The Blog That Celebrates Itself

Ring Ring

2004-06-01T13:13:00.000+10:00

To this mobile phone owner who is quite happy with his Nokia-programmed ringtone, the profitability and music market share personalised ringtones holds is incredible. From the Guardian article, titled Lord of The Rings.

"Last year, mobile phone users spent $3bn on them (ringtones). They account for 10% of the world's music market".

The author, Alexis Petridis, believes the appeal in constantly changing your ringtones lies in the combination of three youth obsessions; computer technology, popular music and "playground one-upmanship". As the conception and meteoric expansion of ringtones has coincided with declining CD single sales, James Gillespie of the Official UK Chart Company believes the industry has to “look at why kids are perfectly happy to spend £3.99 on a ringtone, but they think a similar amount is too much to pay for a single".

It ie easy to see the CD single and ringtone in direct competition, when you look at the designated audience, prices and the selected artists available, but it begs the question why are people buying personalised ringtones when you can get the full song, a remix or a couple of b-sides in a higher quality material form?

I think this has emphasised the evanescent and disposable nature of popular music, with its ever-changing trends and fleetingly famous 'stars', that people are more willing to purchase a ringtone that will likely be replaced in weeks than a physical and tangible copy. No more 'embarassing' music in your collection for your friends or lover to discover and tease you about, the act of ownership is as ephemeral as the song's appeal. Rob Wells, new media director of Universal Music UK, couldn't care less. "If they're going to be spending more money on music, as opposed to spending small amounts of money and keeping the music for a long time? The more money they spend on music, the better."

I'm not going to judge, because I've just appeared moral in my post on music elitism, and want to maintain the charade for as long as I can, but who uses ringtones, and how often?

Elitism and Authenticity

2004-05-28T09:44:00.000+10:00

The theme of the week is revolving around the twin concepts of elitism and authenticity, which I believe are intertwined ideologies for members of a particular musical subculture.

Nurhafizah's post on 'good' music set off a ripple of debate in MSTU blogland, with Sally and Sharna posting on the topic. Nurhafizah, by defining the style and content values she believes are essential to the production of 'good' music - "a good piece of music must have lyrics that are poetic and a good rhythm to compliment the words to the song." - inadvertently raised the issue of musical elitism.

Elitism, which is defined as "The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources", when applied to music is inextricably linked to this week's discussion topic, authenticity.

The interesting point Andrew made in the lecture concerning Fortitude Valley, and especially 4ZZZ, was the government / independent nexus in which they operate in. The community station, born from a desire to provide oppositional and dissenting viewpoints in a politically and socially repressive environment, still relies on the Government for licensing approval and must operate under their laws and legislation. The Valley itself relies on Government funding, initiatives and decision-making, while battling to maintain an independent and 'authentic' ethic.

The application of 'authenticity' to music and subcultures is tied in with this, as the perceived opposition between the alternative and mainstream and independent versus corporation insitigates a credibility debate. Subcultures see themselves as opposing or operating outside of this mainstream sphere, so the value judgments of the 'authenticity' of popular music are already made; you seemingly can't be a 'true' member of a subculture and like the 'oppositional' popular music.

New York Times rock critic John Rockwell has written a great article on the subject, called "Corporate Culture Clash: Elitism, Popularity and Rock 'n' Roll." He talks of corporations being the most contentious issue among critics, academics and journalists, and makes many interesting points on the elitism debate, stating that the deep-seated loathing for corporations, and by extension popular music, influence rock-critic's opinions, attitudes and criticism to music and audiences (read: subcultures):

"Elitist pop-culture critics must, in the end, be mindful of what large numbers of people actually see and read and listen to. Because the underlying mythology of pop culture is still the idea that the approval of large numbers of people validates that culture and the society that produces it. If something is truly loved by millions of people, it has touched those people, has tapped into some stream of universality that indicates a life force attenuated in more elitist art."

"So critics (a term, in this age of the Internet, that means most anyone passionately interested in the arts) have to tread carefully, trying to balance their own taste with a recognition of popular taste and an appreciation of the role that corporations can play in forging communal bonds."

Man on the Net?

2004-05-25T14:33:00.000+10:00

On the subject of blogs, the most visited site at the moment is the Andy Kaufman returns page, which is creating a huge amount of discussion (the last post has 530 comments currently) about the performance artist and the validity of the blog author's claims he is Kaufman, publically returning twenty years on from his 'faked' death. Conspiracy theorists have long predicted this would happen and discounting the true identity of the blogger, the humour and spirit of the blog and the reactions it has generated is true Kaufman style.

The Majors and Digital Technologies

2004-05-23T12:58:00.000+10:00

After having found much on the independent labels use of the new digital technologies in marketing, promoting and releasing their artist's work, I thought it would be worthy of a discussion of how the "famous five" majors should advantageously use the online medium.

Not that they already aren't, to an extent. iTunes has just celebrated its first birthday in operation, and after selling 70 million songs (at $1 each), procuring 70 percent of the legal music download industry and expanding its database to 700,000 songs, the digital music service leader is planning to expand its catalogue.

Apple’s iTunes has tracks from all five major record companies and over 450 independent labels, but is now pursuing rarer music, from out-of-print singles to unreleased recordings. Apple’s Chief Executive, Steve Jobs, claims that major labels have less than a third of their music actually available for sale because of the expenses in pressing and distributing CDs, but that the online music services such as iTunes offer a financially viable alternative. At a small one-time cost, the material could be encoded and permanently stored in a digital database, and due to the rarity of the songs you could expect the music provider and the record labels would post healthy profits.

The success of iTunes should be a prime example to record companies that music lovers will pay for quality. Selling over 70,000,000 songs at $1 each isn’t primarily due to the legality of the operation, but that consumers know they will receive the song they requested and it will be of a better quality than they may digitally access anywhere else. Any file sharer will understand the frustration of seeking a song only to find it has been wrongly labeled or sounds like its coming through a crackly transistor radio.

By making their extensive back catalogue available to a generation fascinated by the music of past eras, the major labels could not only reap profits from the songs sold digitally but also access valuable market research. They would have statistical data to determine which out-of-print or previously unreleased albums would return profits if pressed and sold in record stores. The commission earned from the digital marketplace could translate into even larger returns.

Something for the moguls to think about whilst they wait for their lawyers to report back on how they money they 'settled' with illegal file sharers.

Where to go from here?

2004-05-19T18:47:00.000+10:00

I have been collecting and collating a genuinely large amount of information on the shoegazing subculture, with a variety of my primary references discussed here in the weblog forum.

However I have not gone into much detail as to how it relates to my second and final MSTU2000 assignment, and after the tutorial discussions today I must start to float ideas for my argument. It can go in any of the (very loose) following directions:

1 – The shoegazing resurgence in North America, driven by local bands, Internet start-up mail order services and independent labels, all operating and advertising through the new technologies, including the Internet and file sharing, has started a renaissance in the U.K, where the subculture originated.

2 - The caustic English music press contributed to the scene’s initial downfall, but the micro and alternative media, thriving in the wired, inter-connected web community is sparking a revival in shoegazing. Alan McGee, from Creation Records created a multimedia label, record companies have bloomed from Internet mail ordering services and bands are selling their albums through the Internet, all contributing to shoegazing’s renaissance.

3 – Shoegazing, driven by small, independent labels and micro-media taking advantage of the digital music technologies, using file sharing, discussion boards and heavily linked web-sites, to zine reviews etc. as advertising tools and to establish a vibrant, engaged subculture.

I’ve narrowed the direction to those three, with some cross-over between topics also an option. Wondering how others are preparing for their assignment, and if they are thinking about ot have their specific argument yet?

Independent music flourishing in the new technology environment

2004-05-14T14:07:00.000+10:00

Through my trawling of the About: Alternative Music site I gave kudos to in my last post I found an interesting site on AN INDEPENDENT'S GUIDE TO DIGITAL MUSIC, which presents a formal but broad analyse on the new technolgies effect on indepedent music artists and labels, who make up approximately twenty percent of the global music industry.

It expresses a positive outlook for independents, but does temper the enthusiasm marginally with the problems and concerns still faced by the smaller labels. It is not comprehensive, and probably not truly objective given Ioda's aims and values, but it is a good starting point for those looking to investigate the issue further.

One reference from Ioda led me to this article, titled Independent's Day. It talks of the advantages new technologies offer for independent music releases, and how in an environment where the big five claim they are struggling the file sharing services and inter-connectedness is increasing real profits for the independent labels. The author uses a few examples, but it isn't backed by wider statistics or much more in constructive evidence, but it raises many fine points on the difference in operations, promotion, the ability to return a profit to artists and artistic freedom between the mainstream and independent music houses.

Shoegazing and digital technologies

2004-05-12T09:18:00.000+10:00

Just a quick post on the quiet resurgence of the shoegazing scene. Alan McGee, the owner of Creation Records, which released classic albums by My Bloody Valentine, Jesus and Mary Chain, Oasis and Primal Scream, is now involved in an Internet music venture called Poptones. As far as McGee could see “the future of the record industry is now in the distribution of content over the internet.”
Launched in a media frenzy in January 2000, Poptones was seen as a model for record labels of the twenty-first century. With an online radio station, a record store with a vast re-issues catalogue and a club night, he has created a multi-media record label.

Two of shoegazing's most celebrated and influential record labels, Clairecords and alison-records, began from new technology upstarts. Clairecords bloomed from an Internet mail order service into an in-house label that has books, music and clothes being distributed to hundreds of stores, and alison-records sprung from a German indie-fanzine writer in the mid nineties who received an unreleased John Peel session recording who wanted to spread the good word. So she created her own record label, of course. As you do.

I see a essay coming together....

Link of the week - Alternative Music

This site has countless links for all genres of alternative music, including labels, zines, bands and reviews.

Some shoegazing and indepedent music links

2004-05-07T15:26:00.000+10:00

Back in 1992, when shoegazing / dream pop was at a commercial cross-roads, music critic Simon Reynolds described the music as about "the desire to rise above the drab confines of everyday life, by going nowhere fast."

I was originally going to use that quote to represent my attempts at researching the seemingly elusive scene, and this post was going to be my Charlie Kaufman in Adaptation entry; you know, its so hard to write an assignment that instead I'll write an assignment on how hard it is to write an assignment.... After three hours on the Internet, trawling sites and googling without much luck, my head was spinning and i was starting to agree with those that say they don't have the time....until I finally found something worth sharing. Here it is....

Back in 1992, when shoegazing / dream pop was at a commercial cross-roads, music critic Simon Reynolds described the music as about "the desire to rise above the drab confines of everyday life, by going nowhere fast."

And go nowhere fast they did. By maintaining the indie and punk-derived ethos of D.I.Y. integrity, signing to smaller, more independent labels and ostracising the vitriolic music press through the modest demeanour, the shoegazing scene seemingly died, as grunge stars signed to big labels, Brit-poppers bragged about world domination, and "alternative" rockers sold their songs (and maybe their souls) to commercials.

However, the subculture still remains, and is seemingly going through a renaissance period, especially in the States. There is an International Shoegazer Meetup Day on June 2, with 454 people already signed up for a get-together in their city. There is a London Shoegazing club that opened last month, and according to the members of the shoegaze forum is the first one in the British capital for 10 years, which is amazing given the Thames Valley Area, including Camden, London, is credited as the geographical birthplace of shoegazing.

Other sites I have found that will appeal to anyone interested in this genre, or indeed in independent music, are this shoegazing encyclopaedia of sorts, which is a musician/fan's list of google findings, that include some diverse and wonderful stuff. Mostly band pages, and small record label sites, but it has a link to this independent music site, titled SomewhereCold.

SomewhereCold has a genre link, where you can search via a range of styles, and the shoegazing page was quite impressive, with a huge list of indie bands and labels, and with links to their own sites or music providers for download. Many of the sites were primitive, with little more than an entry page or a picture, but others had reviews from zines and weblogs, forums where the band members actively engaged, informed and replied to fans, and further links pages to other bands in the shoegazing subculture. I strongly recommend this site for all indie rock researchers, lots of primary research information to be had.

The (minimal) impact of music downloading

2004-05-04T16:04:00.000+10:00

Downloading is one of the hottest topics in the media industry, and one that elicits strong responses from those on either end of the producer – consumer continuum. The largest voice currently is the music industry, and its major business labels, which are filing suits against individual file sharers, including people as young as 12, and settling for undisclosed amounts with the majority. The industry sees it as bringing those who flout the copyright and piracy laws to justice, but to also reap some financial benefits back that it claims is accounting for lost CD sale profits.

However, a report from the Harvard Business School, “The Effect of File Sharing on Record Sales- An Empirical Analysis”, by Felix Oberholzer and Koleman Strumpf, cited in reports from the MSTU2000 webblog and Tara’s music activism webblog, has seriously diffused the myth that downloading is destroying the music industry.

The 50 page document is a heavy read, with dry academic discourse, but the conclusion breaks the argument down into an easy, digestible format. (Note: I have changed formatting from the original document)

“We find that file sharing has no statistically significant effect on purchases of the average album in our sample. Moreover, the estimates are of rather modest size when compared to the drastic reduction in sales in the music industry. At most, file sharing can explain a tiny fraction of this decline. This result is plausible given that movies, software, and video games are actively downloaded, and yet these industries have continued to grow since the advent of file sharing. While a full explanation for the recent decline in record sales are beyond the scope of this analysis, several plausible candidates exist. These alternative factors include poor macroeconomic conditions, a reduction in the number of album releases, growing competition from other forms of entertainment such as video games and DVDs (video game graphics have improved and the price of DVD players or movies have sharply fallen), a reduction in music variety stemming from the large consolidation in radio along with the rise of independent promoter fees to gain airplay, and possibly a consumer backlash against record industry tactics.26 It is also important to note that a similar drop in record sales occurred in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and that record sales in the 1990s may have been abnormally high as individuals replaced older formats with CDs (Liebowitz, 2003).

Our results can be considered in a broader context. A key question is the impact of file sharing (and weaker property rights for information goods) on societal welfare. To make such a calculation, we would need to know how the production of music responds to the presence of file sharing. Based on our results, we do not believe file sharing will have a significant effect on the supply of recorded music. Our argument is twofold. The business model of major labels relies heavily on a limited number of superstar albums. For these albums, we find that the impact of file sharing on sales is likely to be positive, leaving the ability of major labels to promote and develop talent intact. Our estimates indicate that less popular artists who sell few albums are most likely to be negatively affected by file sharing. (Note, however, that even for this group the estimated effect is statistically insignificant.) Even if this leads record labels to reduce compensation for less popular artists, it is not obvious this will influence music production. This is because the financial incentives for creating recorded music are quite weak. Few of the artists who create one of the roughly 30,000 albums released each year in the U.S. will make a living from their sales because only a few albums are ever profitable. (Major label releases are profitable only after they sell at least a half million copies, a level only 113 of their 6,455 new albums reached (Ordonez, 2002). 52 records account for 37% of the total sales volume (Ian, 2000). Twenty-five thousand new releases sold less than one thousand copies in 2002 (Seabrook,2003).

In fact, only a small number of established acts receive contracts with royalty rates ensuring financial sufficiency while the remaining artists must rely on other sources of income like touring or other jobs (Albini, 1994; Passman, 2000). Because the economic rewards are concentrated at the top and probably fewer than one percent of acts ever reach this level (Ian, 2000), altering the payment rate should have very little influence on entry into popular music.

If we are correct in arguing that downloading has little effect on the production of music, then file sharing probably increases aggregate welfare. Shifts from sales to downloads are simply transfers between firms and consumers. And while we have argued that file sharing imposes little dynamic cost in terms of future production, it has considerably increased the consumption of recorded music. File sharing lowers the price and allows an apparently large pool of individuals to enjoy music. The sheer magnitude of this activity, the billions of tracks which are downloaded each year, suggests the added social welfare from file sharing is likely to be quite high.”

The claim that a factor in the decline of music sales includes a consumer backlash against the concentrated music industry is backed by sites such as www.boycott-riaa.com and www.dontbuycds.org, which exhibit disdain for the major music labels. The two are worthy sites for those looking at music activism.

The authors touched on a number of points in their conclusion that have been backed by other sources. On the issue of the number of new CD releases, George Ziemann, owner of MacWizards Music, a Tempe (Ariz.) music production company, in his article, "RIAA Statistics Don't Add Up To Piracy", claims that one reason sales might be down is that the industry released 27,000 new titles in 2001, according to a speech made by an RIAA official, a 25% drop from the high of 38,900 in 1999.

The RIAA disputes Ziemann's analysis, saying it hasn't released an official tally of annual new releases since 1999. According to Business Week Online, industry-research firm Nielsen SoundScan, however, found that new releases in 2001 totaled around 31,734, still a 20.3% drop, and the RIAA hasn't denied or questioned their statistics. Releases rose to 33,443 in 2002, but that's still 14% below the 1999 record. Releasing fewer albums, in an American market weakened by an ailing national economy and terror acts on home soil, while raising the average price of a CD by 7.2% from 1999 to 2001, points to the responsibility for sliding CD sales as not solely file sharing's fault.

Digital Music and Subcultures

2004-04-30T11:15:00.000+10:00

Word to Renee who not only has a wicked weblog, but has paved the way for us all to a veritable goldfield of music subcultures information. Am working my work through the site now, and will be bringing stuff to the table from it later. thanks!

This article entitled Digital music and subculture: Sharing files, sharing styles, is a focus on how subcultural and genre communities interact and form online in the user-driven, dynamic environment.

It uses statistical analysis from different media sharing networks, draws on classical popular music and sub-cultural studies, (Cyber) ethnography and a continuum that describes music consumer practices in terms of their relative activity or passivity to raise a variety of points, including the dynamics of online communication, identity experimentation, "productive consumption’ practices and cultural empowerment

An interesting view is the tension between what the digital medium offers, and what people affiliated to a subculture or musical genre seek in their music communities.

"Online communication technologies facilitate media sharing at an unprecedented rate, but potentially slow down the formation of familial bonds due to reduced cues. This may be overcome by "enriching" the communication media with other sensory experiences (sound, voice, image, video), which can help reduce uncertainty about unknown communicators more quickly. A further enticement to using online communication for music communities is the "safeness" of identity expression in anonymous environments. Perhaps there will always be some tension between the safety that the anonymity of the Web provides, and the desire to connect intimately with like–minded individuals (who perhaps share musical tastes). Identity is negotiated in online settings at this critical conceptual crossroads."

The author goes further to explain that the negotiation of identity relies on the sharing of information regarding music. When communication and affection in the subculture is strong, the author contends that members are likely to place greater significance of the opinions of other subculture members than official sources.

"This is the argument for user–driven chat and music review systems as attached to music sharing: Fan groups as interpretive communities."

I anticipate using excerpts from this piece when discussing subcultural online communities, and how it relates to identity, member interaction, cultural capital, and the use of technology in productive consumption by subcultures.

Music Downloading Discussion

2004-04-29T15:40:00.000+10:00

I am planning to take this issue further, and develop an argument relating to the topic, but I wanted to post a link to the discussion that has started on the MSTU2000 Blogspot page, titled What's Hot This Week. It is about file-sharing and downloading, so is of interest to all of us techno-commies who pillar the digital music cupboard!

Online Music Communities

2004-04-29T15:34:00.000+10:00

For those studying how a subculture interacts and communicates through online forums, I found this Radiohead message board at ateaseweb.com was a great example of the way a particular subculture informs, shares and educates other members about issues such as concert cancellations.

If you are unaware the background is that Radiohead, the U.K five-piece, cancelled the fourth and final Australian show at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena. From the press release on the same website;

Radiohead manager Bryce Edge has announced that tonight's Radiohead show at the Rod Laver Arena has been cancelled.

Lead singer Thom Yorke complained of voice difficulties during last night's concert and was barely able to finish the concert.

This morning he was attended by a Melbourne ear nose and throat specialist who diagnosed Thom with marked hoarseness of voice, a significant upper airway infection and associated heavy inflammation of his vocal chords. It was advised that if Thom was to sing in the next few days it could cause irreparable damage to his voice. Consequently and regrettably tonight's concert had to be cancelled.

A significant feature is from those individuals who have more sub-cultural capital than other members - through their willingness to travel interstate, book plane tickets, arrange accommodation, take leave from work and other commitments, and invest relatively more financially, socially and emotionally than a fleeting or casual member, who would not be prepared for those sacrifices – lose more when such circumstances as a cancellation occur.

However, while the people that invested the most in their subculture, were the ones that lost the most, the majority maintained their sub-cultural capital by remaining calm, diplomatic, and even philosophical about the experience, putting their priorities below those of the band, and the sub-cultural community.

Just curious, do you see this sort of selfless behaviour when the latest pop-star cancels a tour? I think it says a lot for the values of the radiohead fanbase that the modest reaction is the norm and not a gracious minority.

2004-04-27T13:48:00.000+10:00

This research weblog will be used to discover, access and discuss information relating to the shoegazing music subculture, and how new media technologies such as the Internet construct, shape and represent the subculture in a digital environment, and how this medium compares to and affects the real-time, physical subculture.

I anticipate drawing from a wide range of sources, and covering a number of topics, but initially I will be focusing on web communities, such as message boards, chat rooms and converging fan sites, the impacts of file sharing and bootlegging, and the use of alternative media to promote and engage the shoegazing scene.

A good description of the shoegazing musical style, with important artists, albums and related musical genres comes from the All Music Guide, as any disconcerting music net-surfer would know. However, it is by no means definitive, and this historical overview by Andrew Stevens covers the different eras in the scene in chronological fashion, noting its space and time origins and influences, its 'golden age' and the post-commercial epoch, and is a more detailed approach covering some more classical subculture theory than the All Music Guide.