In this essay I will be engaging in the record company, Rough Trade Records. I will also be analysing the switch from analogue to digital (digitalization) and the lasting effects of this change. I will also be talking about the growth of digitalization and how this, compatibility and portability go hand in hand.
Prior to digitalization, media was distributed in a very physical form. If a CD was to be bought by a customer, a lorry would have to drive up to a shop, drop it off and have the customer buy it. This is in great contrast with now-a-days where you can go onto your laptop wherever you are and download it for free.
The music business used to be owned by the big four; EMI, Sony Music Entertainers, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. Then when digitalization came in anyone can go online and download a free recording program, record your own music, and put it up online for people to listen to it and download it. This is putting major record companies like EMI out of business. On the other hand it makes music much more accessible to the public and the audience can and have become the producer, artist and disrupter. Therefore you can go onto a website such as http://www.facebook.com/ and http://www.youtube.com/ etc. upload your own music for free and the audience can listen and download it within seconds. Popstars such as Justin Bieber have made worldwide success via this method. Arctic Monkeys have also made worldwide success solely over the internet.
In 1976 (when analogue was the only method of listening to music), Geoff Travis was travelling in North America and amassed a huge record collection as he moved from coast to coast. He then shipped these records back to the UK which became the basis of the Rough Trade Shop. This was a very independent thing to do, as if a record shop wanted some records they would order them, whereas Travis brought them back personally. In an interview with The Guardian, when asked how he felt about digitalization he replied "In whatever form it comes, music is still music, good and bad. These are the important distinctions for me. I buy CDs all the time so I am not against digital music, but I don't really love listening to music on the computer – I much prefer to hear the air in the room assaulted by the sound of some good speakers. I still have my record player and like playing vinyl – it has made a revival and it is important, especially for the independents. If you are starved of music, an old transistor will still work"
Despite Travis' relaxed view on digitalization, it's become a real problem for independent labels such as Rough Trade Records. In the analogue era the shops/companies would make the money directly, but in the digital era the companies are lucky if they're music is bought legally and downloaded for free. Compact Discs are now becoming inferior due to the audience feeling no need for them. For years, the CD industry has been suffering a major crisis because of its inability to adapt to changing times. Sales of recorded music continue to drop, not only because of piracy but also because the digital era has changed the way people consume music. The public do not want to buy a complete CD only to discover that they like only a couple of songs on it. It is more comfortable for them to download the music they want from the Internet, and listen to it on a small device that enables them to carry hundreds of songs wherever they go.
Technological convergence is also a reality, thanks to such products as Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console, which enables people to play games, watch DVD movies, view photos taken on a digital camera, carry out video conferences using internet-based chat, listen to music and navigate the web, all of this while comfortably seated in their living room. This is a major problem for record companies but the mobile phone operators will be one of the big winners. You always take your cell phone with you, and it knows a lot about you. For example, it can automatically find out if you want to listen to music, and what type of music. At a given moment, the music can become a regular part of the agenda that you carry around with you on your cell phone. There is an enormous business potential in combining mobility and connectivity to enable customers to access digital music and entertainment content from any location. http://www.musicstrands.com/ has developed a technology for mobile phones that will enable users to synchronize their mobile phones with their PCs, and transfer information between the two.
In conclusion, record companies such as Rough Trade Records have recently and will feel the weight of digitalization. This will create a vicious circle where record companies don't make the money back, will not be able to put the money back into the artists who will not be able to make more music and eventually if another way around is not found out record companies (including the big four) will grind to a halt with making music. For companies such as Sony, they will still make money off their other non-music related products but for independent such as Rough Trade Records this may mark an unfortunate end for the company.
Friday, 7 May 2010
Friday, 26 March 2010
Evaluation Of My Music Magazine
The masthead is in an eye-catching font and in big, bold writing. This is to draw attention to the title and the sell line, this is very important if a potential customer is browsing through magazines. The background of the masthead is yellow against the main blue background. This again re-enforces the eye catching colour scheme. I have also placed a bright yellow banner across the magazine with a headline on it about the main band, DOGFIGHT. This is placed across the main photo of the "lead singer" of the band. A lot of magazines have the photo overlapping the masthead so I developed on that idea and had the headstock overlapping the masthead, giving a feel that it's all connected.
When I was deciding which audience to go with I was initially going to go with mainstream music but then later decided that it would be more interesting to go against it. My audience is 16-27 year olds who like different music. To represent this I've used language that that age group would use and in the editors note on the contents page I've addressed the audience informally. Also the bands I've decided to include are bands that that age group would listen to, e.g. Gorillaz, Paul McCartney etc. The colour scheme also adds to this as it is blue and yellow giving it a fun and funky feel. Also the masthead; The Modern Age, gives a "new age" feel about it, it is also a song by The Strokes, a band which this magazine would feature.
I think that media institutions such as IPC would distribute my media product as they distribute magazines such as NME who are also aimed at the same age group as my media product and would feature similar bands and similar layout. They also feature magazines such as Guitar and Bass, and Uncut which are music magazines with a difference.
My audience would be mainly male teenagers/adults (16-27) who listen to alternative music. They would probably be middle class and employed, the price is £1.50 and is a weekly magazine so over a period of one year a weekly reader will spend £72.00 on this magazine, in hindsight this is not a lot but a unemployed working class citizen may not be able to afford it.
If you were browsing through magazines and you came to "The Modern Age" I think the first thing that would strike your attention would be the colour on the front page, which consists of red, blue and yellow. After it had caught your attention you would then see the bright yellow banner spanning the page reading "Panic On The Streets Of London!" This is a line from the famous Smiths song, Panic. So straightaway if you listen to the type of music this magazine prompted you would relate to that and carry on reading. In the red box at the top right, shows what is reviewed inside and it shows that the new Gorillaz album is reviewed along with Paul McCartney's tour. By now, if you listened to this music you will hopefully have bought it by now.
Before I began constructing this product I had a very vague idea on how to use Photoshop, and didn't know the amount of things you could do with it. I have also become a lot more accustomed to Microsoft Publisher. In addition to this I had limited knowledge on how to use a digital camera, but with help I learnt the amount of different effects and feels you can get from simply moving a light or changing focus. These are skills that I will hopefully have the chance to expand on on a later date.
When I was deciding which audience to go with I was initially going to go with mainstream music but then later decided that it would be more interesting to go against it. My audience is 16-27 year olds who like different music. To represent this I've used language that that age group would use and in the editors note on the contents page I've addressed the audience informally. Also the bands I've decided to include are bands that that age group would listen to, e.g. Gorillaz, Paul McCartney etc. The colour scheme also adds to this as it is blue and yellow giving it a fun and funky feel. Also the masthead; The Modern Age, gives a "new age" feel about it, it is also a song by The Strokes, a band which this magazine would feature.
I think that media institutions such as IPC would distribute my media product as they distribute magazines such as NME who are also aimed at the same age group as my media product and would feature similar bands and similar layout. They also feature magazines such as Guitar and Bass, and Uncut which are music magazines with a difference.
My audience would be mainly male teenagers/adults (16-27) who listen to alternative music. They would probably be middle class and employed, the price is £1.50 and is a weekly magazine so over a period of one year a weekly reader will spend £72.00 on this magazine, in hindsight this is not a lot but a unemployed working class citizen may not be able to afford it.
If you were browsing through magazines and you came to "The Modern Age" I think the first thing that would strike your attention would be the colour on the front page, which consists of red, blue and yellow. After it had caught your attention you would then see the bright yellow banner spanning the page reading "Panic On The Streets Of London!" This is a line from the famous Smiths song, Panic. So straightaway if you listen to the type of music this magazine prompted you would relate to that and carry on reading. In the red box at the top right, shows what is reviewed inside and it shows that the new Gorillaz album is reviewed along with Paul McCartney's tour. By now, if you listened to this music you will hopefully have bought it by now.
Before I began constructing this product I had a very vague idea on how to use Photoshop, and didn't know the amount of things you could do with it. I have also become a lot more accustomed to Microsoft Publisher. In addition to this I had limited knowledge on how to use a digital camera, but with help I learnt the amount of different effects and feels you can get from simply moving a light or changing focus. These are skills that I will hopefully have the chance to expand on on a later date.
Thursday, 18 March 2010
The Construction Of A Music Magazine
This is the first draft of the front page of my music magazine. The first problem with it is that the masthead is too large. The second problem is that it's too blank and the writing seems too boring. I also felt there needed to be another photo on the front page, as if you look at practically any music magazine there are at least two photo's and very rarely just one. I therefore took another photo of one of the other bands that were on the front page.To solve this I put the "The" in "The Modern Age" above the "M" in smaller writing, added another photo and added more text to the front page. I also added some colour and made some of the text bold to catch the readers attention. I also added another photograph and boosted the contrast on both photo's.
My first version of a double paged spread had many problems. For starters, the fold will make the text un-readable. Also the text was just on the page and not set out properly. The photos have no captians and the text overlaps.
This is my finished version, the text is columnised and the fold of the page does not get in the way. There are captians on the photos, and a stamp like piece of text in the corner to grab the readers attention with black and red font. I also but a brief advert for the up-coming album.
This is the first draft of my contents page and i didn't like the way it was set out and the photo's didn't stand out enough. Also I didn't like the placement of the title. To solve this I boosted the colour in all the photo's, moved the title and made it red. I also changed the placement of the text making it easier to read. I boosted the colour/contrast in the main photo a lot more than the rest so that your eye is drawn to that. Below is the finished music magazine.
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