This document discusses the interrelationship between music, business, technology and culture throughout history. It traces the evolution of music from ancient times through the modern digital era, highlighting how developments in business and technology both shaped and were shaped by musical culture at different periods. Key points covered include the rise of professional musicians, music commerce and patronage, the printing press, radio, recording technology, and how the digital revolution has disrupted traditional business models in the music industry.
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Music, Business & Tech: A Historical Overview
1. 1
Music, Business and Technology
Alejandro Sánchez-Samper
Associate Professor
Florida Atlantic University
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What is music?
An art of sound in time that expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms
through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color.
What is Business?
The purchase and sale of goods in an attempt to make profit.
What is technology?
A scientific or industrial process, invention, method, or the like
The sum of the ways in which social groups provide themselves with the material
objects of their civilization.
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THE ABC’s of the music Industry
Artist
Provides music (content) to a listening audience in the form of:
Goods
Services
Business
Provides a framework and structure for the sale of goods and services.
Consumer
Demands and “consumes” music.
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Basic chronology of “commercial” music in
western civilization
Art as entertainment (paying
audience) - business
“Professional” performer -
music
Development of the
amphitheater, and music
instruments – technology
Ancient Times: 550 BC – 476 AD
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The Middle Ages (5th
-15th
century)
The Sacred
Music and ritual
Business. no commerce
involved in liturgical music
Technology - Development of
music notation (music could now be
transmitted via written document rather than
orally) –
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The Middle Ages (5th
-15th
century)
The Secular and Profane
Music - Amateur.
Business – musicians employed
for the service of feudal lords
and kings.
Technology – instrument
development.
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The Renaissance (14th
-17th
century)
Music – development of the
professional musician
Business – development of
commerce = more $
Technology – instrument
development. More
instruments in every ensemble
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The Birth of Change
Music - The rise of popular
music in the 19th
century
P.T. Barnum – entertainment mogul
Business.
Power and culture belonged to a
larger middle class rather than to
nobility
Technology – transportation
and the industrial revolution
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Late 1800’s: music publishing as a lucrative
business
Music is now both service and
PRODUCT
1892: After the Ball by Stephen
Foster sold 1,000,000 copies in
12 months in the U.S.
Technology: trains and player
pianos.
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1920-1940: Radio and the birth of mass media
culture
First radio stations in US
licensed in 1920
Radio begins paying ASCAP in
1923 (Radio is still ASCAP’s
main revenue source)
By 1930 NBC had radio
stations on both coasts = big
business
1940’s sees the expansion of
radio worldwide and the birth
of global music markets
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The phonograph
Invented in 1890
Music as product
The phonograph becomes a
household commodity in the
1950’s.
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1950’s:The american dream
Affluent middle class
Radio,TV and record player in
every household
Business – radio sells records
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1960’s: New markets
New markets/new
demographics
The LP RECORD (music as
product) and 45’ single
Technology – amplified sound
allows for greater sized venues.
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1970’s: Golden age of the LP
Record is king
Dark Side of the Moon = $50
million records sold to date
Business - Record companies
go global
Technological threat – cassette
Portable
Re-recordable
Piracy
Multi-million dollar studio and
recording budgets
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1980: Golden age of the CD
CD = profit making monster of
the 80’s
Portability and non-recordability
Cheaper to produce than vinyl and
cassette yet sold for more
Digital domain
No generation loss
MTV
24/7 video delivery service
Golden age of mass media,
payola and big business
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2000 -2010: Lo-fi in the WI-FI world
Napster vs. $18.98 CD
A computer company brings
the record labels to their knees
iTunes and the death of the
album
Resurgence of singles
Death of the record labels?
1. Roman mosaic depicting actors and an aulos player (House of the Tragic Poet, Pompeii) 2. Musicians in a detail from t he Zlite n mosaic (2nd century AD), originally shown as accompanying gladiator combat and wild-animal events in the a rena: from left, the tuba , hydraulis (water pipe organ), and two cornua
Music- ultra pro, business-ultra rich and technology- best instruments ever made