The evolution of technology in the music industry. Music Industry Marketing: Methods, Strategy, Plan Target Audience of Music Marketing

Before the advent of modern portable sound sources, digital signal and music, the process of sound recording and playback has come a long way. At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. the music industry had a certain system, which included: concert and touring activities, sale of notes and instruments. In the 19th century, printed music was the main form of musical goods. IN late XIX century, the emergence of devices for recording and reproducing sound, and as a result, the emergence of record companies, led to a significant change in the structure of the music industry and the emergence of such a phenomenon as the music business at the beginning of the 20th century.

Human nature is such that he cannot imagine life without sounds, harmony and musical instruments. For several millennia, musicians have honed their skills in playing the lyre, jew's harp, lute or cistre. But in order to please the ears of high-ranking customers, the presence of a troupe of professional musicians was always required. So there was a need to record music with the possibility of its further playback without human intervention. In addition, the emergence of the music business is primarily due to the emergence of sound recording.

It is believed that the first sound reproduction device was the invention of the ancient Greek inventor Ctesibius - "hydravlos" . The first descriptions of this design are found in the manuscripts of late antique writers - Heron of Alexandria, Vitruvius and Athenaeus. In 875, the Banu Musa brothers, having borrowed the idea from the manuscripts of the ancient Greek inventor, presented to the world their analogue of a device for reproducing sounds - "water organ" (Fig. 1.2.1.). Its principle of operation was extremely simple: an evenly rotating mechanical roller with cleverly placed protrusions hit the vessels with different amounts of water, which affected the pitch of the sounds, thus making the full tubes sound. A few years later, the brothers also introduced the first "automatic flute", which was also based on the principle of "water organ". Until the 19th century, it was the inventions of the Banu Musa brothers that were the only available way of programmable sound recording.

Rice. 1.2.1. The invention of the Banu Musa brothers - "water organ"

Starting from the XV century. The renaissance era was covered by a fashion for mechanical musical instruments. Opens the parade of musical instruments with the principle of operation of the Banu Musa brothers - barrel organ. In 1598, the first musical clock appeared, in the middle of the 16th century. - music boxes. Also, the initial attempts at the mass distribution of music were the so-called "ballad flyers" - poems printed on paper with notes at the top of the sheet, which first appeared in Europe in the 16th-17th centuries. This method of distribution then was not controlled by anyone. The first consciously controlled process of mass distribution of music was the replication of notes.

In the first half of the 19th century, the trend towards the development of mechanical musical instruments continued - boxes, snuff boxes - all these devices had a very limited set of melodies and could reproduce the motive previously "saved" by the master. It was not possible to record a human voice or the sound of an acoustic instrument with the possibility of its further reproduction until 1857.

The world's first sound recording apparatus is - phonautograph (Fig. 1.2.2.), which was invented in 1857 by Edward Leon Scott de Martinville. The principle of operation of the phonoautograph was to record a sound wave by capturing vibrations through a special acoustic horn, at the end of which there was a needle. Under the influence of sound, the needle began to vibrate, drawing an intermittent wave on a rotating glass roller, the surface of which was covered with either paper or soot.

Rice. 1.2.2.

Unfortunately, Edward Scott's invention was unable to reproduce the recorded fragment. A few years ago, a 10-second excerpt of the recording was found in a Paris archive folk song"Moonlight", performed by the inventor himself on April 9, 1860. In the future, the design of the phonoautograph was taken as the basis for the creation of other devices for recording and reproducing sound.

In 1877, the creator of the incandescent lamp, Thomas Edison, completed work on a completely new sound recording device - phonograph (Fig. 1.2.3.), which a year later he patented in the relevant US agency. The principle of operation of the phonograph was reminiscent of Scott's phonoautograph: a waxed roller acted as a sound carrier, the recording on which was carried out using a needle connected to the membrane - the progenitor of the microphone. By picking up sound through a special horn, the membrane actuated a needle that left indentations on the wax roller.

Rice. 1.2.3.

For the first time, the recorded sound could be played back using the same device on which the recording itself was made. However, mechanical energy was not enough to obtain the nominal volume level. At that time, Thomas Edison's phonograph turned the whole world upside down: hundreds of inventors began to experiment using various materials to cover the carrier cylinder, and in 1906 the first public listening concert took place. Edison's phonograph was applauded by a packed house. In 1912 the world saw disc phonograph , in which, instead of the usual wax roller, a disk was used, which greatly simplified the design. The appearance of the disk phonograph, although it was of public interest, at the same time, from the point of view of the evolution of sound recording practical application did not find it.

Later, starting in 1887, the inventor Emil Berliner actively developed his own vision of sound recording using his own device - gramophone (Fig. 1.2.4.). As an alternative to the wax drum, Emil Berliner preferred the more durable celluloid. The principle of recording remained the same: a horn, sound, vibrations of the needle and uniform rotation of the disc-record.

Rice. 1.2.4.

Experiments that were carried out with the rotation speeds of a recordable disk-plate made it possible to increase the recording time of one side of the plate to 2-2.5 minutes at a rotation speed of 78 revolutions per minute. The recorded discs-plates were placed in special cardboard cases (less often leather cases), which is why they later received the name "albums" - outwardly they very much resembled photo albums with the sights of cities sold everywhere in Europe.

The replacement for the bulky gramophone was the apparatus improved and modified in 1907 by Guillon Kemmler - gramophone (Fig. 1.2.5.).

Rice. 1.2.5.

This device had a small horn built into the case, with the possibility of placing the entire device in one compact suitcase, which led to the rapid popularization of the gramophone. In the 1940s a more compact version of the device appeared - a mini-gramophone, which gained particular popularity among soldiers.

The appearance of records significantly expanded the music market, since they, unlike notes, could be purchased by absolutely any listener. Long years The gramophone records were the main recording media and the main musical commodity. The gramophone record gave way to other media of musical material only in the 1980s. Since the early 1990s and to the present, sales of records account for a few or even fractions of a percent of the total turnover of audio products. But, even after such a decline in sales, the records did not disappear and have retained their insignificant and small audience among music lovers and collectors to this day.

The advent of electricity marked the beginning of a new stage in the evolution of sound recording. Beginning in 1925 - "electric recording era" using a microphone and an electric motor (instead of a spring mechanism) to rotate the record. The arsenal of devices that allow both sound recording and its further reproduction has been replenished with a modified version of the gramophone - electrophone (Fig. 1.2.6.).

Rice. 1.2.6.

The advent of the amplifier made it possible to bring sound recording to a new level: electro-acoustic systems received loudspeakers, and the need to force sound through a horn is a thing of the past. All physical efforts of a person began to be performed by electrical energy. All these and other changes improved the acoustic possibilities, as well as increased the role of the producer in the recording process, which radically changed the situation in the music market.

Parallel to the recording industry, radio also began to develop. Regular radio broadcasting began in the 1920s. In the beginning, actors, singers, orchestras were invited to popularize new technologies on the radio, and this contributed to the emergence of a huge demand for radios. Radio became a necessity for huge audiences and a competitor to the phonographic industry. However, a direct dependence on the sound of records on the air and an increase in sales of these records in stores was soon discovered. There was a growing need for music commentators, the so-called "disk jockeys", who not only put records on the player, but also contributed to the promotion of new records in the music market.

In the first half of the 20th century, the basic model of the music industry underwent significant changes. Sound recording, radio, and other advances in science and technology have multiplied the original audience of the music business and contributed to the emergence and spread of new musical styles and trends, such as electronic music. They offered the public a more attractive product and organically fit into those forms that were common in the 19th century.

One of the main problems of sound recording devices of that time was the duration of sound recording, which was first solved by the Soviet inventor Alexander Shorin. In 1930, he proposed to use a film film passing through an electric writing unit at a constant speed as operational recording. The device was named shorinophone , but the quality of the recording remained only suitable for further reproduction of the voice, it was already possible to place about 1 hour of recording on a 20 meter film tape.

The last echo of electromechanical recording was the so-called "talking paper", proposed in 1931 by the Soviet engineer B.P. Skvortsov. Sound vibrations were recorded on plain paper with a black ink pen. Such paper could be easily copied and transmitted. To reproduce the recorded, a powerful lamp and a photocell were used. In the 1940s of the last century have already been conquered by a new method of sound recording - magnetic.

The history of the development of magnetic sound recording almost all the time ran parallel to mechanical recording methods, but remained in the shadows until 1932. At the end of the 19th century, the American engineer Oberlin Smith, inspired by the invention of Thomas Edison, was studying the issue of sound recording. In 1888, an article was published on the use of the phenomenon of magnetism in sound recording. The Danish engineer Valdemar Poulsen, after ten years of experimentation, received a patent in 1898 for the use of steel wire as a sound carrier. So the first sound recording device appeared, which was based on the principle of magnetism - telegraph . In 1924, the inventor Kurt Stille improved the brainchild of Valdemar Poulsen and created the first voice recorder based on magnetic tape. AEG intervened in the further evolution of magnetic sound recording, releasing a device in the middle of 1932. Tape recorder-K 1 (Fig. 1.2.7.) .

Rice. 1.2.7.

By using iron oxide as a film coating, BASF has revolutionized the recording world. By using AC bias, the engineers got a completely new sound quality. From 1930 until 1970, the world market was represented by reel-to-reel tape recorders of a wide variety of form factors and with a wide variety of capabilities. Magnetic tape has opened creative doors for thousands of producers, engineers and composers who have been given the opportunity to experiment with sound recording not on an industrial scale, but right in their own apartment.

Such experiments were even more facilitated by the appearance in the mid-1950s. multitrack recorders. It became possible to record several sound sources at once on one magnetic tape. In 1963, a 16-track tape recorder was released, in 1974 - a 24-track one, and after 8 years, Sony offered an improved DASH-format digital recording scheme on a 24-track tape recorder.

In 1963, Philips introduced the first compact cassette (Fig. 1.2.8.), which later became the main mass sound reproduction format. In 1964, mass production of compact cassettes was launched in Hannover. In 1965, Philips initiated the production of music cassettes, and in September 1966, the first products of the company's two-year industrial experiments went on sale in the United States. The unreliability of the design and the difficulties that arose with recording music prompted manufacturers to further search for a reference storage medium. This search was fruitful for the Advent Corporation, which introduced a magnetic tape cassette in 1971 that used chromium oxide in its production.

Rice. 1.2.8.

In addition, the emergence of magnetic tape as an audio recording medium gave users the previously unavailable opportunity to independently replicate recordings. The contents of the cassette could be rewritten to another reel or cassette, thereby obtaining a copy, although not 100% accurate, but quite suitable for listening. For the first time in history, the medium and its contents are no longer a single and indivisible product. The ability to replicate records at home has changed the perception and distribution of music to end users, but the changes have not been radical. People still bought cassette tapes because it was much more convenient and not much more expensive than making copies. In the 1980s the number of records sold 3-4 times more than cassettes, but already in 1983 they divided the market equally. Sales of compact cassettes peaked in the mid-1980s, and a noticeable decline in sales began only in the early 1990s. .

Later, the ideas of sound recording, laid down at the end of the 19th century by Thomas Edison, in the second half of the 20th century led to the use of a laser beam. Thus, magnetic tape was replaced by "the era of laser-optical sound recording" . Optical sound recording is based on the principle of the formation of spiral tracks on a CD, consisting of smooth sections and pits. The laser era made it possible to represent the sound wave as a complex combination of zeros (smooth areas) and ones (pits).

In March 1979, Philips demonstrated the first prototype of the CD, and a week later the Dutch concern entered into an agreement with the Japanese company Sony, approving a new standard for audio CDs, which were put into production in 1981. The CD was an optical storage medium in the form of a plastic disk with a hole in the center, the prototype of this medium was a gramophone record. The CD held 72 minutes of high-quality audio, and was also significantly smaller than vinyl records, measuring just 12 cm in diameter versus 30 cm of vinyl, with almost twice the capacity. Undoubtedly, this made it more convenient to use.

In 1982, Philips introduced the first CD player that surpassed all previously presented media in terms of playback quality. The first commercial album recorded on a new digital medium was the legendary "The Visitors" by ABBA, which was announced on June 20, 1982. And in 1984, Sony released first portable CD player - Sony Discman D-50 (Fig. 1.2.9.), the cost of which at that time was $ 350.

Rice. 1.2.9.

Already in 1987, sales of CDs exceeded sales of phonograph records, and in 1991, CDs have already significantly squeezed compact cassettes out of the market. On initial stage The CD retained the main trend in the development of the music market - between the audio recording and the media, you could put an equal sign. It was possible to listen to music only from a disc recorded at the factory. But this monopoly was not destined to last long.

The further development of the era of laser-optical CDs led to the emergence of the DVD-Audio standard in 1998, the entry into the audio market with different number sound channels (from mono to five-channel). Beginning in 1998, Philips and Sony promoted an alternative CD format, the Super Audio CD. The two-channel disc allowed storing up to 74 minutes of sound in both stereo and multi-channel formats. A capacity of 74 minutes has been determined opera singer, conductor and composer Noria Oga, who at that time also held the position of vice president of Sony Corporation. In parallel with the development of CDs, handicraft production - copying media - also developed steadily. Record companies first thought about the need for digital data protection using encryption and watermarking.

Despite the versatility and ease of use of CDs, they had an impressive list of shortcomings. One of the main ones was excessive fragility and the need for careful handling. Recording time on CD media was also severely limited and the recording industry was looking for an alternative. The appearance on the market of a magneto-optical mini-disk has remained unnoticed by ordinary music lovers. mini disk(Fig. 1.2.10.)- developed by Sony back in 1992, and remained the property of sound engineers, performers and people directly related to stage activities.

Rice. 1.2.10.

When recording a mini-disk, a magneto-optical head and a laser beam were used, cutting through areas with a magneto-optical layer at high temperature. The main advantage of the MiniDisc over traditional CDs was its improved security and longer life span. In 1992, Sony also introduced the first mini-disk media player. The player model gained particular popularity in Japan, but outside the country, both the first-born Sony MZ1 player and its improved descendants were not accepted. One way or another, listening to a CD or mini-disk was more suitable exclusively for stationary use.

At the end of the 20th century came "era high technology" . The advent of personal computers and the global Internet opened up completely new opportunities and significantly changed the situation on the music market. In 1995, the Fraunhofer Institute developed a revolutionary audio data compression format - MPEG 1 Audio Layer 3 , which received the abbreviated name MP3. The main problem of the early 1990s in the field of digital media was the inaccessibility of sufficient disk space to accommodate a digital composition. The average size of the hard disk of the most sophisticated personal computer at that time hardly exceeded several tens of megabytes.

In 1997, the first software player entered the market - Winamp , developed by Nullsoft. The advent of the mp3 codec and its continued support by CD player manufacturers led to a gradual decline in CD sales. Choosing between sound quality (which only a small percentage of consumers really felt) and the maximum possible number of songs that could be recorded on one CD (on average, the difference was about 6-7 times), the listener chose the latter.

In a few years, the situation has changed dramatically. In 1999, 18-year-old Sean Fanning created a specialized service called - "Napster" , which shocked the entire era of the music business. With the help of this service, it became possible to exchange music, records and other digital content directly via the Internet. Two years later, for copyright infringement by the music industry, this service was closed, but the mechanism was launched and the era of digital music continued to develop uncontrollably: hundreds of peer-to-peer networks, which were very difficult to quickly regulate.

A radical turn in the way music is received and listened to came when three things came together: the personal computer, the Internet, and portable flash players (portable devices capable of playing music tracks recorded on a built-in hard drive or flash memory). In October 2001, Apple appeared on the music market, introducing the first generation of a completely new type of portable media player to the world - iPod (Fig. 1.2.11.), which was equipped with a flash memory of 5 GB, and also supported the playback of audio formats such as MP3, WAV, AAC and AIFF. It was about the size of two compact cassettes stacked together. Together with the release of the concept of a new Flash player, CEO company Steve Jobs developed an intriguing slogan - "1000 songs in your pocket" (translated from English - 1000 songs in your pocket). At that time, this device was truly revolutionary.

Rice. 1.2.11.

Further, in 2003, Apple proposed its own vision of distributing legal digital copies of compositions via the Internet through its own online music store - iTunes Store . At that time, the total database of compositions in this online store was over 200,000 tracks. Currently, this figure exceeds the mark of 20 million songs. By signing agreements with leaders in the recording industry such as Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group International, EMI and Warner Music Group, Apple has opened a completely new page in the history of sound recording.

Thus, personal computers have become a means of processing and replicating audio recordings, flash players - universal remedy listening, and the Internet has acted as a unique means of distributing music. As a result, users have complete freedom of action. Equipment manufacturers have met the needs of the consumer by providing support for playback of the compressed MP3 audio format not only in flash players, but in all AV devices, from music centers, home theaters and ending with the transformation of CD players into CD / MP3 players. Because of this, music consumption began to grow at an incredible rate, and the profits of copyright holders began to fall just as steadily. The situation could not be changed by the new, more advanced SACD disc formats, which were designed to replace compact discs. Most people preferred compressed audio and other revolutionary innovations, such as the iPod music player and its many analogues, to these innovations.

With the help of systems of the simplest generation of sound signals on personal computers, computer music began to be created in huge quantities. The Internet, along with digital technology, has made it possible for producers to create and distribute their own music. Artists have used the network for promotion and album sales. Users got the opportunity to receive a recording of almost any piece of music and create your own music collections without leaving your home. The Internet has expanded the marketplace, increased the diversity of musical material, and driven the digitalization of the music business.

The era of high technology had a huge impact on musical culture, contributed to the emergence and further development music industry, and, as a result, the development of the music business. Since that time, there have been alternative options for artists to enter the music market without the participation of major record companies. Old distribution patterns are under threat. Over the past few years, 95% of the music on the Internet has been pirated. Music is no longer sold, but exchanged for free on the Internet. The fight against piracy is on the rise as record companies lose profits. The computer industry is more profitable than the music industry, and this has allowed the use of music as a product to promote digital sales. The impersonality and homogeneity of musical material and performers led to a glut of the market and the predominance of background functions in music.

The situation prevailing in early XXI century, in many ways reminiscent of what happened in the music industry at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, when new technologies broke established traditions, and records and radio were actively introduced into the music business. This led to the fact that by the middle of the century the music industry had formed an almost new basic structure, on which the "era of high technologies" at the turn of the 20th-21st centuries. had a detrimental effect.

Thus, it should be concluded that the entire history of the development of audio data carriers is based on the heredity of the achievements of the previous stages. For 150 years, the evolution of technology in the music industry has come a long way of development and transformation. During this period, new, more advanced devices for recording and reproducing sound have repeatedly appeared, ranging from phonoautographs to compact discs. The first sprouts of recordings on optical CDs and the rapid development of HDD drives in the late 1980s. in just one decade, they broke the competition of many analog recording formats. Despite the fact that the first musical optical discs did not qualitatively differ from vinyl records, their compactness, versatility and further development of the digital direction expectedly ended the era of analog formats for mass use. new era high technology is significantly and rapidly changing the world of the music business.

Lecture - Sergey Tynku


It's amazing, but so many people still don't know how the mechanism of the music industry works today. Therefore, I will try to explain everything in a nutshell. And by the way, if you don’t understand what industry is, then abroad they understand it as business. That is, it's about how the music business, or the music industry, works. Get it in your head, once and for all, the industry is a business.

Like any other industry, the music industry makes and sells a product. And this product is a concert. Previously, the product was records, but in our time it is no longer relevant. Now the product is just a concert. Why a concert? Because musicians make money at concerts and listeners pay money for concerts.

Accordingly, the main goal of the industry is to understand the demand of the audience (in a given territory) for concerts of a particular format, style and price tag. The industry itself does not care what kind of music and what musicians to sell. Just to sell better. It's like being in a bar. An adequate bar owner does not care what kind of beer to trade, and he pours the one for which there is more demand, and on which you can earn more - buy cheaper and sell more expensive.

For an artist to get into the music industry, stay there and be successful... all you need is to be in demand. It's like with any product in any market. If there is a demand for your concert, then you will be in the industry. If there is no demand, then you will not be there. The industry is interested in artists who bring in money that people will come to.

This law works both for large stadiums in the Americas and for small taverns in the Samara region. The music industry is the same everywhere.

Please note that it is not necessary to be good, but it is necessary to be in demand. And in our country people often think that if a product (musician) is good, then it must be in demand. And these are different things. And "good" is very subjective. But the concept of "in demand" can be felt with your hands and measured in the number of spectators and the money they bring.

The industry consists of three main participants - concert hall, artist, spectator. And the main thing is the viewer. Because the whole thing exists on the money of the viewer. He pays for everything. Concert venues and artists live on his money. He orders music in every sense and pays for the banquet.

The industry does not care how an artist achieves popularity and demand (this is a personal matter and the cost of the artist and his manager). Good music, scandals, competent PR, fashion, etc. The industry doesn't care what product to sell. Its task is to sell what is in demand. If people don’t come to your club (or bar), then you go broke. Therefore, the task of the industry is to understand what the people need - this is perhaps the most important thing in the industry.

Just imagine for a second that you have your own rock club. You spent the money to buy it, you spend the money to maintain it, you pay the staff, and you incur a bunch of other expenses. And now imagine you have to choose one of the artists for a concert in your club. And pay him a fee. Whom do you want to see in your club if you need to earn and not incur losses?

To make any artist in demand and popular is the task of the artist himself (and his management). The industry doesn't care whom to sell. She simply focuses on the current tastes of the audience. Of course, these tastes somehow constantly change. Since the tastes of the audience are heterogeneous, the industry works with artists of different genres and styles.

In accordance with the popularity (demand) of the artist, the industry offers the audience concerts at venues with a larger or smaller capacity, plus sets different ticket prices. But the industry is always driven by demand. It can be said that this is a soulless machine, stupidly reflecting the current state of the market and demand. Roughly speaking, the industry is thousands of concert venues, whose number, size and format is determined solely by the market, that is, the demand for certain artists and genres in certain territories.

Remember, at different times in different territories, the demand is also different!

It makes no sense for the artist or the viewer to be dissatisfied with the industry. It simply shows the state of the market, reacting to it, not shaping it. If something is not in the industry, or is poorly represented, then this is only because in this moment in a given territory, there is such a demand for this product (zero or small).

If an artist doesn't make it into the industry (or does, but not on the scale we'd like), it's not the industry's fault. She only reacts to the tastes of the crowd. And she does not care about the specific names of artists.

That's how it all works in a nutshell.

Accordingly, the concept of demanded music is different. If you're making music to your own taste, don't be surprised the music industry doesn't need it. Your taste is not necessarily the same as the taste of the audience that is paying. And if it does, it's not a fact that the quality of your musical product can compete with other artists. Always be aware of the competition. Nowadays, there are much more musicians in the world than the audience needs. Therefore, not everyone gets into the music industry.

If the demand for music in a village is one harmonist for a New Year's party, then ten harmonists will not fit into the industry of this village.

There are musician managers in the world. They are intermediaries between artists and audiences, artists and the industry. Someone (as elsewhere) can do without intermediaries, but someone does not succeed. Like any intermediaries, managers strive to earn. Therefore, it is important for them to see and understand whether a particular artist will be able to become popular or "not in horse fodder." This vision of understanding distinguishes a good manager from a bad one. This is his income. Again, the industry doesn't care how an artist tries to become popular - with or without managers. The word "manager" in this text can be understood not only as one person, but as an entire promotion office.

Many artists have high hopes for managers who, in their opinion, will solve all problems. But it's not all that simple. If the manager is good and understands the market, then he will only work with an artist who, in his opinion, has potential. And the artist must somehow be able to charm the manager, make him believe in himself. And it turns out that the manager is not a magician who sells a bad product, and the artist first of all needs to give out a product of the appropriate properties (which can be sold).

If the manager is bad, then he can easily take on an artist with unclear prospects. And here it may be that a bad manager will not help in any way, or it may be that a good artist from the point of view of market prospects will be successful even with a bad manager. But in any case, if an artist decides to promote himself with the help of a manager, then he needs to make the manager believe in this artist.

And we must remember that the manager is not free. If a manager (office) invests money (or time / effort) in promotion, then it means that they see the potential in the product (artist) and plan to recoup the costs and earn more. And if none of the smart managers want to do business with you, then they don’t see market potential in you. They, like everyone else, can make mistakes - try to prove it to them and the market.

Understand that if your potential is obvious, then a sea of ​​people will immediately form around you, who want to make money on you. But if it is not obvious, then you have to drag out the miserable. It's like with women. If you are a super chick, then there is a sea of ​​\u200b\u200bmen around you. And if you are not very good, then the demand for you in the men's market is much less. Everything is very simple in this world.

The same laws apply in the music industry as in the general market. Imagine a grocery store. There are 10 packages of milk from different brands. So, let's say you decide to make milk. Good milk. You come to the store and say - I have good milk, take it on the shelf. And they answer you, milk may be good, but no one knows it and will not buy it - the demand of the people has already developed for certain brands. Why should we buy some potential illiquid stock on the shelves? Then you start advertising your product - you shoot videos for a box, hang ads on billboards around the city, distribute free packages to the population near the metro, hire a star for promotion. All! Demand appeared - they took you to the store. First in one, then in another, then all over the country! You're in business, man!

    Of course, in reality, the situation with demand and the store may be more complicated. They can say that they don't care what to trade - people in the area will buy any milk for this price and therefore they are not going to change anything in the assortment. Then it will be necessary to motivate the store - to offer them purchase prices below competitors or stupidly shove a bribe. In the case of concert venues, which do not care who plays in their conditional tavern, everything is decided by the same methods - reducing requests for fees to the artist and, again, a good old bribe. This is the market.

Simple clear diagram. But one detail is important here. You must produce milk of a quality that the people like. And at the prices at which people want to buy it. That is, the package should not cost 200 bucks. And it doesn't have to be dog milk. At least in Russia. You yourself may like dog (or rat) milk, but if you enter the market, try to crawl into the milk industry, that is, into business, then you need to take into account the demand for products in a certain area.

That is, if we talk about the dairy industry, then everything is the same here - a product (artist), a store (concert venue), a buyer (spectator). And there are advertising departments and agencies (labels, intermediary managers) that promote goods for money.

Of course, a lot of musicians all over the planet don't want to think about the market, product, customers and other unromantic things at all. And many successful artists managed to live in their exceptionally sublime world, doing only creative work (but at the same time paying managers who are immersed in routine and everyday life).

But if you have not reached such a level of enlightenment, then you either need to deal with the market and your popularity on your own, or try to charm some manager (office) who will believe in you. And such managers, of course, exist. Since there are successful artists in any country, and someone is involved in the affairs of these artists. But if they don’t believe in you, then, my friend, all the problems are only in you. In no one else. It's hard to admit - look in the mirror and say to yourself "it seems that I'm not what people need."

Of course, you can hire a manager (like any advertising agency) stupidly for your own money (and not for a share of concerts) ... but it's like paid sex. The right guys are given for free. And if you are not given a freebie for love, then you obviously have some problems with being in demand.

Very often, unclaimed artists blame the industry, intermediary managers, and spectators for their lack of demand. It is so stupid. The industry and managers respond to the needs of the viewer, to the demand. And viewers are free people who decide where to spend their money. If they don't want you, that's their right. They don't owe you anything. They didn't force you to make music.

And the most reliable way to join the industry, and this is known to all professional musicians and managers of all times and peoples... is very simple. You have to be stupid to write hits. And that's it! Songs that people like. Write hits, dude, and you will definitely have everything! Pay attention - all the performers who failed to fit into the industry - they do not have a single hit.

But let's say you can't or don't want to write hits? But after all, you can play strangers - this is also in demand (in taverns and at corporate parties), and with this they also get into the industry - just maybe not at the level where someone would like. And if you don’t play hits at all, then there are no guarantees of getting into the industry. It may work out in the industry, but it may not.

OK it's all over Now. I hope now you understand why some artists have a lot of concerts and money, while others have a cat crying.

The modern music industry is a rather strange phenomenon that does not stand still and is constantly evolving. Those who have worked in the musical "kitchen" for more than one year know that it is sometimes very difficult to predict what awaits us in the future in musically. However, the profit system is always the same, and anyone who is serious about turning their music into hard cash would do well to at least have a basic understanding of how the music business works.

Therefore, we decided to write a small guide for the daredevils who want and intend to promote their music and earn good money from it. This is just enough information to give you a basic understanding of how the music business lives and breathes and to make you think about how you could be a part of it.

Record companies

The "traditional" path to success in the music industry is when your record is heard by a well-known label, who will then sign you to a contract to promote your work. It's even better if you've already recorded a few songs that can be included in your mini-album, or in a full-length album, or several albums on the network.

In fact, the label acts as an investor who invests their money in you and your project. This money is used to pay for studio rent, mixing and mastering, as well as paying for your advance, which is paid up front so that you can live to the point where you start receiving your share of the sales, referred to in the industry as royalties.

The label also handles all the paperwork needed to release a track/album, which includes a diagram of how the royalties are shared: what percentage of each coin earned goes to you, the collaborators, and what percentage goes to the label to cover their initial investment and receive further profits that the label could invest in your promotion again.

Musical kickbacks

The Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) pays a royalty for every copy of your track. This means that the more records you sell, the more you get. Also, if your song ends up on CDs or DVDs, or is used in any other way, then you also get a certain amount for this.
For example: there are 20 songs in the collection, and one of them is yours. This means that the Copyright Society will pay you 5% of all sales.

Long awaited release of your music

The release of your music means the use of your track in any form, and all proceeds received after the release of your music may come from numerous and various sources. In reality, money comes from every time a song is played on TV, radio, or used as a movie soundtrack, even when the track is played in Topshop's fitting rooms. The list is endless.

Theoretically, it turns out that you get money for any use of your track. This system works through collection agencies such as PRS in the UK or ASCAP (Composers, Writers and Publishers of America) in the US. These organizations track all the ways in which your music is used, then collect and distribute the money accordingly.

TV, movies and more

The main distribution channels and sources of profit in the music industry are TV, movies and video games, namely the distribution of the soundtrack of your music through these channels. The benefits of a phonogram are obvious: you get paid to use your composition; as a result, you get new income from the fact that your song is used in film projects or TV shows, for example, as a soundtrack. This use of your music allows you to increase the visibility of you and your work, as it will be heard by a potentially huge audience that was not previously familiar with your music.

It's not easy to get tracks on TV and film projects, but there are specialized production companies that will act on your behalf to push your music in one direction or another. So you can go about your business while agencies like this promote your tracks to people involved in film and television.

The need to compile a catalog of music that will be in the record library of music companies (in Lately referred to as Music Production Companies) is understandable. After all, it is such a catalog that is potentially the most profitable of all that you will do. As a rule, such a company will take a percentage for the promotion of your music. But you don't have to pay them up front to represent you. Payment is made on the spot. And what's even better is that they don't get paid until your music is released, which means they'll work as hard as they can to make sure everyone knows about you.

Think about Rembrandt's composition "I'll Be There For You" - the soundtrack to the series "Friends" - and how many people know him around the world ...

Other sources of income

What if you didn't write or produce anything at all? Don't worry, you can still make money from music. PPL streaming is not some typical distribution channel due to songwriters. This is an additional source of royalties paid by broadcasters to performers for the use of their music. All those involved in the creation of the song (bassists, backing vocalists, etc.) also receive a small amount of money for their work.

Distribution

The distributor is responsible for getting your music from the warehouse to the store. To do this, if you create physical content, you need to enter into a distribution agreement.
As we know, 'physical' music is lagging behind digital music in popularity, which is good news if you're starting your own label, as distribution doesn't have to be a lot of effort or expense. Digital distribution means that your recordings will be available for sale digitally in all the places your fans are waiting for. For example, Amazon, Beatport, iTunes. In other words, digital distribution saves you from unnecessary fuss in every sense.

And finally

All of the above is quite difficult to accept, but if you want to connect your life with music, then you must understand the basic mechanisms of such a huge musical machine, and you must be ready, if you really want to express yourself and leave a mark on the musical field, take on it's a matter and go to the end, no matter what.
And we wish you good luck!

How often we hear music from everywhere. Music becomes the sound background of our life. Do you know the feeling when you just forgot to take your headphones with you? Silence, no - even emptiness. Unusually, and hands tend to turn something on. The music stops playing - the inner voice turns on, but somehow I don’t want to listen to it at all. Reminds us of unfinished business, reproaches us with something, brings serious thoughts. No, a new track would have started as soon as possible. We just got used to music, got used to being not alone all the time, but with these cheerful (or not so) musical rhythms.

Probably, everyone has favorite melodies, at the sound of which lines of familiar songs pop up somewhere deep inside. At the same time, it often happens that a person knows the lyrics by heart, but he never thought about the meaning of the words imprinted in his memory and even frequently spoken words. This happens because most people are used to listening to music in the background or rest format, that is, relaxing and not thinking about anything, enjoying emotions or simply plunging into third-party thoughts.

As a result of such listening, a person's worldview is filled with texts and meanings that have not been filtered at the level of consciousness. And since the information is presented accompanied by various rhythms and melodies, it is absorbed very well, and later, from the level of the subconscious, it begins to influence human behavior. What programs of behavior are broadcast to the mass audience by modern popular music - the one that is played on TV and radio, and can it be treated unconsciously, that is, without thinking about its influence? Let's watch some videos:

After watching these videos, it is appropriate to recall the quote from the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius: “The destruction of any state begins precisely with the destruction of its music. A people without pure and bright music is doomed to degeneration.”

Please note that in the last review, it was not only about the content of specific songs, but also about the general direction of the topic of popular music. This is an important nuance that must be taken into account. After all, music should reflect different aspects of our life, and not elevate one to an inappropriate size and importance.

The creativity of a person, when it comes from the heart, always reflects his inner world, touches upon the issues of personal development, the search for answers to exciting questions. If creativity is replaced by business, and earning money comes first, then its content is automatically filled with the appropriate meanings and forms: primitive, stereotyped, insipid, stupid.

Listening to the content that is played today on and on the air of most radio stations is a real process of programming people to unconsciously implement in their lives all the behaviors listed in the videos.

At the same time, in the presented video reviews, only the content of the texts and the video sequence of the clips was analyzed, but rhythm, tonality, melody, and loudness of music have a huge impact on a person. After all, any music is, in the end, vibrations that can either be in harmony with internal state person, or literally act destructively.

The impact of music on society

Dissonance in music, sudden changes in rhythm, loud sound - all this is perceived by the body as stress, as a polluting factor that affects not only the nervous, but also the cardiovascular and endocrine systems. On the Internet, you can find the results of many experiments that show that if classical or folk music improves mental abilities, then modern pop music, built on the same rhythms, or heavy ragged music, on the contrary, depresses the human psyche, worsening memory, abstract thinking, attentiveness.

You can clearly see the influence of music in these pictures:

These photographs were taken by Japanese researcher Masaru Emoto. He exposed the water to various melodies and human speech, after which he froze it and photographed the resulting frozen water crystals with high magnification. As you can see on the slide, under the influence of the sounds of classical music, crystals of distilled water acquire graceful symmetrical shapes, under the influence of heavy music or negative words, emotions, frozen water forms chaotic, fragmented structures.

Considering that we are all mostly water, you can imagine what a significant influence music has on us. For this reason, the choice of those compositions that you often listen to yourself or include for children should be conscious, evaluating the impact of the music and the effect you would like to get.

Music affects a person in 3 aspects:

  1. Meaningful message of lyrics and video clips
  2. Music vibrations (rhythm, tonality, melody, voice timbre, etc.)
  3. The personal qualities of popular performers whose lives are on display

As the third point on this slide, we highlighted the personal aspect associated with the morality of those performers who receive fame and glory. Since modern show business is built on the fact that it brings to public discussion the entire personal life of the so-called stars, imposing them on the younger generations as idols embodying "success", when evaluating modern songs, one must also take into account the lifestyle that they broadcast by their example their performers.

Everyone has probably heard about such a popular Western singer as. Let's see what ideology she promotes with her work, and by personal example.

As part of the Teach Good project, similar reviews were made on other most popular Western performers: - and everywhere the same thing. Their career develops as if according to a pattern: from relatively simple and modest girls, having entered the show business industry, they gradually turn into those whose photographs and fruits of creativity are even embarrassing to demonstrate during a lecture due to obsessive vulgarity and vulgarity.

At the same time, it is these stars that are constantly awarded the main music awards, their clips are played on TV channels and radio stations, even here in Russia their songs are regularly played. That is, the same system is built in the music industry, based on 3 main tools: award institutions, financial flows and control over the central media.

Where to find good songs?

Through this barrier good performers- it is almost impossible for those who sing really meaningful songs and try to direct their creativity for the benefit of people. The situation is beginning to change only today, when with the advent of the Internet, each person got the opportunity through their accounts in social networks, through blogging and creating websites to act as an independent mass media.

The emergence of the Teach Good project and many other associations of caring people is a natural process of destroying the old system built on strict control of persons admitted to the media. And it is on the Internet that you can find songs of those performers that you will not hear on TV, but whose music is really pleasant and useful to listen to.

They also tour cities, perform on stages, gather full houses, but their photos are not printed in glossy magazines, and their songs are not broadcast on popular radio stations or music TV channels. Because for the modern music industry, their work does not fit the “format” defined and imposed on a wide audience through all the same media, or rather, the means of forming and controlling public consciousness.

As an example of meaningful creativity, we bring to your attention one of the songs that was invented and recorded by the readers of the Teach Good project.

Table number 9

MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RUSSIAN MUSIC MARKET

The Russian music business directly depends on the general trends in the development of the domestic economy. An example of this is the crisis of August 1998, when the entire music industry was practically

physically paralyzed. As a result, the number of recording companies decreased three times, sales decreased 3-5 times (in some repertory groups - 10 times), prices fell 2-3 times in terms of the currency equivalent.

A huge number of problems that have accumulated over last years hinders the further development of the music industry. First of all, these are questions: rights, mutual debts and trust between companies. Now many firms do not yet have a complete set of documents confirming their rights to certain phonograms ( we are talking both copyright and related rights). The contracts were concluded without observing the necessary formalities, therefore, at present, there is a serious redistribution of ownership of projects that have been published over the past ten years. Many entrepreneurs realized that they needed to buy rights, not phonograms.

Another problem of the time was the new pricing policy. The largest sellers are guided by the minimum, comparable to pirate prices. Such an approach has become the only possible condition for the survival of the domestic music industry and foreign companies doing their business in Russia. However, the decision to work at low prices was not easy. Majors, for example, were afraid of re-exporting cheap CDs to the West. And re-export really was and is even now. The mass promotion of cheap discs from Russia was out of the question, since no self-respecting distributor or owner of a chain of stores would sell discs of “obscure origin”, without IFPI codes and other

symbolism confirming their legal nature. Parallel imports remain a big problem.

In 1999, the country's cassette market showed that its potential is quite significant, although it is beginning to lose ground, obeying global trends.

In addition to sales of such traditional media as MC and CD, in 1999 the CD-R market was developing quite actively. CD-RW and DVD-RAM discs have been added to the already traditional CD-Rs. In 2000, the first CD-R production line was put into operation in Russia at the Ural Electronic Plant.

One of the main problems of business development is the high level of piracy in the country - 65-70%. In some repertoire groups, it reaches 90%

Thus, Russian market in general, it looks like this (separation by type of media):

Table 10

TOTAL DATA OF LEGAL AND PIRATE SALES IN MILLION. $

* Consequences of the crisis on August 17, 1998 As can be seen from the table and figures, the compact cassette remains the main carrier of musical production.

Table No. 11

SALES BY REPERTOIRE IN MILLION. EKZ. (MC+CD3).

Table No. 12

MARKET STRUCTURE BY REPERTOIRE (% OF TOTAL LEGAL SALES).

WHAT IS APKA? WHAT IS NAPA?

To better understand the state of the US video market, consider the activity of the Motion Picture Producers Association of America (APCA). This is a professional association of leading film, photo and television companies in the United States. Its members include companies such as Buena Vista Pictures Distribution (Walt Disney Company, Hollywood Pictures Corporation, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Columbia, Trista), Twentys Century Fox Film Corporation , Universal City Studios and Warner Bros.

APKA solves many problems: protection of copyrights and interests of film, video and television companies, prevention of video piracy by tightening penalties for this type of illegal activity. The lawyers of the Association help the prosecutor's office in the best way to formulate the charge; collect evidence, ensure the participation of witnesses and experts, conduct legal and legal analysis, calculate the amount of compensation.

Approximately 100 APKA investigators operate throughout the United States, assisting the police in investigating "piracy" activities and punishing those responsible. In 1998, 2022 such investigations were carried out. According to the results of 262 of them, criminal cases were initiated and court decisions were issued. 52 perpetrators were sentenced to prison terms.

Members of the Association contribute to anti-piracy operations in more than 70 countries of the world, including Russia. They rent their

films in Russia through organizations holding the appropriate Russian licenses such as Cascade, East-West, Jemmy and Premier.

Since October 1998, 32 films produced by APKA member studios have been legally released to Russian cinemas for screening. Among them: "Shakespeare in Love", "Armageddon", "Mummy", "Mask of Zorro", "The Adventures of Flick" and "Healer Adame". Additionally, a series of films is presented on video. Films in theaters are generally not subject to simultaneous distribution on videocassettes. Usually the latter go on sale after the end of film distribution. This is done to protect the interests of film distributors.

APKA supports the Russian Anti-Piracy Organization - RAPO. The administration of RAPO is located in Moscow, and the organization itself operates in large cities throughout Russia. RAPO members include not only US film studios and their license holders in Russia, but also independent Russian film distribution organizations, two Russian television companies, the Russian Union of Cinematographers, the Russian Society of Collectors and the Russian Video Association.

RAPO employees assist law enforcement agencies and the tax police in investigating the sources of pirated products, in conducting raids to identify its manufacturers and sellers. RAPO represents experts who can identify items of "pirated" products and testify in court.

NAPA - National Association of Manufacturers

distributors of audio products in Russia. The decision to create the National Association of Audio Products Manufacturers of Russia was taken at the first meeting of the Eastern European Commission IFPI after the August crisis (September 1998). As a result, NAPA was registered in June 1999.

The main goals of NAPA are: preparation in Russia on the basis of NAPA of the national IFPI group, which will eventually unite with the staff of the IFPI representative office in Moscow; protecting the rights and legitimate interests of audio production producers - Russian music companies, combating the reproduction and distribution of illegal audio products and coordinating the activities of audio product rights holders in order to comply with existing legislation on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Currently, NAPA includes the largest Russian companies and major companies that have their own branches and affiliates in Russia, such as Universal, BMG, EMI (S.B.A.), Gala Records, Real Records Art-stars, Studio Soyuz, Producer Igor Matvienko Center, FeeLee Records Company, NOX-MUSIC and others.

To date, NAPA has seven organizations operating as affiliates in Russia. Negotiations are underway with other regions. NAPA is actively expanding "into the hinterland", while at the same time focusing on business regions of the country, million-plus cities.

NAPA includes many NAPA member companies that are also IFPI members. To understand this construction, let's first consider the structure of IFPI in other countries and in the world as a whole.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) unites record companies, which, in turn, are united on a territorial basis into national groups. That is, the federation consists of national groups of various countries, for example, national groups of Germany, the USA, etc. Until now, there has not been such an association in Russia. In risky business areas, IFPI begins its activities by opening representative offices. After some time, depending on the dynamics of development of each individual country, a national IFPI group of this country is created at the place of representation or with its help. The functions of the federation's representation in various countries (and in Russia too) come down to explaining to local music companies the role of the IFPI in the international music business, invite them to become members of the federation and eventually create a national group. Unfortunately, this process has taken a "special Russian path" in our country.

Completion of the creation of the national IFPI group in Russia is not far off. NAPA is fully prepared for this - the Association was created as the core of the IFPI national group. They have common goals and objectives: the legalization of the music business, legal and legal assistance to IFPI member companies, an active fight against piracy in Russia in general, but especially in regions with a million inhabitants. Of course, a special place is occupied by work in Moscow and the Moscow region.

NAPA assists state structures in improving legislation in the field of copyright and related rights, participates as an independent

independent experts in the development of decisions of state authorities and management in matters of the music business.

We have also established and operate the Russian Phonographic Association. It was created as an organization uniting sound recording companies. The main objectives were the collection of remuneration for public reproduction and distribution of safe money among copyright holder companies.

Any domestic company legally operating on the market, recognizing the statutory documents and operating in the field of sound recording and sound reproduction, can become a member of NAPA. To join, you must apply to NAPA with an application, attaching a set of statutory and registration documents to it. The procedure is simple, but imposes a high responsibility on the members.

Between July 1999 and July 200, NAPA in Russia examined 62,076 copies of audio media for counterfeiting. Twenty-two applications were filed to bring to justice persons guilty of illegal use of copyright and related rights, eight statements of claim, five petitions were sent to the courts, five anti-piracy campaigns were held jointly with law enforcement agencies and IFPI, and fifteen campaigns were held jointly with the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The Association is engaged in the study of the audio products market in the Russian Federation, the creation of a data bank of audio products, audio manufacturers and a trading network of dealers and distributors - up to information on each trade

point. He advises state bodies, enterprises, public associations and citizens on the music business, promotes civilized ways of developing the music market, organizes seminars, symposiums, and internships in Russia and abroad. In the near future - the organization of national competitions in the field of the music industry.

NAPA represents Russian audio producers in the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and participates in its activities (interacts with other national groups).

Permanent partners NAPA are, firstly, the copyright holders, and secondly, various expert organizations, including the system of forensic centers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Center for Independent Comprehensive Examination of Systems and Technologies, which conduct the entire possible range of studies and examinations of seized products. Thirdly, enterprises engaged in the transportation and responsible storage of counterfeit products.

Through a set of expert examinations, it is possible to prove the fact of the production of counterfeit products at a particular enterprise, or, as experts say, “tie” audio cassettes to a specific machine, a specific sound recording device. In particular, a magnetic tape moving in the process of recording sound information on it has changes in the surface layer that are characteristic of this sound recording device, which

and is revealed completely unmistakably by the investigative examination.

The search for copyright holders is carried out in databases that contain information about domestic albums (and the Russian Musical Yearbook published by the Inter Media agency helps a lot in this NAPA) and in foreign publications. Here NAPA relies on databases received from foreign partners. It is important to determine the date of the first publication of the work and phonogram for each title. One of the essential components of the act of examination or research is the determination of the amount of damage caused to the right holders as a result of the illegal use of works and phonograms. An important point is the recognition of the copyright holder as a civil plaintiff.

Cash, obtained after the processing of counterfeit products and the manufacture of legal products from the released component materials, are distributed in an agreed amount between the right holders, the enterprises responsible for the storage of counterfeit products, the system of enterprises for the processing of counterfeit products and the manufacture of legal products, and the budget.

WHAT IS "NOX"?

"NOX" is the National Association cultural communities. The main ideas of "Knox" are:

Preservation and development of national and ethnic cultures;

Propaganda of cultural heritage;

Uniting people through cultural exchange, strengthening friendly and fraternal ties between peoples;

Affirmation of the pride of every person for his nation;

Assistance in strengthening Russia as a multinational state in which all peoples are equal in their rights.

For many years I have been propagating the idea that all people should live in friendship and peace, contact in business, and be mutually enriched through cultural ties. There should be no wars on our land. After all, mothers give birth to children for happy life, diligently develop their talents, bring up in them the best feelings and, without fail, pride in their nation, because in every nation there are unusually talented people.

To solve the problems of our society through culture, I created NOX.

Now it is important to find people who can be fully trusted in the implementation of these ideas. "NOX" should become a real forge of such personnel. I constantly transfer my ideas to managers, educate a new generation of producers, trust them with my projects and help them to realize them.


Top