978-1319102852 Chapter 4

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Chapter 4
Sound Recording and Popular Music
In this chapter, we will place the impact of popular music in context and:
Investigate the origins of recording’s technological “hardware,” from Thomas Edison’s early
phonograph to Emile Berliner’s invention of the flat disk record and the development of
audiotape, compact discs, and MP3s
Study radio’s early threat to sound recording and the subsequent alliance between the two
media when television arrived in the 1950s
Explore the impact of the Internet on music, including the effects of online piracy and how
the industry is adapting to the new era of convergence with new models for distributing and
promoting music, from downloads to streaming
Examine the content and culture of the music industry, focusing on the predominant role of
rock music and its extraordinary impact on mass media forms and a diverse array of cultures,
both American and international
Explore the economic and democratic issues facing the recording industry
Preview Story: The old route to success for musical artists was highly dependent on signing with
a major label, which handled all of the promotion to sell records. Now, with so many distribution
forms for music—traditional CDs and vinyl; digital downloads and streaming; social media;
music licensed for use in advertising, television, and film; and (lest we forget) real, in-person
concerts—there are multiple paths for talented artists to find an audience with an independent
label or entirely on their own. Chance the Rapper is among the top recording stars of his
generation, and he helped reshape the industry by refusing to sell his music to any label and
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remaining independent. He has demonstrated that artists can create successful careers without the
help of a major corporation.
I. The Development of Sound Recording
A. From Cylinders to Disks: Sound Recording Becomes a Mass Medium
B. From Phonographs to CDs: Analog Goes Digital
C. Convergence: Sound Recording in the Internet Age
1. MP3s and File-Sharing
2. The Next Big Thing: Streaming Music
D. The Rocky Relationship between Records and Radio
II. U.S. Popular Music and the Formation of Rock
A. The Rise of Pop Music
B. Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay
C. Rock Muddies the Waters
1. High and Low Culture
2. Masculinity and Femininity
3. The Country and the City
4. The North and the South
5. The Sacred and the Secular
D. Battles in Rock and Roll
1. White Cover Music Undermines Black Artists
2. Payola Scandals Tarnish Rock and Roll
3. Fears of Corruption Lead to Censorship
III. A Changing Industry: Reformations in Popular Music
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A. The British Are Coming!
B. Motor City Music: Detroit Gives America Soul
C. Folk and Psychedelic Music Reflect the Times
1. Folk Inspires Protest
2. Rock Turns Psychedelic
D. Punk, Grunge, and Indie Respond to Mainstream Rock
1. Punk Revives Rock’s Rebelliousness
2. Indie Groups Reinterpret Rock
E. Hip-Hop Redraws Musical Lines
F. The Reemergence of Pop
IV. The Business of Sound Recording
A. Music Labels Influence the Industry
1. Fewer Major Labels and Falling Market Share
2. The Indies Grow with Digital Music
B. Making, Selling, and Profiting from Music
1. Making the Music
2. Selling the Music
3. Dividing the Profits
C. Alternative Voices
V. Sound Recording, Free Expression, and Democracy
Media Literacy and the Critical Process: Music Preferences across Generations
Global Village: Latin Pop Goes Mainstream
Examining Ethics: The Music Industry’s Day of Reckoning
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LECTURE IDEAS
I. The Development of Sound Recording
Discuss the novelty, entrepreneurial, and mass medium phases of sound recording. It helps to
bring in examples of old records (78s, 33s, and 45s) to pass around. See
http://www.recording-history.org for websites that show good illustrations of early sound-
recording equipment and formats. You may want to demonstrate stereo separation by playing
a Beatles record.
The invention of the CD was both a blessing and a curse for the music industry. At first, fans
flocked to the music stores to replace their records with CDs, and by the early 1990s, hit
albums on CD were selling in greater numbers than were hit albums on vinyl. CDs also
turned out to be a brilliant way of repackaging a label’s “catalogue”that is, all the
recordings no longer in production on vinyl. CDs spawned record executives whose skill was
in putting together compilations of existing music rather than in discovering new artists. CDs
also made it a lot easier to copy music and gave rise to a flourishing piracy industry.
(Adapted from John Seabrook, “The Money Note: Can the Record Business Survive?” New
Yorker, July 7, 2003, p. 42.)
Discuss the potential of streaming music as the future of music distribution. Take a poll in
class to find out how your students access music. Do they download songs or albums, or do
they stream music? What service do they use to stream music? Discuss the pros and cons of
downloading versus streaming music.
Compare and contrast the recording industry’s reactions to the coming of radio with the
threats it is facing in the Internet age (e.g., album leaks and online piracy). Explain the
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defensive strategy of the industry. Look at the possible consequences of alienating consumers
(e.g., by suing them).
Radio stations currently enjoy a federal exemption from paying royalties to artists. (Radio
stations do, however, pay small royalty sums to composers and publishers.) Repealing the
exemption could generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually in new royalties for
songwriters, but it would deliver a severe blow to the radio industry. Debates also continue
about whether web-based offshoots of traditional radio stations should pay royalties.
Streaming services are making deals to pay reduced royalties for streaming music. The music
industry is having numerous debates about royalties and fair compensation for artists as
streaming becomes more and more popular.
II. U.S. Popular Music and the Formation of Rock
Explore the “muddied” history of rock and roll by sampling early rock songs in class. Playing
original hits by black artists and then their white cover versions is particularly illuminating.
For example, Fats Domino, a black artist, was tremendously successful on the R&B charts
and even crossed over to the pop charts. A white musician’s cover of one of his songs hit No.
1, but Domino never had a No. 1 single himself. His biggest hit was “Blueberry Hill,” which
reached No. 2 in 1956.
Elvis Presley entered the rock-and-roll scene at a time when the median marriage age was
20.5 years for women and 22.5 years for men; it was the youngest median age of marriage
for Americans in the twentieth century. Once young women, many of them teenagers,
married, they were expected to start a family, fulfill the domestic role of homemaker, and
take their place in society as the chief household consumer. With feminine success defined as
a marriage of appropriate status and then motherhood, teen girls had to constantly negotiate
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the difficult role of keeping marriageable boys sexually interested while preserving their
virginity until marriage.
In much the same way that African American women in the 1920s used the blues to reclaim
control of their own sexuality, white middle-class teenage girls of the 1950s found rock-and-
roll music to be a medium through which they could begin resisting the limiting structure of
sexual roles that confronted them in post–World War II America. To the horror of political
leaders and “the social order,” Elvis provided a stage for girls to safely experience and
express sexual pleasure and freedom without being branded as “bad girls.” The recording
industry responded to the parental and political concern over girls acting out at rock concerts
by bringing in clean-cut singers like the very white, already married Pat Boone as an antidote
to stars like Elvis, Chuck Berry, and Jerry Lee Lewis (see Martin, 1995).
III. A Changing Industry: Reformations in Popular Music
Draw parallels between early punk and post-punk by playing samples of the Sex Pistols or
Patti Smith from the 1970s and then Green Day, Nirvana, the Foo Fighters, Nine Inch Nails,
or Hole from the 1990s. Draw similar parallels between early rappers like the Sugarhill
Gang, Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five, or Kurtis Blow, and more recent hip-hop
acts like Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Rihanna, Eminem, and Drake. In both cases, define how
the lyrics and styles are socially resistant to status quo values, but also discuss how these
lyrics and styles have changed. For this lecture, tap into your students’ expertise: have them
suggest their favorite recordings.
The Sex Pistols made their impact with an act that expressed anger, energy, humor, nihilism,
and rhythm, and even though it shook up the social order in Britain, it energized a whole new
trend in music. The Sex Pistols were actually very much a manufactured band in the same
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way the Monkees were created to capitalize on the success of male rock groups in the 1960s.
British entrepreneur Malcolm McLaren almost single-handedly masterminded the punk-rock
music genre, rightly thinking that a new musical style would be profitable. He began with
John Lydon, a janitor with no musical experience but the right sort of charisma. Lydon
became “Johnny Rotten” and the lead singer of the band. McLaren added Glen Matlock, who
worked in a clothing store, and Paul Cook and Steve Jones, both of whom were professional
rock musicians. The Sex Pistols’ first single, “Anarchy in the U.K.” (with its first line, “I am
an Antichrist”), sent shock waves through Britain. Soon Glen Matlock quit the band and was
replaced by Sid Vicious. The group’s next single, “God Save the Queen,” was so heavy-
handedly antimonarchy that it was banned all over Britain.
The movie Sid and Nancy (1986), directed by Alex Cox and starring Gary Oldman and Chloe
Webb, reconstructs the love story of Sid Vicious and American Sex Pistol groupie Nancy
Spungen. (Look for 1990s rock star Courtney Love making her first acting appearance in a
small part as Nancy’s friend.)
IV. The Business of Sound Recording
Music formats have been in a state of flux. Record labels were slow to produce their own
legal digital downloads but saw a boom in that business via iTunes. Many music listeners
now turn to streaming, which doesn’t involve owning individual albums or songs but rather
access to a large collection of music. If streaming replaces digital downloading and physical
ownership of music, the music industry and listeners will have to decide whether they are
willing to shift to an indirect payment model (with “free” music streaming supported by
advertising) or pay directly for premium streaming services.
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Despite the digital turn in the recording industry, some listeners continue to buy physical
vinyl records. Even in 2016, “sales of vinyl LPs have come to represent an increasingly
important chunk” of the incomes of artists who time digital releases to coincide with special
offers accompanying the purchase of vinyl copies of their music (Ben Sisario, “With Vinyl,
Creating a Physical Presence,New York Times, October 3, 2016. B2.)
Discuss the implications of music sold as singles rather than as albums (see the Common
Threads discussion at the end of Chapter 4). It is possible to trace the idea of pop music
singles back to individual songs sold as sheet music from the Tin Pan Alley era, through the
era of 45s, then albums and CDs, and now back to singles again (this time in a digital
format). Explore why each format might have been successful in turn. Discuss the cultural
implications of each form.
Point out the differences and similarities between the music industry and the motion-picture
industry. Should the major music labels still try to sign artists to long-term contracts (as the
film industry once did in its studio system days, as Chapter 7 notes)? Some artists, such as
Prince and George Michael, fought the long-term contract system. Or should artists work
with labels on an individual recording basis (as movie stars now change studios, based on
their current projects)? Which system is better for the artists? Which is better for the labels?
Prince constantly defied the typical way music labels and artists promote and sell their music.
In 1996, he broke with Warner Brothers Records, his label of twenty years. The fallout was
highly publicized: Prince appeared with the word Slave painted on his face and made it clear
that his label was limiting his creativity. He became a successful self-promoter. He was an
early adopter of the Internet, believing that music should be free to be heard, and found ways
to upload his music and distribute his albums digitally. He also kept up a vigorous touring
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schedule and performed to a variety of crowds at a range of venues, from the mass audience
of the Super Bowl to elite audiences at a famous Hollywood hotel and even at Macy’s in
Minneapolis. Prince also worked with the British newspaper the Daily Mail to include CDs
of his 2007 release, Planet Earth, in its Sunday edition (the newspaper paid him the
equivalent of what he would have earned had he sold individual copies). As Jon Pareles
summed it up in the New York Times, “With a sponsorship deal here and an exclusive show
there, worldwide television appearances and music given away, Prince has remade himself as
a twenty-first-century pop star” (“The Once and Future Prince,New York Times, July 22,
2007).
Paul McCartney released his album Memory Almost Full in June 2007. Abandoning his
longtime record label EMI, McCartney decided on a new arrangement with Starbucks.
Starbucks distributed and sold Memory Almost Full in regular music-retail shops but also
acted much like a radio station, playing the album repeatedly in thousands of its coffee shops
in more than two dozen countries on the day of its release. McCartney also premiered the
first music video from the album on YouTube. McCartney, in announcing his deal with
Starbucks, described his rationale simply: “It’s a new world.”
The relationship between artists and streaming services has become increasingly
complicated. In 2014, Taylor Swift removed her music from Spotify. In 2015, she refused to
allow Apple Music to offer her music until Apple modified its view on payment to artists.
Adele followed Swift’s example, deciding that her 2015 album 25 would not be available on
streaming music services. In an interview with Time, she said “I don’t use streaming. . . . I
buy my music. I download it, and I buy a physical [copy] just to make up for the fact that
someone else somewhere isn’t. It’s a bit disposable, streaming. . . . I know that streaming
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music is the future, but it’s not the only way to consume music”
(http://time.com/4155801/adele-story). This decision did not harm the success of the album.
Nielsen began its 2015 U.S. Music Year-End Report by stating, “Despite being released just
six weeks before the end of 2015, Adele’s 25 was the story of the year in the music industry”
(http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/reports/2016/2015-music-us-year-end-report.html).
The album was released in November 2015 and sold well over seven million copies in its
first seven weeks (twice the number as the best-selling album of 2014, Taylor Swift’s 1989).
According to Billboard, Adele’s “Hello” single from 25 had nearly one billion views on
YouTube by the beginning of 2016.
The healthiest sector of the music business at the moment is music publishing, in which a
company represents a number of songwriters (who may or may not also be performers) who
earn money when their songs are used in TV commercials, video games, or other media. The
publishing arm collects royalties when a track by one of the firm’s artists is played live, on
the radio, or via any other medium, offering private equity a reliable stream of revenue. In
2014, income for the music copyright industry (publishing, songwriting, and recorded music
income) reached $25 billion worldwide. Of this total, more than $11 billion was for
publishing/songwriting. (Source: http://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/25-billion-the-
best-number-to-happen-to-the-music-business.)
There are two great pop-music dreams, according to New York Times music writer Neil
Strauss. The first one is to start a band in a garage, write songs, perform in local clubs, and
get discovered by a major label that provides limo rides, arena shows, parties, and a big
house. The second dream is about independence—breaking away from the record label and
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going it alone. The dream is closer to a reality with social media platforms like SoundCloud,
which anyone can use to create or share sound.
Major labels routinely reject the new material of their recording artists in the nonstop search
for a sure hit. The bureaucratic and demanding relationship between label and artist often
stifles creativity and breeds resentment.
V. Sound Recording, Free Expression, and Democracy
Discuss the relationship between music and politics. Ask students to come up with examples
from the past or present to illustrate how music (genres, songs, or artists) has challenged or
reinforced that status quo.
MEDIA LITERACY DISCUSSIONS AND EXERCISES
HOW DO YOU GET YOUR MUSIC?
Conduct an anonymous survey of the class to discover how many students purchase music (and
in what form?), stream music (and from what platform/service?), and/or illegally download
copyrighted digital audio files from the Internet (and from what sites?). When and where do they
access music?
1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of ownership vs. streaming music?
2. Even though the unauthorized downloading of copyrighted music is inherently unethical,
why are many people doing it? How much does illegal downloading harm artists?
3. What role/function does music play in students’ lives? Do they believe the role/function of
music in our culture has changed? Remained the same? How? and Why?
4. Have students speculate about the future of music (artists, recording, ownership, listening,
etc.).
THE PERVASIVENESS OF ROCK MUSIC
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This Critical Process exercise explores the role of rock and roll in American society.
Pre-Exercise Questions: What are some of the images that come to mind when you think of
rock and roll? What might the American society (e.g., media institutions) and American culture
(e.g., values) be like without rock and roll?
1. Description. List five to ten ways in which rock and roll has had a positive impact on
American society since the 1950s. In a second column, list five to ten ways in which rock
and roll has had a negative impact on American society.
2. Analysis. What sorts of patterns emerge from these lists? Are some of the positives and
negatives related to the same themes or issues?
3. Interpretation. Can negative influences be reinterpreted as positive, or vice versa, depending
on one’s cultural or political perspective? How would another generation interpret these
influences?
4. Evaluation. Do you think rock has been more of a negative or a positive force in American
culture?
If you reconsider both lists, are there some significant elements of rock and roll that you
might have overlooked? How do you think people will interpret rock in another twenty
years?
5. Engagement. Have students bring samples of music they think are socially positive or
negative, and play the music for the class. Enjoy and discuss.
SOUNDTRACK OF YOUR LIFE ASSIGNMENT
Choose five—and only fivesingle songs to include on the “Soundtrack of Your Life.” They
may be from any genre of music and may be chosen for any reason (meaningful lyrics, memories
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associated with the song, favorite artist, etc.). Write a one-page essay listing the songs and
describing why you picked them.
—Developed by James Douglas, Valparaiso University
INVESTIGATING THE INDIES
This Critical Process exercise takes a deeper look at indie labels.
In small groups, investigate a small, independent recording company (of which there are tens
of thousands throughout the United States and the world). Visit its website, and e-mail or
telephone the company. In your investigation, try to proceed through the five steps of the critical
process:
1. Description. What kind of music does this label specialize in? Is the label limited to only one
genre? What are some of the groups the label produces? Where and how does the label
identify its musical artists? How does the label describe itself? How does the label distribute
its recordings to consumers?
2. Analysis. Look at the variety of groups the label produces. What kind of fan is the label
trying to target? How does this label promote its artists and get a recording to the consumer?
What obstacles does the label face in popularizing its artists? Is the label fiercely
independent, or is its goal to sell to a major label? Is the label struggling, or is it financially
viable?
3. Interpretation. From what you’ve gathered so far from your research, what major problems
do independent recording labels face? Do you see independent labels overcoming these
problems? How?
4. Evaluation. What is the value of small independent recording companies to the entire
recording industry? What would be different about the recording industry as a whole if small
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independent labels didn’t exist? Add other questions and information as you go along. Meet
with the members of your group to discuss your findings. Your group might want to prepare
a chart or provide information about your label that can be shared with the rest of the class.
5. Engagement. Now that you know about indies, give some a try. Also request that local radio
stations play quality local independent artists so that other people can hear them. (This
strategy will be more effective if several people make requests over a sustained period of
time.) (Note: This assignment can be adapted to other media industries covered in the text.)
TRACKING RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE SOUND RECORDING INDUSTRY:
A SEMESTER-LONG CRITICAL PROCESS EXERCISE AND PAPER
In this exercise students discover the most recent developments in the industry, and they become
familiar with industry trade sources. The paper they produce is due in sections, which
correspond with the steps in the Critical Process.
1. Description. Read industry trade sources to get a sense of the main issues affecting the sound
recording industry. Look at the websites of industry trade associations and professional
societies. (Links to websites of some industry trade sources are given in the Classroom
Media Sources below.) Take notes on topics that have multiple stories or mentions in the
current year. What issues or developments in the industry have received a lot of recent
attention, discussion, or commentary in industry sources? (Only focus on information from
the current year—and only from trade sources.) Write a one-page synopsis of the information
you found about current topics in the industry. Cite your sources properly.
2. Analysis. Look for one development or pattern that has received significant attention on trade
sites and from trade journalists in the current year. Choose one specific trend, and write one
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or two pages with details about the information you found about that trend. Continue to track
news about your topic as the semester progresses. Cite sources properly.
3. Interpretation. What does the trend mean for the state of the industry? Is it evolving? How?
What does it tell you about media in general at the current time? What might it say about our
culture or our society? Can your information help us interpret the role of the industry in our
lives? Write up your interpretation in a five-page paper. (The first page should be a synopsis
of the trend, with proper citations.) You might not have to provide information from your
sources for the next four pages because this section is your interpretation of the trend. (Save
any ideas you have about whether the trend is “good” or “bad” for the Evaluation step of the
Critical Process.) Cite any sources properly.
4. Evaluation. Is the trend “good” or “bad?” For the industry? society? culture? democracy? us?
What do you think might happen in the future?
5. Engagement. Are there any actions you can take (related to your trend and the industry)?
Possibilities include posting your views on social media, creating a petition, contacting
people in the industry to see what they think of your interpretation and evaluation, or going
to an industry event if any are held nearby. (This step need not be required if students are not
motivated to take action.)
Note: This exercise works well if each step of the Critical Process is due two weeks after the
prior step is due. Limiting students to only trade sources and only information from the current
year helps keep them on track. Your institution’s librarians should be able to provide students
with information on how to access industry trade sources.
CLASSROOM MEDIA RESOURCES
LAUNCHPAD FOR MEDIA & CULTURE: launchpadworks.com
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Alternative Strategies for Music Marketing (2009, 3:42 minutes). This video explores how music
marketing is evolving and the strategies independent artists and marketers now employ to reach
audiences, including the Internet and video games. Featuring Richard Campbell, Scott Dugdale,
David Gale, Gina Mendello, and Mike Molenda.
Recording Music Today (2009, 2:32 minutes). Composer Scott Dugdale discusses how
technological innovations have changed modern music recording.
VIDEOS/DVDS/CDS
Almost Famous (2000, 122 minutes). Cameron Crowe’s fictionalized story of his own work as a
teenage correspondent for Rolling Stone.
First Sounds: Humanity’s First Recordings of Its Own Voice (2009, 55:21). Recordings and
commentary on the history of sound recording; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75UrxueiP-4
A Hard Day’s Night (1964, 90 minutes). The first film starring the Beatles, this
pseudodocumentary follows the Fab Four during an average “day in the life.”
Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes (2006, 61 minutes). This documentary, produced by Byron
Hurt, examines representations of gender roles in hip-hop and rap music.
The History of Audio Recordings (1997, 30 minutes). A history of the sound-recording industry
and a look at the connections among technology, business, artistry, and social dynamics when
producing an audio recording. Distributed by RMI Media, 847-297-8680;
http://www.rmimedia.com.
How Chance the Rapper’s Manager, Pat Corcoran, Reimagined the Music Business (October 9,
2017, 46.53 minutes). A COMPLEX documentary on how Chance the Rapper and his manager
set the bar for independent artists. Available online at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHMXA_o26Wc.
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This Is Spinal Tap (1984, 87 minutes). A hilarious “fake” documentary about a British rock
group on tour in the United States.
WEB SITES
The All-Music Database: http://www.allmusic.com
Billboard Magazine: http://www.billboard.com
COMPLEX: http://www.complex.com
The History of Sound Recording: http://www.recording-history.org
Inventing Entertainment: The Early Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison
Companies: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/edhtml
Music Business Journal: http://www.thembj.org/
The Music Trades: http://www.musictrades.com
Music Week: http://www.musicweek.com/
Nielsen: http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2017/time-with-tunes-how-technology-is-
driving-music-consumption.html
Pitchfork: http://www.pitchfork.com
The Recording Industry Association of America: http://www.riaa.com
Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/music
Spin: http://www.spin.com/
FURTHER READING
Coleman, Mark. Playback: From the Victrola to MP3, 100 Years of Music, Machines, and
Money. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo, 2003.
Gerard, Charley. Jazz in Black and White: Race, Culture, and Identity in the Jazz Community.
Westport, CT: Praeger, 1998.
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Hirshey, Gerri. Nowhere to Run: The Story of Soul Music. New York: Penguin, 1984.
Martin, Christopher R. “The Naturalized Gender Order of Rock and Roll.” Journal of
Communication Inquiry 19, no. 1 (Spring 1995): 53–74.
McLeod, Kembrew. Freedom of Expression (R): Overzealous Copyright Bozos and Other
Enemies of Creativity. New York: Doubleday, 2005.
Morton, David. Off the Record: The Technology and Culture of Sound Recording in America.
Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2000.
Rose, Tricia. Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America.
Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1994.
Seabrook, John. “The Money Note: Can the Record Business Survive?” New Yorker, July 7,
2003, 42.
Sterne, Jonathan. The Audible Past: Cultural Origins of Sound Reproduction. Durham, NC:
Duke University Press, 2003.
Taylor, Timothy D. Strange Sounds: Music, Technology, and Culture. London: Routledge, 2002.
Ward, Ed, Geoffrey Stokes, and Ken Tucker. Rock of Ages: The Rolling Stone History of Rock
and Roll. New York: Rolling Stone, 1986.

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