Music Industry Terminology

Convergence of technology-

The coming together of multimedia digital date technologies

Convergence of industrial activity-

The coming together of new media technologies to produce, distribute and share

Synergy-

The coming together of two separate media texts in such a way as to benefit both


Institution- 
Refers to the companies and organisation that provide media content and involves an understanding of media as business.

Production-
Recording music


Audience- 
This refers to the way in which people engage with the media

Conglomerate-

An international company with a wide and varied range of commercial interests

Globalisation-

The shift in media distribution from local or national to international and the whole world at once.

Analogue music-

In media technology, a method of recording visual and sound images. Analogue technology represents the shape or appearance of an object in an unbroken form (physical)

Digitalisation-

Conversion of analogue information into digital information

Vertical integration-

Where a media company profits from all aspects of production, distribution and consumption

Horizontal integration-

The merger of competing companies from the same line of business and involved at the same level of activity

Major record label-

Major labels are large corporations often owned by a parent company

Subsidiary label-

 

Independent label-

A record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.

Niche audience-

the targeting of a small but significant group of consumers with a media product directed specifically at their interest

Mainstream audience-

the uncontroversial, generally accepted attitudes, beliefs and values of the majority population.

Fans-

A person who has a strong interest in or admiration for a particular sport, art or entertainment form, or famous person.

Active audiences-

Any of various theories of audience behaviour that see the audience as active participants in the process of decoding and making sense of media texts

Audiophiles-

A person who has a great interest in high-fidelity sound reproduction

Early adopters-

An early adopter is a person who embraces new technology before most other people do

Consumption-

The using up of goods and services by consumer purchasing or in the production of other goods

Web 2.0-

The second phase of the internet, where the focus shifts from people receiving information and services to people creating and sharing material

Meta-tags/personalisation-
Are HTML codes that are inserted into the header on a web page, after the title tag

Download-

Copy (data) from one computer system to another or to a disk. The act or process of copying data.

Streaming-

Data streaming, commonly seen in the forms of audio and video streaming, is when a multimedia file can be played back without being completely downloaded first. 

Peer to peer-

Peer to peer is a way to store and share files on a network without using a file server.

Piracy-

The term of piracy is generally used to describe the deliberate infringement of copyright on a commercial scale

Portability/miniaturisation-

the creation of making things smaller and smaller such as; scales for mechanical, optical, and electronic products and devices

Multi-track-

A method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole

Sampling-

The technique of digitally encoding music or sound and reusing it as part of a composition or recording

Digitcal audio workstation (DAW)-
An electronic system designed solely or primarily for recording, editing and playing back digital audio

Artists and Repertoire (A&R)-

Artists and repertoire (A&R) is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists

Record deal, contract, royalties-

A legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist, where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote

Distribution-

Promoting music and getting it into shops, on the radio and download for payment.

Plugging/marketing-
The action or business of promoting and selling products or services

Brief

To produce a case study for two different record companies, independent label and major label. Both the labels need to be research and fully up to date to compare and contrast. Your case study needs to be written up on a blog and presented in a ten minute presentation as a summary of your findings.