Finn Arnold - Digital media technology continues to develop. How is this significant for media institution and audiences?

Digital media technology continues to develop. How is this significant for media institution and audiences?

The internet has had a huge impact on the music industry. The result of this has now led to anyone being able to produce music. Therefore, anyone can be a prosumer by using software such as garageband and YouTube.

Artist's audience, also known as consumers are now able to produce their own music becoming consumers and producers of music making them prosumers. Using new media technology, garageband they can create mashups of many different songs and then distribute it to YouTube, Spotify, iTunes or Soundcloud to be heard. All of this can be done for free.

Prosumers can then distribute and market their mashups using social networks such as Myspace, Twitter and Facebook to gain an audience. This has had a massive impact on record labels as artists no longer need a record label to gain a mass audience, for example EMI, went bust after trying to sue these prosumers such as Danger Mouse who use their music to create mashups, for copyright instead of adapting to his new idea of using prosumers and new media technology to distribute and market their own music for free.

Big record labels such as Sony, Warner Bros and Universal have adapted to the new way of online music. They have created an exchange with prosumers by selling the music to be advertised by prosumer mashups; this way their consumers are distributing and marketing the record labels music for free.

Overall new media technology such as garageband and logic prop is significant for prosumers and mashups as they allow them to produce their own music and create their own mashups creating many different layers of different songs.

YouTube and iTunes has allowed prosumers to distribute their music to a worldwide audience for free and without the help of a record label.

Social networks are also significant as they allow prosumers to share their music links and create a relationship with their audience.

An example of a major institution that has adapted to the new developing technology is Sony. Simon Cowell owns Syco, which is a record label own by the conglomerate Sony, of which Syco runs Xfactor of which appeals to a mass audience. An adaption to the developing technology in music, using the live television programme to create a relationship with their mass audience allowing them to interact by having the choice to vote for their favourite contestants, this is known as an exchange with their audience.

Xfactor was originally set up to use songs from Sony’s back catalogue to market and reintroduce their records, however they also used songs from Capital and Warner Bros back catalogue with their famous One Direction boy band.

This also creates an exchange between Syco (Xfactor) and Sony by recycling their old songs, once the contestants have performed their version of the song, it is then recorded and put onto iTunes of which Sony make money. Using these possible old hits on Xfactor attracts a wide audience, as the older generations are willing to listen and watch if their type of music is playing of which appeals to more than one audience, this is known as localisation.

However, Sony appeal to the mainstream audience by using Xfactor as a market research TV programme to ask the audience what is considered as “normal or conventional” music and what image is most popular.

Syco have also used different kinds of media through Xfactor, such as One Direction now making a film appealing to a wider audience and marketing Syco’s music without them even spending any money.

One Direction is a good example for how Syco visualise their music, these boy bands are the age of 18-20 but their mainstream audience are teenage girls and therefore their image is classed as teenage therefore visualising the young and pure look. Massive v-neck t-shirts to shows of their chest with no chest hair, crazy haircuts, tight skinny clothing etc…

Overall Sony, has used new media technologies to visualise their music and put an image out their for the audience to appeal to, style over music. Using Xfactor and back catalogues of major institutions to recycle old classics, attracting a wide mainstream audience.

Beck Score with his DIY “Song Reader” album has taken a similar but opposite route of adapting to new media technology to appeal to his audience.

Beck’s album is written sheet music and hasn’t actually recorded it himself, instead he has released his album for his fans to interpret it themselves and upload it online.

Beck has targeted a specific; Nish audience as they must interpret his songs themselves to listen to his music, therefore Beck has targeted musicians as his audience who put a value in music rather than style/image.

He has allowed his audience to make money from his album and their own interpretations of his songs. His audience have become prosumers from buying his music and distributing their interpretations online or onto iTunes to be bought.

Beck’s album intentions are similar to Sony with Xfactor, as marketing research, as his fans perform interpretations of his music online and market his album for free, Beck can see which interpretations are best from followers, views or subscribers etc… This way he can perform the best songs when on tour at concerts and therefore his fans have made his music for him.

The best songs interpreted that are performed would appeal to a wide audience due to using new media technology such as YouTube and social networks.

Rather than appealing the many audiences like Xfactor, Co-option applies to Beck where his music “practises from the traditional” where he has again allowed his specific prosumer audience to interpret his own music.

Overall, Beck Score’s music is hugely different to Xfactor’s One Direction, where 1D have recorded their music and put it out their to a specific wide mainstream audience where as Beck applies to many genres of music appealing to more than one audience.

He has used his audience for research, similar to Xfactor (Sony), however appeals more to the value of music rather than style and image.