Blog #4

• How did the music industry attempt to curb illegal downloading and file sharing?

In 1992, the MP3 file format was developed which enables digital recordings to be compressed into smaller, more manageable files. Computer users in the mid-1990’s began swapping MP3 music files online since they could be uploaded or downloaded in a fraction of the time it took to exchange noncompressed music and it used up less memory. Napster’s infamous free file-sharing service brought the MP3 format to popular attention, music files were widely available on the Internet some legally available for free downloading and many traded in violation of copyright laws. Illegal downloading increased, losing countless music sales so the music industry fought the proliferation of the MP3 format with an array of lawsuits but the popularity of MP3s continued to increase. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2001, ruled in favor of the music industry and against Napster, which declared free music file-swapping illegal and in violation of music copyrights held by recording labels and artists. It was very easy for the music industry to shut down Napster but the music’s industry’s elimination of illegal file-sharing was not complete, as decentralized peer-to-peer systems, such as Grokster, LimeWire, Morpheus, Kazaa, eDonkey, eMule, and BitTorrent. The Supreme Court reaffirmed that the music industry could pursue legal action against any P2P service that encouraged its users to illegally share music or other media. In 2010, eDonkey, Morpheus and LimeWire had been shut down. AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Verizon agreed to help the music industry identify customers who may be illegally downloading music and try to prevent them from doing so by sending them “copyright alert” warning letters, redirecting them to Web pages about digital piracy and ultimately slowing download speeds, or closing their broadband accounts. The music industry realized that it would have to somehow adapt its business to the digital format and embraced services like iTunes.

• How did rock and roll significantly influence two mass media industries?

In the mid-1950s, rock and roll hit. It was a blues slang term for “sex,” lending it instant controversy. The early rock and roll was considered the first integrationist music, which merged the black sounds of rhythm and blues, gospel, and Robert Johnson’s screeching blues guitar with the white influence of country, folk, and pop vocals. The economic perspective showed that rock and roll was the first musical form to simultaneously transform the structure of sound recording and radio, which rock and roll significantly influenced. This development set the stage for how music is produced, distributed, and performed today. The growth of rock and roll contributed to many social, cultural, economic and political factors, including black migration, the growth of youth culture, and the beginnings of racial integration. The most significant factor in the growth of rock and roll was the beginning of the integration of white and black cultures.

• Why does pop music continue to remain powerful today?

Pop music that appeals either to a wide cross section of the public or to sizable subdivisions within the larger public based on age, region, or ethnic background. United States pop music has many styles that are diverse like blues, country, Tejano, salsa, jazz, rock, reggae, punk, hip-hop, and dance. Many popular artists today have gained an increase of pop music by giving older songs a second chance at popularity as they once were in their day. It applies to all generations, meaning it can appeal to all, it isn’t harsh like rap or heavy metal but it is catchy so it keeps it popular. It is similar to their old music. Popular music was decreasing but it has endured and even flourished in recent years. For example, with American Idol producing pop stars like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. Even Glee has given a second life to older hits like Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin” and Madonna’s “like a Prayer.” The biggest help of pop music is iTunes, which is also the biggest single seller of recorded music. iTunes has the dominance of singles, which aided the reemergence of pop music since songs with catchy hooks generate the most digital sales.

• What companies control the bulk worldwide music production and distribution?

The companies that control the bulk worldwide music production and distribution in 2013/2014 have only three major music corporations, which are Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group. These three companies control nearly 90 percent of the recording industry market in the United States. These major music corporations still wield great power, as they control how their artists’ music will be licensed to play on new distribution services. In 1998, there were only six major labels that remained, which were Universal, Warner, Sony, BMG, EMI, and Polygram but now only down to three.

• Do you think the Internet as a technology helps or hurts musical artists? Why do so many contemporary musicians differ in their opinions about the Internet?

I do believe that the Internet has hurt many direct-record stores but the Internet has helped many musical artists rise in fame. As the Internet grew, so did the digital sales, which made CD fall hurting direct retail sales considerably. Tower Records declared bankruptcy closing all its retail locations but became an online-only retailer. Sam Goody and Virgin closed down their stores too. The increase of the Internet put many other independent record stores either out of business or they had experienced a great loss. General retail outlets began to offer considerably less variety, stocking only top-selling CDs.  The digital sales have grown to capture 50% of the U.S. market and 32% of the global market. iTunes has become the leading music retailer selling 38.2% of all music purchased in the United States. Services like Rhapsody, Spotify, MOG, and Rdio are small but growing markets that can generate revenue for music labels and their artists. Some artists like Adele, the Black Keys, and Coldplay have held back their new releases from such services because the streaming eats into their digital download and CD sales. Nowadays online piracy is an increasing thing, which unauthorized online file sharing. Online piracy is trying to be stopped but there are now about five hundred legal online music services worldwide.

• Why was the development of the telegraph important in media history?

The precursor of radio technology called the telegraph was invented in the 1840s. Samuel Morse, an American inventor, developed the first practical system, sending electrical impulses from a transmitter through a cable to a reception point.  A series of dots and dashes that stood for letters in the alphabet was called the Morse code, it was telegraph operators transmitted news and messaged simply by interrupting the electrical current along a wire cable. Morse had set up the first telegraph line between Washington, DC and Baltimore by 1844. In 1861, the telegraph lines ran coast to coast. Capable of transmitting about six words a minutes in 1866, the first transatlantic cable ran between Newfoundland and Ireland along the ocean floor.

• How did broadcasting, unlike print media, come to be federally regulated?

Broadcasting was once an agricultural term that referred to the process of casting seeds over a large area, which now means the transmission of radio waves to a broad public audience. The tragedy of the Titanic caused Congress to pass the Radio Act of 1912 that addressed the problem of amateur radio operators increasingly cramming the airwaves. Since the radio waves crossed state and national borders, legislators determined that broadcasting constituted a “natural resource” which then meant that the radio waves could not be owned. Transmitting on the radio waves would require licensing in the same way that driving a car requires a license. The first Radio Act required all wireless stations to obtain radio licenses from the Commerce Department.

• What are the current ownership rules governing American radio?

The most current ownership rules governing American radio is the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which eliminated most radio and television station ownership rules, some dating back more than fifty years. The Telecommunications Act had the effects of the enormous national and regional station groups formed, dramatically changing the sound and localism of radio in the United States.

• Throughout the history of radio, why did the government encourage monopoly or oligopoly ownership of radio broadcasting?

The government encouraged monopoly or oligopoly ownership of radio broadcasting because some members of Congress and the corporate community opposed federal legislation that would grant the government or the navy a radio monopoly. GE had developed a compromise plan that would create a private sector monopoly, which is a private company that would have the government’s approval to dominate the radio industry. GE had taken the lead in founding a new company called Radio Corporation of America, which soon acquired American Marconi and radio patents of other U.S. companies. RCA had founded in 1919 had pooled the necessary technology and patents to monopolize the wireless industry and expand American communication technology throughout the world.