History of Music Distribution and Current Distribution Practices

How was Music Marketed in the Mid to Late 20th Century

Start of 20th century

The first companies to exploit the possibilities of the gramophone produced both the machines themselves and the 'software', most of them were already involved in publishing sheet music or manufacturing musical instruments. Some familiar names were involved from the beginning, such as HMV (His Master's Voice), Columbia, Victor, etc. Recorded music was one of the first forms of mass-produced "home entertainment'. Previously, music-making in the home had required both the musical skill and the ability to purchase instruments and learn to play them.

1920s

The gramophone industry was boosted by the arrival of commercial radio services. The new service not only offered an opportunity for recorded music to be played to a mass audience, it also allowed the manufacturers of gramophones to become involved in the production of radio sets. The rapid development of radio helped aligned with the period where sound was developed in the cinema. RCA (Radio Corporation of America) used this chance to form RKO Radio Pictures with Keith-Albee-Orpheum to promote its “sound on film” system. RKO eventually became one of the “Big Five” major studios that established the Hollywood studio system, it was also one of the first media conglomerates encompassing radio, recorded music, vaudeville, and cinema.

1930s and 1940s

Record sales decreased at the start of 1930s with the impact of the Great Depression. But the influence of recorded music still spreads and new innovations came in. The jukebox is one of the big ones, as it allows sixteen or twenty-four different records to be played. It also became an alternative to radio as they serve the same purpose. During the 1930s and 1940s, music also became an important element in the film industry. There were things like “musical shorts” featuring popular music stars and “soundies” on special jukeboxes. But one of the most important development of music, was the“institutionalizing”of different genres of popular music. Each genre was supported by a distinctive culture and a chain of dedicated radio stations and record labels. This sparked market segmentation and roots culture in the commercial media environment.

1950s and 1960s

The music industry further expanded in the 1950s with the explosion of rock’n’roll, the growing affluence of young record buyers, the introduction of vinyl ‘singles’ and ‘albums’ that replaced records with limited playing time, the development of television at home, etc. The links between music, radio, film, and television grew stronger, but often, most popular music artists still remain a “regional star”because records were usually promoted by local radio stations and local record labels. Only a few can make it to bigger labels like the Hollywood, so hollywood, therefore, played a crucial role in introducing new (American) music and films to the outside world and paving the way for American Stars’ live touring shows.

1970s

Hollywood embraced pop stars in the period before in a way that viewed them as conventional genre vehicles, the music itself is not used as an important ingredient. It was not until the post-Beatles period that studios started to recognize that the performers and their audience were far more sophisticated than they have imagined and that a successful film is the thing that attracts people who’s sensitive to new pop culture. Since box-office revenues were not ideal during the 1970s, pop culture (rock music) looked like the future. The change of relationship between Hollywood and the music industry, was also because they found out that synergy could work between the two. Films and albums were sold together, however, it also led to a prolonged negotiation for music rights between the studio and music companies (except ones like Warner Bros that had both music and film in the same company). Another thing worthy to mention during the period, is the restart of developing cinema sound. Films like the Star Wars produced in 1977 has a whole soundtrack album of ‘theme music’ which convinced cinema owners that they should invest in the new system.

1980s

During this period of time, music companies benefited from three technological innovations.

-CD

-videocassette

-cable and satellite broadcasting

The CD was a major opportunity to persuade customers to re-equip with new audio technology and to buy new versions of old favorites. The videocassette, was the one that increased the possibility of collecting video recordings of music stars and helped launch the new format. The new format has encouraged the concept of music television with the increase demand for film and video recordings to be made. However, it took some time for MTV (music television) to become successful as it needed developments in satellite broadcasting and cable television. A further innovation in this period, was the portability of recording and playback devices. It allowed fans to listen to music without restrictions in location which in order, increased them to consume more music. It first started as Walkmans and gradually moved to CDs and then to Mini-Discs.

1990s

Music goes digital in this period. Compact disc technology offered people a way to store music in a digital format. Digital recording techniques were also developing during the 1980s. However, the innovation that revolutionized ‘digital music’ was s the development of suitable hardware and software for distribution of digital files over computer network. This was achieved largely through the compression technique that eventually produced the MP3 standard. The MP3 spurred the development of converting existing digital music tracks to computer files that can be played on any computer;'copying' an existing CD; transferring files to a portable MP3 player which is lighter and holds more tracks than a Walkman; "swapping' MP3s with other users over the internet; downloading legitimate MP3s to a home computer.