Independent NDM Case Study - Media Magazine

Magazines/ Academic papers ~

MM34

• Christopher Budd surveys the democratising effects of technological change on the music industry, and “concludes that there’s never been a better time to launch a career as an unsigned artist”
• “it became obvious that the internet offers a perfect way for artists to distribute music”
• “artists could use the same technology to promote and distribute their own music”

MM45

• Gangnam style; 
• Darren Zook of University of California, Berkeley, has a unique outlook and perspective on Gangnam Fever. 
• “This is not a revolution” he says. He isn’t talking about Gangnam Style‘s massive viral explosion, Psy’s current presence across US and other international media landscapes, or about the rising awareness of Korea as a producer of quality cultural goods.
• This is about social critique in Korean pop music, and how Psy is sadly not sufficient to furthering its presence in the Korean pop culture media landscape.
• Costume changes are frequent, showing the stars in the latest styles and sexy clothing. 
• its sense of humour but also its recognisable conventions and iconography.  As discussed, it uses many of the conventions of the traditional pop video from choreographed dance scenes to the cutting to the beat editing before the chorus kicks in.
• Aided by social media, Psy has become an international superstar. Like the Harlem Shake videos that have followed it, expect more silly dances to take the world by storm in the future

MM47

• FILE SHARING

K-pop and the role of race in the Western music industry
http://beyondhallyu.com/k-pop/k-pop-and-the-role-of-race-in-the-western-music-industry/ 

• largely one of music made by black musicians being appropriated by white musicians for a mainstream audience. 
• Meanwhile music made by black artists was often side-lined into subcultures and specialist genres.
• particularly as hip hop has come to play an increasingly prominent role in the mainstream industry, more and more black artists have had massive success and become icons of popular culture through their music.
• With the obvious exception of PSY, Asian and Asian American artists have been almost completely absent from the charts. 
• Even when they are successful they tend to take a backseat to the music in order to get ahead. 
• Take for example, Far East Movement, probably the most successful Asian American act of the past few years
• For K-pop idols trying to break into America, the problem is double fold. Not only do they have to successfully portray this image despite the huge negative stereotypes they face, they also run risk that this new image could jeopardise their existing fanbase.
• Being put in the spotlight and expected to communicate in a language in which you are not fluent …. Girls’ Generation have 2 fluent English speakers when discussing their ability to make it in the States. But the other side of that are the 7 non-English speaking members.

Korea, Westernisation & Globalisation: The Future of Music?
http://www.academia.edu/10937579/Korea_Westernisation_and_Globalisation_The_Future_of_Music

• Similar sounding music but different language 
• Same conventions of music, 
• a western outlook on the how the artist dress and look (chains and half naked girls)
• America’s Heartland in the Age of Globalism, “[Globalization] has the power to remake societies” (2008).

The Evolution of the Music Industry in the Post Internet Era - http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1501&context=cmc_theses

• The Internet, among other technological advances, led to a full-scale restructuring of the landscape.
• In what follows, I will briefly review “the original blueprint of the recording industry and live music business, primary technologies involved in bringing about the transformation”
• some legal background before delving deeper into the events during the first dozen years of the millennium and the implications of post-Internet music business.
• “Starting with the introduction of digital, as opposed to analog, formats in the 1980s, technological advances began to break down the previously rigid infrastructure of the recording industry”.
• “By the end of the 20th century, broadband capacity had also entered a period of unbelievable growth contributing to lower prices from Internet providers, and thus more users.”
• Members of the entertainment industry were interested in this technology, but feared that people would easily be able to get around their security to illegally download video and audio files. 
• As a result, they hoped to pass legislation that would prohibit the circumvention of the security technology.
• The Apple Music, or iTunes, Store was launched in April 2003 allowing Mac users to purchase songs for 99¢ each and albums for $9.99 without any subscription fee. At its opening, the store featured an extensive library of 200,000 tracks that would only rapidly expand as it continued to thrive.
• Social media giants Facebook and Twitter not only serve as a useful tool for hopeful musicians to connect with fans, but their enormous network also creates the opportunity to develop “buzz” around a new artist or, even more effective, have a song or video spread virally.