The Software Slump?: Digital Music, the Democratisation of Technology, and the Decline of the Recording Studio Sector within the Musical Economy

Abstract

Software is recognised as a significant economic agent in at least three ways. First, the production of software constitutes an important industry in its own right. There is no clearer signal of this than the fact that Microsoft is one of the world's largest companies, and that the software industry is a significant generator of income and profits the world over (Auletta, 2000;Hozic, 1999). Indeed, the industry is so large that it is able to remain highly profitable despite a chronic problem of copyright infringement in many countries of the world, while it is also able to support the business model of open source which is based on the giving away and sharing of code between programmers and users (von Krogh et al, 2003;Weber, 2004;Zeitlyn, 2003). Second, the significance of software can be determined, ironically, by its takenfor-granted nature. Software and code have sunk into the business background (Leyshon et al, 2005a), and much of the economy would simply be unable to run without it, and all manner of procedures, conventions, and protocols are highly dependent on the unproblematic unfolding of software programs (Dodge and Kitchin, 2005b;Thrift and French, 2002). Moreover, within some industries software has been part of the business vernacular for decades, since at least the 1960s in some cases. Third, and finally, software is seen as a catalyst for economic change. This view of software and code became particularly prevalent in the 1990s as part of the hyperbole that surrounded the

Is the music industry stuck between rock and a hard place? The role of the Internet and three possible scenarios

“…This has been confirmed in previous research, such as that conducted by Leyshon (2009), who feels that this has now become something of a cultural expectation and the default stance; hence the concurrent rise of music piracy enabled by modern technology. Therefore, it is with this notion of 'free' in mind that this paper will explore three possible scenarios, each driven by the Internet, that the music industry may face in the next few years.…”

The online place of popular music: Exploring the impact of geography and social media on pop artists’ mainstream media attention

“…Sociologists of culture refer to the extent to which the cultural production of a certain place interests cross-national producers, experts, and audiences as "centrality of production" (Heilbron, 1999;Janssen, Kuipers, & Verboord, 2008). This centrality may influence subsequent flows or reception of products, both on a national level, where the United States and the United Kingdom are key producers (see Negus, 1993), and on a local level, where cities such as New York and Los Angeles in the United States and London in United Kingdom take central positions in global music networks (see Brandellero & Pfeffer, 2011;Leyshon, 2009;Watson, 2012).…”

“…It is evident that digitalization processes changed the structure and organization of the field of popular music significantly (e.g., Hesmondhalgh, 2012;Leyshon, 2009). The internet and especially social media platforms have made it easier to produce, disseminate, and consume popular music from all over the world (Baym & Ledbetter, 2009).…”

“…This article aims to study the extent to which various, different internet-based media 1 help reducing inequality between artists from central locations in popular music production versus more peripheral locations. More concretely, we examine how differences in mainstream media attention (both by institutional music critics and lay users) compare to pop artists' usage of social media (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter), and how this differs for artists of different geographical origin.It is evident that digitalization processes changed the structure and organization of the field of popular music significantly (e.g., Hesmondhalgh, 2012;Leyshon, 2009). The internet and especially social media platforms have made it easier to produce, disseminate, and consume popular music from all over the world (Baym & Ledbetter, 2009).…”

“…Due to the particular constellations of people, traditions, infrastructure, etc., cities can thus take more or less central positions within the global market. Sociologists of culture refer to the extent to which the cultural production of a certain place interests cross-national producers, experts, and audiences as "centrality of production" (Heilbron, 1999;Janssen, Kuipers, & Verboord, 2008 Brandellero & Pfeffer, 2011;Leyshon, 2009;Watson, 2012). …”