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Title: How and why music’s form and content might have changed in the context of developments in technologies and techniques of distribution
Introduction
There are many ways in which music’s form and content might have changed in recent times, particularly in the context of developments in technologies and techniques of distribution. There are many reasons why these changes have taken place and continue to take place. Such changes are typical of the musical industry, and cannot be avoided considering the effect of music in a culture within market economies. Indeed, one of the core strategies in the music business is the conversion of cultural products into financial opportunities. In this process, technological advancements have influenced the way music is produced, disseminated, and received in the market (Garofalo, 1999, p. 28).
Most of the changes in the music industry during the 20th century have seemingly affected the popular music to the greatest extent. At the start of the century, the music was largely a nation-based phenomenon that had a lot to do with mass culture. Currently, however, music is part of an intricate global system of highly interactive cultural flows that transcend national borders in terms of cultural implications. In these cultural flows, it is impossible for one to fail to notice the way music has changed in both form and content, particularly in the context of technological developments and distribution techniques of distribution.
This paper explores how and why music’s form and content continue to change with regard to both technological advances and distribution techniques. The paper analyzes the contemporary context of music production and distribution in the information age and the way this influences both its form and content. Focus is also directed towards the uneven relationship between traditional conceptions of techniques of distribution and the traditional ones, which are influenced by technological advances. Examples are offered with regard to the strategy of digital sampling, with musical examples being offered in reference to past compositions. The role of the producer as a composer is addressed in relation to influence on distribution. The paper also highlights the ways in which online technological platforms impact on distribution strategies.
Impact of technological advances on music distribution
In recent years, technological advances have greatly influenced the form that music takes, the choice of content, and the way it is produced and distributed. Technology has impacted on the way music reaches the audience as well as on how people access the music (Jones 2002, p. 214). The internet is one of the most important new media that is influencing the way music is shared among people across the world. The internet, together with related technologies, significantly impacts on the way music is spatially distributed. The overall effect has had far-reaching implications on the way cultural issues are addressed, meaning that this influences the form and content of various genres of music.
Jones (2002, p. 215) observes that although music technology plays a monumental role in the way music moves, experts continue to overlook it in their analyses of popular music. There is little work on the theory and analysis of the way sound moves via technology (Jones 2002, p. 215). In recent literature on popular music, most attention has been directed towards music production and consumption. Issues of music distribution have continued being ignored. Nevertheless, it is clearly evident even before the advent of the internet, music distribution has always been playing a key role in the way music and other forms of media are received by the public. For instance, in the context of consolidation at the international level, distribution channels have always continued to play a critical role.
During the 1970s, the record industry was largely reliant on many independent record distributors who would act as intermediaries between retailers and record manufacturers. A decade later, a trend started forming whereby the independent music distribution system was being replaced by major distributors who formed enormous distribution networks around the world. Since then, a conspicuous trend has entailed either funding and distribution by start-up companies or purchase of small, independent labels by conglomerates.
During the 1980s, a similar trend was noted in the UK and the USA. Many independent distributors started concentrating solely on handling titles produced by independent record companies. At times, the distributors came together to form larger distribution networks. This move led to significant changes in the form and content of music, for instance, the introduction of specialty titles. Such titles were now being available in mass merchandize retail stores. Such stores started working more with larger distributors compared to smaller ones that were serving only specialty record stores.
One of the greatest causes of neglect on the subject of distribution is that it is perceived to entail a largely mechanical function. On the other hand, production is seen to entail popular culture, or in other words, to be a representation of popular mythology. This is an indication of the need to concentrate more on distribution in its broadest conception, particularly in today’s information age.
With the rise to prominence of the internet, the issue of music distribution has taken a whole new turn. On the internet platform, distribution plays a critical role in the way popular music is mediated. The network technologies that are used on web-based platforms facilitate the introduction of new approaches to distribution. This can best be illustrated through an analysis of the operations of the recording industry in the 1970s and 1980s. During the 1970s, there was a monopolization of access to recording studios. However, developments in technology for recording sound played a great role in breaking up this monopoly. This allowed musicians to make their own choices regarding both the cost of production and the location where these activities would be carried out. In some cases, some artists found it a wise build artist-owned recording studios.
One of the most critical aspects of monopoly that persisted in the music industry during the 1970s was the distribution channels. In the USA, for instance, the geographical expansiveness of the country created a scenario whereby only those who had control over the distribution infrastructure could dominate the music industry. In the UK, it was common for record label to own retail music outlets. This was a rare scenario for one to come across in the USA. In the US, the music industry’s main preoccupation was the development of means through which music would be moved from the location of manufacture to the final point of sale. In most cases, the record company had control over the movement of music to various parts of the country but it did not have control over the point of sale.
Record companies had no control over the distribution of music through various media. Instead, they were working towards co-opting media vehicles whose role was to introduce music to consumers. Until the 1980s, the emphasis was on an understanding of the traditional issues of profit and loss, thereby bringing into focus the perspective of sales. The resulting business model put emphasis on innovative ways of making music accessible to consumers. During the 1980s, the entertainment industry went through a period of vertical integration, with the underlying aim being improvement of bottom lines for record companies. A landmark change during this time was the bypassing of traditional processes of gaining exposure through radio and TV and instead to rely on a wide variety of media organizations. In these media organizations, a wide variety of music promotion methods were being adopted, notably reissues, complications, increased frequency, and production of soundtracks.
Moreover, a global system of pursuing rights started taking shape (Kangasharju 2002, p. 379). In this context, copyright concerns started being expressed. Other concerns entailed trade exclusions, free trade agreements, and national treatment of culturally significant music products. In many ways, it is clear that the changes in distribution networks influenced the content and form of music.
Impact of technological advancements
In today’s popular music, one of the most significant effects of technology on the form and content of music is the blurring of the distinction between human and automated performance. Today, it is possible to program pop technologies into various levels of sophistication. Using state-of-the-art technologies relating to the use of computers, it is possible for machines to be used to mimic the techniques that ‘real time’ performers use (Goodwin 1988, p. 53). Some of these entail placing the beat elastically, that is, slightly behind or in front of its appropriate position and the use of subtle changes in velocity or volume. Elastic beat positioning creates ‘feel’ while subtle changes in velocity creates ‘life-like’ pop atmosphere. Alternatively, the technologies may entail making small deliberate changes in the music’s tempo in emulation of the tendency by human performers to slow down or speed up. In essence, today’s pop musicians sometimes double as technicians who have mastered the art of programming as skillfully as their predecessors mastered the art of playing music instruments and performing in ‘real time.
Confusion between human and automated performance may also arise for many other reasons. One of them arises from the fact that today’s technology gives musicians a lot of room to play into programs, such that they end up using keyboards, drum pads, and sometimes even buttons found on the machine (Mowitt 2002, p. 129). Information of this kind registers into the machine at extremely fine levels of subtlety (Taylor 2001, p. 138). It encompasses parameters such as small tempo shifts, changes in velocity, and beat placement. This triggers digital realms of ‘real-time’ sounds which cannot be distinguished from automated elements. This creates a machine program whose every bit of musical information resembles a ‘real’ performance.
A different reason for the overlap between automated and real musical performance is the increase in the reliance on digital sampling technology in recording studios. It has become the norm for keyboard or drum sounds to be stored in computers only to be triggered with the use of analogue recordings. For example, a ‘real’ drummer may be recorded while playing a drum kit in a recording studio. The recording may be used to trigger many other related computer-generated sounds that mimic other drum kits, other sounds of the drum kit, and an infinite collection of samples of percussion sounds. The changes take place during the recording process, whereby, for instance, a ‘real’ drummer can be made to overcome his human imperfections by being made to sound exactly like a machine. For such a performance, changes are normally made in timbre before being implemented with the use of music samples. This technique has indeed become widespread, to the extent that many devices have been designed that enable drummers to move machines into sync, in accordance with varying levels of human tempo.
In a different scenario, there is the widespread reliance on studio loop, whereby several bars of music are simply recorded in real time before being re-recorded and then repeated as the entire song’s rhythm track. The bars of music may be in the form of a guitar riff, a drum pattern, or a rhythm section. This creates the effect of a human feel throughout the entire loop, only that the consistency of groove is maintained throughout the song. Today, it is easy to record the loop digitally without degrading the quality of the song during the recording process.
Influences of technological advancements also extend to the level of timbre. In this case, there is a need to distinguish between natural sounds and those that are synthetic. In the areas of both production and consumption, analogue sounds and recordings are normally viewed as being ‘warmer’ compared to music that is entirely digitally produced. Indeed, once-dominant debate on CDs used to be centered largely on this distinction. Such a debate led many pop music enthusiasts to fall out of favor with digital keyboards, owing to their apparent ‘cold feel’ (Furgason 2010, p. 294).
In this regard, a remarkable shift occurred during the 1980s when pop musicians became too preoccupied with the electronic synthesizers that they had grown up listening to (Pinch &Trocco 2002, p. 102). This trend created a drastic turn in pop culture whereby the very synthesizing technology that used to remove human intervention and thereby removing the music’s emotive aspect became one of the most significant aural indicators of ‘feel’. The preference of the ‘coldness’ of synthesized music was soon replaced by the need for a ‘warm feel’ in music, thereby making analogue aspects of music to predominate throughout the 1980s and beyond.
Indeed, the resumption of the analogue strategies of music production on the basis of ‘warmth’ has also found its way into the realm of visual signification (Bull 2007, p. 82). This is evident in the words that are used in common parlance to refer to describe musical patterns, for example, reference to waves as opposed to numbers. This tendency has found its way into music software, where information that would appear in the form of numbers on the ordinary numbers in a keyboard is presented in analogue-style wave-form. Ordinary users may not comprehend the wave-form information, yet for keyboard experts, technology is used to create a more ‘natural’ feel to the music, one that would be masked if numbers were to be used. The overall effect, however, has been a situation where synthetic sounds are confused with natural (analogue) sounds.
Technological advancement has also led to the introduction of mp3, a format that has revolutionized music in terms of both content and form. As Sterne (2006, p. 828) notes, mp3 lies at the heart of key debates relating to file-sharing and intellectual property. Other than these debates, Sterne contends that mp3 has evolved into a cultural artifact on its own right. The design of the mp3 is such that it is an excellent technology for recorded sound, which makes it a convenient tool for distribution purposes. The quality of portability exhibited in the mp3 has led to the emergence of delineation between digital audio music and digital visual music. According to Sterne (2006, p. 831), the mp3 technology has contributed to the emergence of a digital audio culture that is different from the digital visual culture.
Since the start of the 21st century, the mp3 has become a dominant topic in the world of digital audio music. The debates have been held in academic papers, newspaper articles, and legislative sessions, sometimes even in court hearings. Trading in mp3 music audio format has been controversial, hence the wide variety of platforms for the debate. In these debates, the main themes range from the economics of entertainment and copyright to intellectual property (Sterne 2006, p. 832). Majority of authors, though, appear to concur that the debate on intellectual property is essential for artists as well as academics and intellectuals. However, some feel that the preoccupation with this issue makes the intellectual property problem seem like it is the most significant cultural conflict facing the new form and content of music vis-à-vis developments in technologies and techniques of distribution.
In retrospect, it is surprising that technology studies have not been focused on in the debate on the mp3. For scholars in diverse fields, emphasis has been on the use of technologies merely as artifacts. In this regard, the new format is seen as an embodiment of certain forms of power. This issue, which touches on the politics of technology, influences a great deal the way music is distributed. As a consequence, it is not surprising that one may notice the tendency by technologists to invent, design, and arrange certain technical devices and systems in such a way that certain problems of the target political community addressed. This creates a meeting point between music production and distribution technologies and political compatibility.
In the example of the mp3, its origins may be traced to efforts to problems of format exchangeability across the media industry. The solutions suggested to these problems had a lot to do with the socio-cultural systems in terms of both listening behaviors and intellectual property. As a cultural artifact, the mp3 influenced music distribution by creating a fad relating to material relations. Being a software technology, the uses to which mp3 can be put cannot be determined in as straightforward a way as in the case of hardware components. Moreover, like in the case with many software platforms, the uses to which mp3s are put can easily change. From a cultural perspective, the mp3 creates an ideal platform where issues of distributions are put at the forefront. This helps in the break-away from the tradition of focusing too much on the production aspect of new music technologies.
New music technologies, no doubt impact more on industry, legal systems, and social environments more with regard to distribution compared to production aspects (Frith 1986, p. 271). This may explain why the aesthetic aspect of the new technologies has not been discussed in great detail. With regard to aesthetics, reference is made to both the experience of listening to new music forms as well as the sound of the new music forms themselves. On the issue of the sounds of new technologies, discussions have been largely limited to audiophiles and engineers. These specialists constitute a vocal voice on which technologies need to be dismissed ostensibly for sounding ‘bad’ and which ones need to be embraced.
Online music distribution: effect on form and content
Today, the market structure in the value chain of the recorded music industry has been transformed, almost revolutionized by new ways of digital distribution. First it was the digital compact disk (CD) music format that replaced the tape cassettes. Today, the CD has died and has been replaced by the concept of file sharing, mainly through online streams. In this case, the general trend is towards subscription-based purchases, where listeners have access to an unlimited number of songs for a certain fee. In other words, listeners are subscribing to listen to music, meaning that at no time do they need to own the music.
In the new distribution model, the value chain of the traditional music industry has been overhauled. Moreover, the product characteristics in the era of digital music have changed. In online distribution platforms, listeners have to concern themselves with the new realities created by the platforms over which they have to listen to the music. These new requirements place new forces that drive the process of market transformation. In such circumstances, the roles played by each participant in the distribution process has been changing in tune with the technology being used, the expectations of users, and the changing form and content of recorded sound. Obviously, a new aspect of this transformation is the emergence of new tensions because of intellectual property rights violations and changes in the market structure.
A particularly unique aspect of today’s music market is the increased importance of the mobile music users (Bull 2000, p. 73). People are increasingly attracted to the idea of accessing music on their portable mobile devices, such as cell phones, smartphones, notebooks, and palmtops. This demand has triggered, and in some cases gone hand in hand, with the development of third-generation (3G) systems for mobile communication. These systems are known to combine aspects of standardized streaming with a wide range of unique services aimed at offering high-quality content on the internet.
The term ‘darknet’ is sometimes used to refer to the networks and technologies that people use for sharing digital content (Asvanund 2003, p. 102). A darknet does not operate as a separate physical network; rather it is simply an application and a protocol layer that rides on the existing networks. It uses the peer-to-peer file sharing system, or sometimes even CD and DVD copying mechanisms, where people in an online group acquire a password or key to be used whenever one is accessing the network (Asvanund 2003, p. 28).
Over the last few years, darknets have become more reliable, their aggregate bandwidth has increased, the size of shared libraries has increased, and there is increased usability as well as accessibility through search engines. The darknets constitute an important music distribution mechanism. The idea of the darknet thrives on three key assumptions. The first one is that a widely distributed recorded sound will be made available to a very few users in a form that allows copying. The second one is that the users are going to copy the music because this possibility is provided and that it is interesting to do so. Lastly, the users are connected through high-bandwidth channels. The distribution networks are always triggered by the injection of music content in accordance to the first assumption and then the distribution network is maintained in line with the second and third assumptions.
In today’s information age, it is almost always possible that popular music releases will leak into the internet. This occurs because there is normally a high possibility that a fraction of the pop music enthusiasts, possibly experts, will overcome the copy protection mechanism or because the music release will find its way onto the internet before copy protection has occurred. Considering these possibilities, it is clear that the darknet thrives on the infringement of the composers’ intellectual property rights.
One of the main reasons why the form and content of music has changed as a result of online distribution over computer networks is because of the impact of pricing mechanisms. Ultimately, money is a key factor in determining the quality of music production as well as the efforts that an artist will put into the compilation process. With high financial returns, an artist is likely to be motivated into embarking on multiple releases.
A comparison is normally made between two key forms of online digital content distribution: peer-to-peer model and client-server model. The former model is normally considered more profitable since it creates a way of rewarding users depending on their level of participation in the distribution process. However, for the peer-to-peer model to be more profitable there is need for an incentive for users to participate in the distribution model. Typically, these basic results hold if the model is extended to encompass preferences across all generations of consumers. Moreover, the innovator should put in place the right mechanisms for discriminating prices on the basis of the generations.
Changes in form and content: The increasingly artistic role of contemporary producer
As music continues to change in both form and content, it is imperative to focus on the nature of these changes and why they have taken place. At the heart of these changes is the role of the producer (Doyle 2005, p. 102). Indeed, over the last 50 years, some major transformations have taken in the form and content of music, mainly because of drastic changes in music production techniques. The activity of recording now covers a much wider scope. Initially, it used to be an entirely technical matter; today, it is an artistic one as well. The artistic element covers issues of the way instruments are acoustically arranged and the way audio samples are sculpted and positioned.
The notion of sound is being viewed in new light, with the issue of stylistic choice taking center stage. Similarly, the ability to capture and mold sound matters a lot. This ability continues to be increasingly appreciated as improvements continue to be made in recording technology (Toop 2003, p. 119). As these changes continue to take place, the role of the producer is increasingly being redefined by virtue of being broadened. In order to appreciate this fact, one needs look no further than the works of notable figures such as George Martin, Phil Spector, and Brian Eno (Hesmondhalgh 1996, p. 83). These figures have played a key role by introducing completely new concepts into the world of music production. A case in point is that of Wall of Sound by Phil Spector. On his part, George Martin’s contribution was the confluence of commercial, classical, and experimental production techniques. Brian Eno is associated with the use of the studio in a way that makes it function like a standalone musical instrument.
The role of the producer in the studio has continued to be influenced by many factors, including audience tastes, technological developments, and the dominance of recorded work over other forms, notably live performances (Sterne 2003, p. 175). All these factors have greatly influenced the form and content of contemporary music genres. In these music genres, music recording is now more of an artistic as opposed to a technical undertaking. Moreover, the recording process not takes place in a virtual where it is possible to come up with anything; where it is possible to generate any sound. Moreover, the music producer of today has to work as an auteur. He has to be abreast of technological developments, and this trend has to encompass both the aspects of inventing and disseminating information because of economies of scale.
As new production methodologies continue to emerge, different kinds of producers continue getting into the work of music composition. However, all along, the role of the artist-producer has remained unchanged: that of using impulse to create records, thereby contributing to the development of the art of phonography (Kittler 1999, p. 29). The subtleties of modern technologies require studio participants to engage in collaborative undertakings. In this respect, it is always crucial to acknowledge the special roles that studio musicians and recording engineers play. Ostensibly, the kind of technology available to them and their ability to use it to maximal effect determines the form and content of the music generated.
Yet in the case of contemporary music genres such as rap and hip-hop, the roles of both producer and auteur are being conflated. It should be borne in mind that originally, recordings were aimed at creating the illusions of concert hall settings. The objective was to make listeners in a living room get a live-performance sensation. This trend was being adhered in all genres, but pop and rock suddenly adopted a different direction, whereby the producer started becoming the principal source of creative expression.
Traditionally, different conceptions have existed regarding the role of the producer in determining the form and content of a song. However, modern technology has created an integrating effect, thereby bringing the producer’s role out more clearly. In this regard, the producer is seen as the person who takes the overall responsibility of the music production process. Traditionally, no two producers are known to possess the same skill sets and experiences. Each producer draws on a unique combination of talents, skills, experiences, and sometimes, resources. With the emergence of new information and communication technologies, the need for collaborative creativity is becoming increasingly important among members of a recording team. The collaborative efforts make it easy for a wide range of experiences to be drawn upon leading to music of unique quality.
In terms of the effects of technology, the producers of jazz and classical music appear to be under less influence compared to those of pop and rock music. The producer of pop and rock music has to be well versed in aspects of production that are affected by technological changes every now and then. Such aspects relate to such subtleties as ambience, distortion, and mechanisms of compressing sound, harmonization, and phase-shifting. The need for requisite skills for the acquisition of the desired sonic output dictates that he makes a friendly working relationship with a skilled engineer.
The producer has to act in a way as an orchestrator, and in this position, he has to choose such electronic effects as timbre changes, and spatial changes relating to acoustics (Toop 1995, p. 182). With the technological advancements of today, the producer is involved more than ever before in the work of shaping the sound of the record. Today’s producers are aware that the quality of their recorded work is a reflection of how well versed with new technology as well as artistic creation. A parallel may be drawn between the preoccupation of 17th century producers with the symphony sound and the preoccupation with artistic expression of digital technology among the producers of today. During the 17th century, the sound of the symphony was a reflection of the mechanical technology of the time. In modern pop recording, a special quality is said to be achieved when analog and digital technologies are used in an artistic mix that defines a culturally distinct epoch.
Today’s producer has to endeavor to use his creative genius to create a niche by defining a cultural epoch in a highly competitive, globalized world. Incidentally, this is a difficult task considering that the stakes are very high in efforts to attract a global audience. This global audience is one that is easily distracted by the infinite possibilities of online music sources. For the music to find space on the global internet space, it has to be a cut above the rest.
It is clear, and for obvious reasons, that recordings that are made using advanced technologies easily set trends while turning in huge profits along the way. It is for this very reason that demand for new equipment continues to increase. This trend has been playing a key role in pushing further ahead the limits of the possibilities within the studio. Since the turn of the present century, amazing technological developments have taken place in the market. These developments have greatly contributed to the lowering of the price of recording. This drop has been occasioned by a reduction in the prices of signal processing equipment and recording consoles. The reduction in prices is attributed to miniaturization, availability of cheap digital memory, and globalization of the economy.
The example of digital sampling
The technological developments that have taken place in both hardware and software development have influenced the process of digital sampling. By extension, this has had a far-reaching influence on the way contemporary music distribution trends. Digital sampling entails a form of computer synthesis whereby sound is first rendered into data and then the data is used to derive instructions for the reconstruction of that sound. Sampling takes the form of a musical quotation of sorts. For instance, it could be a notation of one popular song by another. In this method, any prerecorded sound has to be digitally incorporated into some newly recorded work. The equipment used to do this work varies widely, and this is where the role of technology comes in. As new technologies continue to emerge, sampling is becoming increasingly fine-tuned, leading to higher-quality music.
Lately, there is a trend towards replacing the traditional-looking keyboards with purpose-built machines consisting of knobs, buttons, and sliders that do not resemble musical instruments in any way. Additionally, there is also an increase in software development efforts, with the software being used on desktop, personal computers, and laptops.
The best way to appreciate the role that technology plays in digital sampling is to understand the whole process as a jigsaw puzzle. A sound has to be cut up into small pieced before being put back together in a digitized format, thereby constituting a ‘picture’ of that specific sound. When a specific sound wave has been digitized, samples of this wave are assigned specific binary numbers instead of the sound being reproduced in its entirety. Each of the binary numbers acts as a representation of the amplitude of the wave at a specific point. Upon reconstruction, the digital sampling machine emits voltages that correspond to each of the newly-created binary digits. The order of voltage emission determines the level of approximation of the new sound to the original. The level of this approximation has a lot to do with not just the skill-set of the producers and sound engineers but also the technology that is available.
The Western musical tradition is full of examples of sampling techniques. Some instances of this sampling strategy date back to many centuries back. For example, Bach recomposed Vivaldi’s music. A century later, Gounod added a new melody to Bach’s song, in C Major, and renamed it Ave Maria. Also, in his song Tom Sails Away, Ives borrowed quotations from the song Over there by George Cohan (Katz 2004, p. 140).
Some scholars argue that there is a difference between this traditional of sampling and that of digital sampling. In the ordinary sense, when a quotation is borrowed from a piece, it is considered a representation of that piece, while a sampled passage of a specific music is considered to be that music. This explanation is of utmost important if the practice of digital sampling is to be understood from a theoretical perspective. In terms of impact on techniques of distribution, one dominant theme is that of intellectual property rights (IPR). It is always imperative that musicians go through the necessary legal requirements when engaging in digital sampling so as to avoid IPR violations and the resulting legal tussles. However, with the recent trend towards subscription and online sharing of music files, listeners expect to have access to an almost infinite variety of digitally sampled versions of similar songs.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are many ways in which music’s form and content might have changed in the context of developments in technologies and techniques of distribution. There are many reasons why these changes have taken place and continue to take place. The changes are typical of the contemporary musical industry. It is impractical to avoid them considering the cultural effect that the music industry has in today’s market economies. There are no doubts that as new technologies continue to emerge new ways of distributing music have to be conceived. This exerts pressure on music producers, who have to veer away from technical aspects into collaborative efforts aimed at increasing artistic appeal.
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