Intro to Media and Society 4 8 Precursors to Sound Recording Sound Recording Instruments Player pianos play themselves Minstrel Shows 1840s to 1910 performance displaying playing sheet music Consists of actors and music Vaudeville Shows late 1800s to 1920 performance displaying playing sheet Variety shows Consisting of dancing singing animals Song Pluggers performers might play your song hopefully resulting in sales of your sheet music Sound Recording Technology more plays Berliner s Gramophone wax diss Impact of Recording on Music Edison s Phonograph 1877 first device to record and playback sound Bell and Tainter s graphophone wax discs instead of foil allowed for better sound and Wax Discs can be mass produced leading to the growth of sound recordings Decline in sheet music no need to buy sheet music and play it when you can listen to professionals Songs were more complicated Songs were shorter due to limited room on discs Radio and Recording Industries 1920s 1950s Initial tension between industries because radio was live and free Sound recording was a forum for controversial music avoided by radio Jazz blues After the depression singing stars helped fuel record sales Radio and Recording Industries 1950s 1980s Two social trends fueled the recording industry TV led radio to develop formats artists would send free records Nichification of radio specific music for specific audiences Baby boomers first generation with disposable income and time for leisure Money and The personality of a station organized around the kind of music it plays and the radio desire for their own music Radio Formats personality it features Defined a station s personality Used particular genres to target desired audiences Recording in the 1980s 1990s MTV boon for artists played music videos CD Piracy Digitization Modern Industry Trends International ownership Think globally act locally Fragmented production indies Concentration of distribution Production Record Label Division that releases certain types of music A R Talent scouts screen new acts and determine whether to sign them Manager oversees career and business earns 10 25 of artist revenues Songwriters music for artists Royalties share of money paid to songwriter out of the money that the production firm receives Artists usually get 10 15 of royalties from album Distribution Promotion Radio Payola Music Videos Movie Promotions Public Appearances Commercials Concert Tours Distribution Radio and Payola Promotion personnel pay money to radio personnel to ensure that they will devote airtime to specified recording artists Money and non monetary favors Now illegal Payola Internet Radio Jango for as little as 30 a band can buy 1 000 plays on the music streaming service slotted between established artists Essentially a form of payola for internet radio