Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Music record business'

This thesis studies the music industry as a whole, and delves more specifically into how new technologies have disrupted the old business model. Advances in technology such as the Internet, MP3s, and file-sharing software have made it possible to bypass the traditional role of record labels, thus creating a closer link between artists and consumers. As the music industry transformed over time, the role of record labels became less defined. This has left once behemoth labels struggling to find a competitive advantage in a rapidly devolving industry. Record labels are no longer the most relevant segment of the music industry, and this work provides an in-depth analysis of the processes that destroyed their relevance. This thesis begins by examining the music industry at a macro level, before tracking record labels from their prominence to their current marginalized role. Advancements in MP3, P2P networks, and other consumer-enabling technologies have transformed the music industry. The lack of a significant response to this shifting landscape within the industry has left record labels on a slippery slope towards extinction. As record labels failed to adapt to shifting demand and changing methods of consumption, private entrepreneurs have intervened to solve inefficiencies in the market. This thesis will leave the reader with an expansive knowledge of how the music industry has transformed, as well as its future trajectory without record labels.

Despite digitization, record stores remain an important third place for contemporary urban neighborhoods. As places of cultural consumption, they provide locals a source of music, knowledge, pleasure, distraction, and distinction. Where these places sit in the contemporary city has shifted over time though. This dissertation asks: how has the distribution of record stores changed over time and space when accounting for demographic, economic, and technological factors? Based on original datasets created from city directories and phone books, census-tract data, and record industry sales data, I find that predominantly black neighborhoods were once home to many more record stores than today. More specifically, the findings of an event history analysis suggest that the odds of failure for stores in non-predominantly white areas were significantly higher than for those in predominantly white ones in Milwaukee, Chicago, and Detroit during the 1980s. An analysis of store foundings and failures in Milwaukee County from 1970–2010 suggests that periods of music format change coincide with downturns in the number of stores opening. For predominantly black areas, the number of foundings drops in the 1980s, during a period of transition away from vinyl and cassette, and towards the compact disc. During the transition from CD to the MP3 format, record store foundings throughout Milwaukee County shrank, leading to a drop in overall numbers. Studying third places of community consumption can be enhanced by accounting for this change over time and space. By focusing on stores, this analysis looks beyond gentrifying areas of urban cool without ignoring them. Studying the relationship between gentrification and cultural consumption remains important for criticizing the role of taste in reproducing spatial inequality. But my findings suggest that a study of urban change and cultural consumption must account for more than gentrification: it must confront racial segregation—a far more pernicious and widespread feature of cities in the United States.

Context: Information Communication Technologies (ICT) and its related applications are increasingly penetrating all spheres of individual, organizational, and societal aspects of everyday life in the developing economies and Africa as well. The Internet is emerging as an important technology for commerce and business. The employment of Internet based technologies and applications in music service both in online sales and marketing of music records and digital music service is significantly altering the approach that traditional commerce is done. It eliminates all geographical bottlenecks, allowing the establishment of virtual outlets and presence throughout the world, and permits direct and instant foreign market entry to less known artistes and music records businesses. Objectives: In this study, I investigate the state of internet and e-commerce adoption in the music record business in Ghana. I seek to find out the reasons for the adoption of e-commerce platform within the music industry and to assess the challenges confronting the adoption of e-commerce. Methods: We conducted a Literature Review to get an overview of the music industry as a whole, and also to describe the diffusion of e-commerce technologies in music services. We use qualitative research approach to collect data and to identify reasons for the adoption of e-commerce platforms primarily among consumers and retailers of the music services. We conducted interviews with musicians and managers of record companies were conducted to ascertain their reasons for using or non using e-commerce technologies, and identify prospects and challenges confronting its adoption within the industry. Conclusion: The evaluation from musicians, consumers and other key players indicated their willingness to go for the e-commerce platforms in music service delivery. However, they are challenged by poor infrastructures, unsettled issues of monetization of music contents coupled with high digital gap among the citizenry. Prevailing government efforts contribute nevertheless in closing the digital disparity among the populace, and Telecom and ISPs improvement in service delivery give an outlook of full realization of the goal of e-commerce adoption in the music industry in Ghana.
Samuel Kwesi Wiafe P.O. Box KF 2034, Koforidua-Ghana Tel: +233 (0)208801106

The purpose of this thesis is, through a case study, to analyse how the Internet is affecting smaller independent record labels' communicational efforts, and if these companies are dealing differently with this technological change. In order to accomplish this, a number of interviews have been conducted with smaller independent record labels. The findings have been analysed using a theoretical frame of reference covering innovation management and communicational methods. Our results show that the Internet has had an effect on these labels’ communicational efforts, either directly through an increased use of online communication or indirectly through the decreasing effectiveness of some traditional channels. However, as many traditional channels are still being used, smaller independent record labels are now managing an increased number of channels simultaneously. Furthermore, the degree of online communicational efforts varies depending on musical genre, being more commonly used in popular music genres. For labels with a high online activity, social networks play a prominent role, with considerable effort and time allocated towards working with these. Also, these companies are very attentive to the rapidly changing online environment with the aim of staying at the forefront of this development.

Record companies are suffering due to a downturn in recorded music sales. Innovative firms have developed digital music services that offer recorded music products to customers in new ways, yet sales are not what they used to be. Web 2.0 technologies have changed the customer’s tastes, expectations, and desires. Thus, a deeper understanding of the new “digital customer” is needed in order to better offer services in a way that he or she prefers most.

Aim: The aim for this study of Swedish daily press is to see how the musical reporting is structured for the newspapers I have chosen to analyse. My main purpose is to investigate how the newspapers reporting are distributed between artists who belong to either a major record company or an independent record company. With this research I want to find out if there are any economic backgrounds to the content and if the reporting is equal to the market production.

Method/Material: For this study I have studied, by quantitative research, every piece of musical reporting in seven daily newspapers for two weeks. Through thorough research I have determined the belonging of every article’s record company. I have compared the newspapers with each other to see how the reporting differs. I have also collected information concerning the economic aspects of the music business to investigate if the reporting is equal to the market production.

Main results:

- The representation of major and independent record companies in Swedish press is distributed as the following: 60 % Major and 40 % Independent.

- The national press and regional press both show a distorted picture of the record company representation while the evening press and free press show a more truthful representation according to the market share holdings.

- There are signs of a scope economic structure in Bonnier which cannot be fully verified.

Scholars from various disciplines have demonstrated that popular culture factored significantly in Cold War contestation. As a pervasive form of cultural content and unifying medium for baby boomers worldwide, pop music played an important part in the power struggle between the era’s two adversarial camps. Historical studies of the past thirty years have identified initiatives of cultural diplomacy, from radio broadcasting to live concert tours, as key to disseminating Western music in Eastern Bloc societies. This project explains how cultural commerce across the divide of the Iron Curtain familiarized millions of music fans in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) with popular sounds from the United States, the United Kingdom, and other Western democracies. Detailing a process that affected all Bloc states in similar ways, it seeks to enrich the scholarly discourse on the role of pop culture in the twentieth century’s defining ideological conflict. Through analysis of previously unavailable or inaccessible sources, the dissertation reconstructs the economic development of a communist culture industry and measures the commercial significance of Western commodities in one Eastern Bloc marketplace. Drawing on untapped archival files, it traces the evolution of Deutsche Schallplatten (German Records) from a small private firm into a flagship enterprise on the GDR’s cultural circuit. It illuminates how dependency on technology and resources from capitalist countries prompted East Germany’s managers to prioritize the westward export of classical recordings for the purpose of earning hard currencies. Based on oral histories of contemporary witnesses, it documents how the Amiga label through the parent company’s business ties to capitalist partners advanced the import of Western jazz, blues, rock, pop, and dance music to exhaust the purchasing power of the home audience. Empirically evaluating formerly classified production data for a total of 143 million records, it reveals how the state-owned monopolist engineered a de facto takeover of the domestic marketplace by American, British, and West German performers to achieve high profitability. The dissertation argues that intensifying Westernization of its walled-in music market exemplified the GDR’s decision to concede the Cold War battle over cultural preferences and political loyalties of its citizens out of economic necessity.

The aim of this paper is to define the perceived consumer values that physical record stores create in order to compete with other distribution technologies. A qualitative method has been used, based on interviews with managers of three records stores in Stockholm. Interviews with their customers have been conducted also. The content has been analyzed with passable theories and the two sources have been compared when adequate.The conclusion of the study is that the physical record stores create many different consumer values, and that many of these are hard to transfer to other distribution technologies. One of the most important values for the consumer is that the personnel have a broad knowledge about music. Other notable values are the emotional feelings of searching for something and the atmosphere the record store creates. A pattern that is visible is that the niche record stores create more consumer values then the commercial record store. The conclusions indicate that there are opportunities for niche physical record stores and that the future for the record stores is not as bleak as may be perceived.

Syftet med denna studie är att göra en kartläggning av ledarskapets roll i den kreativaprocessen inom majorbolagens organisationsstrukturer, samt på vilka sätt ledarskapet styr denkreativa processen. Ledarskapets betydelse i den kreativa processen diskuteras kring olikasituationer samt omgivningen och dess krav som styr marknaden och dess förutsättningar.Det dubbla ledarskapets teori får en viktig roll i studiens analys. Tillsammans medentreprenörskapets innovativa ledarskap ger det en koppling till den teknologiska utvecklingsom skett inom musikindustrin, genom framför allt digitaliseringen av industrin.
The purpose of the study is to do a mapping over the role of the leadership in the creativeprocess within the major record labels’ organizational structure and in what ways theleadership directs the creative process. The importance of leadership in the creative process isdiscussed in different situations as well as the environment’s demands which controls themarket and its conditions. The theory of the double leadership has a vital role in the study’sanalysis together with the innovative leadership of entrepreneurship and the connection to thetechnological advancements which have occurred in the music industry, mostly through thedigitalization of the industry.

Få industrier har genomgått så omfattande strukturförändringar som musikindustrin i och med de senaste årens minskande lönsamhet med anledning av strukturella förändringar i samhället vilket har resulterat i en fusions- och förvärvsvåg. Med anledning av detta har vi observerat ett stort intresse inom musikindustrin för förståelse kring fusioneringar och företagsförvärv. Med uppsatsen ville vi fokusera på ett litet skivbolag som blivit förvärvat av ett större och se hur det hade påverkat organisationen och om det kunde ha gjorts annorlunda. Syftet med studien var därigenom att beskriva situationen för skivbolaget före, under och efter förvärvet, analysera personalens reaktioner på försäljningen samt utforma rekommendationer för hur liknade bolag kan ställa sig till, alternativt förbereda sig på en eventuell försäljning till ett större bolag. Vi valde att göra en casestudie på Universal Music Groups förvärv av Stockholm Records med hjälp av Bowers företagsförvärvsteori, Lindgrens teori kring fördelar och nackdelar med förvärv samt Habeck, Kröger och Träms teori om förhållningssätt efter ett förvärv eller en fusion. Uppsatsen genomfördes med en kvalitativ ansats där vi intervjuade åtta före detta anställda på Stockholm Records. I denna undersökning visade det sig att Universal Music Group valt att göra sig av med stora delar av personalstyrkan på Stockholm Records och lagt fokus på att behålla de immateriella värdet i bolaget såsom artister, backkatalog och varumärken. Vidare visade det sig att all personal inte var delaktig i processen kring förvärvet, vilket gjorde att många kände sig besvikna och förbisedda. Empirin och teorin har visat att den turbulenta tiden för Stockholm Records inte skulle kunna ha slutat på så många andra sätt, men att vägen dit kunde ha skötts annorlunda. Vidare visar undersökningen att ett mindre skivbolags förutsättningar kan förändras radikalt vid en försäljning i form av nya strukturer, visioner och arbetsmetoder. Vi rekommenderar företag som befinner sig i en liknande situation som Stockholm Records att ställa sig dessa grundläggande frågor för att få ett större beslutsunderlag vid en möjlig försäljning: Var är vi? Vad vill vi? Hur ska vi nå dit? samt Vem ansvarar för det? Vidare bör ledningen undersöka köparens motivbild med det eventuella förvärvet, det vill säga vad vill köparen och varför?

The recorded music industry experienced declining revenue from 1998 to 2014, but it saw a return to growth in 2015. This thesis uses a sample of 17 countries to explore the determinants behind this revenue expansion, and to assess whether this sales growth can be sustained. I examine the impact of eight factors on the overall, physical, digital, and streaming music revenue and revenue per capita, as well as the digital and streaming revenue share. The eight independent variables include the GNI per capita, the total population, the percentage of the young people, the percentage of the young females, the gross enrollment rate in secondary education, the percentage of Internet users, the percentage of mobile cellular subscriptions, and the percentage of fixed broadband subscriptions. Based on my study, the fixed broadband subscription rate has an impact that is both statistically significant and economically important on the streaming revenue share, which makes it the most important indicator for the industry’s potential sustainable development. The percentage of the young population also shows statistical significance and economic importance for explaining the overall and physical revenue per capita, but it has no effect on the digital and streaming revenue share. Also, although the Internet penetration rate and the mobile cellular subscription rate are statistically insignificant for the digital or streaming revenue share, point estimates suggest that these factors have important economic impacts.

Bakgrund och problem: Det har riktats kritik mot den traditionella ekonomistyrningen vilket har gjort att moderna styrmetoder och verktyg växt fram för att komplettera ekonomistyrningen. De faktorer som tvingat fram den moderna styrningen går även att se i musikbranschen. Detta, tillsammans med att ekonomistyrning i musikbranschen generellt sett är outforskat, gör att det blir intressant att undersöka hur skivbolag i musikbranschen använder sig av en traditionell ekonomistyrning eller modern verksamhetsstyrning. Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att genom att undersöka två skivbolags ekonomistyrning kartlägga hur ekonomistyrningen karaktäriseras utifrån traditionell ekonomistyrning och modern verksamhetsstyrning. Metod: Metoden som använts vid denna studie är kvalitativ. Vi har genom fallstudier hos två skivbolag undersökt och skapat oss en förståelse av ekonomistyrningen i bolagen med hjälp av semi-strukturerade intervjuer och kompletterande frågor via mail.   Slutsats: Det går att se att skivbolagen övergått delvis till en modern verksamhetsstyrning men att det alltså finns en blandning mellan användandet av traditionella och moderna styrmetoder och verktyg.
Background and problem: Criticism has been raised towards the traditional management control which pushed forward modern management methods and tools to complement management accounting. The factors that pushed out this modern management control are possible to see in the music industry aswell. This, together with the fact that management control in the music industry has a research gap, makes it interesting to examine how record labels in the swedish music industry are using traditional or modern management control. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to through the examination of two record labels create an understanding of how the management control is characterized through traditional or modern management control. Method: The method used in this study is qualitative. We have through a multiple-case study at two record labels examined and created an understanding of the management control in the companies with the help of semi-structured interviews and complementary questions through mail. Conclusion: It is possible to see that the record labels has partly moved to modern management control but also that you can see a mix between the usage of traditional and modern control methods and tools.

JEL Classification System: M-30 General M-31 Marketing
This study explores the role of the record label in the digital age by deconstructing the traditional roles, evaluating the theory of artist empowerment through technology, and by analyzing qualitative data from credible industry representatives. The study aims to specifically address whether a modern musician can create a sustainable career without the support of a label. The empirical data clearly identifies marketing as an area with which musicians need support, and for which a musician would need a label. Further results show that the DIY or DTF model is achievable and sustainable, but it depends on whether the artist has an engaged fanbase, as well as the entrepreneurial attitude and business skills of the artist.
Este estudo explora o papel da gravadora na era digital por desconstruir os papéis tradicionais, avaliando a teoria da capacitação do artista através da tecnologia e da análise de dados qualitativos de representantes da indústria credíveis. O estudo visa abordar especificamente se atualmente um músico pode criar uma carreira sustentável sem o apoio de um label discográfico. Os dados empíricos identificam claramente o marketing como uma área que os músicos precisam de apoio e para o qual um músico precisaria de um label. Outros resultados mostram que o modelo DIY ou DTF é viável e sustentável, mas tal depende se o artista tem uma base de fãs ativos, bem como a atitude de negócios e habilidades empreendedoras do artista.

The music industry includes a large number of players, segmented by the publishing, recording, distributing and live organizations. Traditionally driven by physical sales of record music, the music industry’s ecosystem has been disrupted by digital transformation these last years, thus transforming music business models and activities as well as relations among players. This dissertation addresses the transformation of the music industry. The value of music has evolved through innovation and is now offered as an immediate and interconnected service, supported by the progress of ICT. Since 2018, streaming represents the main source of record music revenues. That is why, understanding these evolutions and transformations is critical to correctly understand how music is marketed. As a result, seven propositions have been formulated as lines of investigation. The main purpose of this research is to understand the offer point of view. Complemented with quantitative analysis of market data and literature review, an in-depth qualitative research was conducted towards music professionals following an interview guide. From the analysis, it was possible to understand that, despite the adoption of the digital business model, there still are several limitations. Under the influence of external factors, and in particular the sanitary context of this year, the study suggests the influence and promising trend of technological innovation in the evolution of the music industry business model. The study also reveals the growing active participation of consumers, which contributes to the artistic success and the music market.
A indústria musical incluindo vasto leque de profissionais, segmenta-se nas indústrias que gravam, publicam, distribuem e organizam concertos ao vivo. Tradicionalmente impulsionada pela venda física de música gravada, esta indústria viu o seu ecossistema transformar-se pela tecnologia digital nos últimos anos, que trouxe inovação disruptiva a modelos de negócio, atividades e relacionamentos entre os seus agentes. Esta dissertação analisa a transformação da indústria da música. O valor da música evoluiu com a inovação, sendo hoje percebido como um serviço de oferta imediata associado ao progresso das TIC, pelo que é crucial compreender a evolução e tendência do mercado musical. Desde 2018, o streaming representa a principal fonte de receita do segmento da música gravada. Em resultado, sete proposições são formuladas enquanto linhas de investigação. O principal objectivo desta dissertação é compreender o ponto de vista dos profissionais, relativamente à tendência e correta comercialização da música. Complementada com a análise quantitativa de dados do mercado e da revisão de literatura, foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa aprofundada junto dos profissionais de música, seguindo um guião de entrevista. Pela análise, compreende-se que, apesar da adopção do modelo de negócio digital, ainda se constatam várias limitações. Pela influência de actuais factores externos, em particular do contexto de pandemia viral, esta pesquisa evidencia a influência e promissora tendência da inovação tecnológica na evolução do modelo de negócio da indústria da música. O estudo revela, ainda, o papel de participante ativo do consumidor, o qual contribui para o sucesso artístico e do mercado musical.

The intangibility of recorded music as a product led to a revolution within the industry in the digital era. The importance of physical editions has been decreasing ever since, due to the emergence of piracy and, subsequently, streaming services. While the business-toconsumer, or B2C, models of the industry have clearly changed, the impact on businessto-business, or B2B, interactions is not so clear. There is lack of empirical studies on how relevant major labels are for communicating and distributing the product and, so far, divergent conclusions have been reached. Therefore, this study analyses independent artists’ access to communication and distribution channels, allowing for the understanding of whether the digital era has made it possible for these artists to promote and deliver their product in an effective and successful manner. Results indicate a more favourable scenario for distribution than for communication. On the one hand, although digital channels have come to benefit independent artists concerning the access to both areas, digital distribution has revealed itself to be more straightforward and inexpensive than communication. As well as this, digital distribution has increasingly been gaining importance over the traditional one. On the other hand, regarding communication, several new possibilities have emerged, which are quite more accessible for independent artists. However, these new opportunities are subject to market saturation. In addition to this, the importance of traditional communication channels was not as affected as in distribution. Actually, some traditional communication means may even have increased their relevance.
Na era digital, a intangibilidade da música gravada como produto levou à revolução da sua indústria. A importância das edições físicas tem vindo a diminuir, devido ao aparecimento da pirataria e, posteriormente, dos serviços de streaming. Posto isto, os modelos business-to-consumer, ou B2C, da indústria mudaram de forma óbvia. Contudo, o impacto nas interações business-to-business, ou B2B, não é tão claro. Há falta de estudos empíricos sobre quão o relevante as editoras major são para a comunicação e para a distribuição do produto e, até agora, conclusões divergentes foram alcançadas. Sendo assim, esta dissertação analisa o acesso aos canais de comunicação e de distribuição por parte dos artistas independentes, de forma a compreender se a era digital possibilitou a estes artistas a promoção e a entrega do seu produto de uma forma eficaz e bem-sucedida. Os resultados indicam um cenário mais favorável para a distribuição em relação à comunicação. Apesar de os canais digitais beneficiarem ambas as áreas, para além de se ter revelado mais simples e económica do que a comunicação, a distribuição digital tem vindo a ganhar crescente importância sobre a tradicional. Por outro lado, quanto à comunicação, têm surgido novas possibilidades, mais acessíveis para os artistas independentes. Contudo, estas novas oportunidades estão sujeitas à saturação do mercado. Em adição a isto, a importância dos canais de comunicação tradicionais não foi tão afetada quanto a dos canais de distribuição. Na verdade, alguns meios de comunicação tradicionais podem até ter aumentado a sua relevância.