ASCAP and Matsushita.

b. BMI and Sony.

c. Billboard and Time Warner.

d. ASCAP and BMI.

7. Napster was ordered to shut down in 2001 for:

a. blanket licensing.

b. direct sales.

c. copyright infringement.

d. technological imperfections.

8. Many recording music groups say they make the bulk of their money

from:

a. CD sales.

b. television appearances.

c. concert performances.

d. Internet sales.

9. Because of file sharing, the Recording Industry Association of America

(RIAA) has:

a. developed recordings that cannot be copied.

b. sued individuals who downloaded music.

c. successfully stopped all music downloading.

d. encouraged reform of the musical licensing system.

10. Which of the following events is evidence that the recording industry

prefers self-regulation rather than government regulation of music

recording lyric content?

a. the formation of ASCAP in 1914

b. the formation of BMI in 1939

c. the adoption of a rating system and voluntary warning labels by the recording

industry, beginning in the 1980s

d. Recording Industry Association of America lawsuits in 2003 against individuals

engaged in file sharing

True/False

1. BMI was founded in part to avoid having to pay royalties to ASCAP.

a.

True

b.

False

ANS: T

2. The development of stereo tape recording made it possible to mix

performances recorded at different times and places.

3. The music industry, because of its popular appeal, has gained in profitability

with the development of Internet technology.

4. According to the Impact/Money box, “How Does the Recording Industry Earn

Money?,” profits are generated approximately 50-50 between physical and digital

sales.

5. Finding new artists and new songs is a function of the marketing and

promotion unit of a company in the recording industry.

Essay Questions

1. What do the following parts of the recording industry do?

a. A&R

b. Operations

c. Distribution

2. Explain what the term “file sharing” means and how it has affected the

economy of the music industry.

3. Provide a brief description of the development of the 78 rpm, 45 rpm, and

33-1/3 rpm record formats and the competition among them. Mention the

advantages and disadvantages of each for their time, and give credit to

the individuals who developed and promoted each format.

4. Discuss how the battle between media moguls David Sarnoff and William

Paley contributed to the development of long playing records.

5. Describe the development of legal music downloading from the Internet.

Mention the forms in which it is available to date and name at least one

company that provides each form. Mention the landmark event that may

shift the Internet downloading emphasis from free file sharing to legal

purchase of music through the Internet.