Monday 3 March 2014

Music Industry Teminology

KEY TERMINOLOGY

Convergence Coming together of multimedia digital technologies allowing audio, video, graphics, games and animation (eg iphone) or its the coming together of institutions (eg EMI bought up by Sony & Universal)

Synergy

The coming together of two media texts to benefit them both eg: a film and its soundtrack will be released

Conglomerate
An international company with a wide and varied range of commercial interests

Globalisation

The growing tendency of industrial and commercial companies to merge and operate on an international rather than regional basis

Vertical Integration
The takeover of companies operating at different stages of the production/distribution/exchange - in musicopoly this let you operate 50% more efficiently

Horizontal Integration
The merger of competing companies from the same line of business (ie if itunes & Spotify merged) and involved at the same level of activity

Major Record Label

They are the 'Big Three' music companies which are Sony/BMG, Universal and Warner Brothers

Subsidiary Label

A company controlled by a holding or parent company (ie Syco & Sony)

Independent Label

Not connected to a major company (ie XL or Ninja Tune)

Niche Audience
A targeting of a small but significant group of consumers with a media product directed specifically at their interests

Mainstream Audience
The uncontroversial, generally accepted attitudes, beliefs and values of the majority population

Fans
Someone who has a strong interest and belief in the band or artist

Prosumers

Audience as active participantants in the process of both PROducing and conSUMING of media texts

Consumption

Buying/downloading/streaming/filesharing music, paying for live convert tickets etc

Web 2.0 
The second phase of the internet, where the focus shifts from people receiving information and services to people creating and sharing material (music 2.0 is related to this)

Download
The practise of selecting and receiving digital information from an online source on a computer, as opposed to sending it by upload

Streaming
A method of relaying data over a computer network as a steady continuous stream, allowing playback to proceed while subsequent data is being received

Peer to Peer
The sharing of media material between two parties in an equal relationship

Piracy

Distribution of media material that infringes copyright law

Portability / Miniaturisation
The quality of being light enough to be carried (iphone & Djay app anyone?)

Sampling
The technique of digitally encoding music or sound and reusing it as part of a composition or recording - you have done this with your mash ups

Artists and Repertoire (A&R) 
Is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label. They use your followers/friends on social media now to make this judgement

Record Deal - Contract - Royalties
A recording deal is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist or group, where the artist makes a record or series of records for the label to sell and promote

Distribution
Promoting music and getting it into shops, on the radio and downloaded for payment

Plugging / Marketing
The transmission of information about a media text to a target audience in such a way as to maximise its appeal to that audience

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