Aram Sinnreich first presented this as a keynote at the 2008 Halifax Pop Music Explosion conference. Most recently, it was presented on 12/6/10 at NYU's Computers & Society Speaker Series. The video can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Plm1ulrp2s

1. Today is Opposite Day:
Music in the Network Age
Aram Sinnreich
Rutgers University

2. A Little Background:

3. Every Age has its Metaphors

4. Our Era is Defined by the Network
US Plane Travel
Genetic coexpression
The Internet

5. Networks Have Permeated our Lives…

6. …And Given Rise to “Configurable Culture”

7. Niche is the New Mainstream…
15.8%
9.4%
10.3%
15.3%
15.8%
19.9%
20.0%
23.3%
25.8%
28.0%
30.2%
35.4%
46.0%
55.1%
76.5%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
None of the above
Software mashups
Machinima
Video mashups
Game mods
Game emulators
Trading game currency
Anime music videos
Music Mashups
TV or film remixes
TV commercial remixes
Music sampling
Altered photos
Music remixes
Blogs
Source: Radar Research/Intellisurvey; n=1765; US Only; Oct 2006
Source: Radar Research/Intellisurvey
July, 2006 = 1,765
Awareness of Configurable Cultural Practices

8. …Especially for Young People
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Remix Music Video Mashups AMVs Videogame
Mods
18-25
35-44
55+
Awareness of Configurable Cultural Practices
Source:
Radar Research/
Intellisurvey
July, 2006
n = 1,765
(%)

9. Music-based Configurable Practices
64.7%
1.2%
3.0%
3.2%
4.4%
6.9%
9.8%
12.4%
21.6%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
None of the above
Sold sample music
Created sample bank
Created sample music
Custom online radio
Blogged about music
File sharing
Karaoke
Made play list
Source: Radar Research/Intellisurvey; n=1765; US Only; Oct 2006
In the past year,
which of the
following
music-related
activities have
you engaged in?
Source: Radar Research/Intellisurvey
July, 2006 = 1,765
Engagement in Configurable Cultural Practices

10. “Consumption-Adjacent” Practices
Outstrip “Production-Adjacent” Ones
21.6
3.2
23.6
2
11.8
1.8
32.6
11
0 10 20 30 40 50
Music Playlist
Made Sample Music
DVD Extras
Remixed Video
Videogame Cheat
Modded Game
Redeye/Cropping
Advanced PhotoShop
Engagement in Configurable Cultural Practices
Source: Radar Research/Intellisurvey
July, 2006 = 1,765
(%)
MUSIC
VIDEO
GAMES
PHOTOS

11. New Generation, New Attitudes
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Totally Unoriginal Somewhat
Original
Completely
Original
18-25
35-44
55+
Opinions About Configurable Cultural Practices
Source:
Radar Research/
Intellisurvey
July, 2006
n = 1,765
(%)
“To what extent do
you consider mash-
ups and remixes
'original'?”

12. The Problem is, Our Society is Still Linear
Corporate org charts
production distribution marketing retail consumption
Business “value chain”
Chain of commandAssembly line

13. What does this mean for
the music industry?

14. Networked Production:
Linear: Verse  Chorus  Verse  Bridge  Chorus
Networked:
Beats
Samples Effects
REMIX
The Remix

15. Networked Distribution:
Linear: Producer  Distributor  Retail  Consumer
Networked:
Peer
Peer Peer
Community
P2P

16. Networked Consumption:
Linear: Beginning Middle  End
(Album)
Networked:
Song
Song Song
Shuffle
Play Lists

17. The Entire Value Chain is Remixed
production distribution marketing retail consumption

18. Industry Response: 5 Stages of Grief
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006
• Denial
• Unwillingness to acknowledge Web pre-1999
• Anger
• Lawsuits
• Propaganda
• Bargaining
• DRM
• Acquisitions
• Depression
• Literally (drop in CD sales)
• Acceptance
• Ad-driven models
• e-Labels
• End of DRM
• (mostly, we’re not there yet)

19. Today is Opposite Day

20. Audience = Artist
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006
• Configurable music makes the line very gray
• mashups, remixes, blogs, playlists, games
• Long tail provides both exposure and potential
revenue for millions of recording acts
• Collective production begins to look more like
folk/oral musical culture
• We need new legal categories to suit these
realities
• Creative commons
• Right to remix

21. Product = Brand
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006
• You can’t download a human being
• Artists need help distributing hype, not music
• Tunecore membership: $9.99
• LiveNation advances:
• Madonna: $120M
• Jay-Z: $150M
• Shakira: $70-100M
• Nickelback: $50-70M

22. Recordings = “Merch”
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006
• Even in the old days, promotional “free
goods” took 10% bite out of a record contract
• Prince, Planet Earth: 3M free copies in Mail on
Sunday
• Followed by $22M sellout concert series in
London
• NIN’s Ghosts: 2,500 limited edition $300 sets
sold out in 3 days -- even though music was free
• Vinyl sales skyrocketing

23. Control = Chaos
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006
• Criminalizing normative (and legal) behavior
• DMCA
• C-61
• ACTA
• DRM is bad for music -- and for business
• Over 40,000 American sued by RIAA
(CRIA has done this, too)
• Net result: paranoia, surveillance, chilling effects

24. So How Can Artists, Labels
and Publishers Make Money?

25. More Opportunities Than Ever
Source: Radar Research, Nov 2006
• New B2C models…
• Subscriptions
• Patronage
• …Don’t forget B2B
• Ad-supported on-demand
• Blanket ISP license
• Hardware tariff (e.g. Zune)
• Game/movie/TV licensing
• Webcasting/Satellite royalties
• …and, of course, EQUITY
• And all the “360 Deal” Stuff
• Touring
• Merchanidising
• Bizdev

26. How Big is the Industry, Anyway?
1999 2008/9
CD
Vinyl
Digital
Performance
MP3 Players
Live Events
$35b $19b
$650M $1.6b
0 $6.9b
$250M $1.7b
$100M $24.2
$8.5b $22b
Music Vidgames 0 $4.8b

27. The Final Opposite:
Destruction = Creation

28. Thank you.
Questions?
originalsinn@nyu.edu