Map of Montreal Record stores

http://132.205.57.26/Jour202/s_duboi/site1/index.html

Script:

There is no denying the slow crash of the CD is because of its size and easily breakable format but the CD isn’t the only one that crashed with music fans. Here’s a look into the most popular and the most forgotten medias.

The record is one that was a huge hit in the 1920s, straight into the late ‘70s. But its large size and awkwardness wasn’t always easy to transport and risked being broken or severely scratched. Adding to its unpractical nature, the record player had a needle that was very sensitive and was expensive to fix.

The record has had attempts at revival in recent years among rock and punk bands but has not gained the status that it had during its prime.

As a result of the record’s awkward medium, the music industry released the compact cassette in hopes of replacing the vinyl.

The cassette was first released in Europe in 1964 but gained its popularity with the release of the Sony Walkman in the 1980s. But like the record, the cassette had its downfalls, like its large size and limited space.

And that is where the CD came in.

Available since 1982, the compact disc has had the greatest success in the music industry to date. Since its birth, the medium itself hasn’t changed much and is still as breakable as it was in 1982.

A new musical future is underway which is slowly replacing the CD: the digital medium. MP3 players, like the IPOD, have been making big strides in the consumer realm and are being used by almost every music fan these days.

But ultimately, it is music industry who decides what format we listen to and it’s only a matter of time that even the IPOD, will play no more.

For City Edge, I’m Stephanie Dubois.

Runs:1m29

This is my audio story script as well as the audio file of the project. Since I’m trying to replicate a radio format, I signed off my piece “For City Edge, I’m Stephanie Dubois” as a fake radio program.

                             ——————————————————–

WITH ITS AWKWARD SIZE, SENSITIVITY AND ITS COST, THE COMPACT DISC HAS SPUN OUT OF TUNES AND IS LOOKING AT EXTINCTION.

WITH SALES DROPPING TO OVER 20% THIS YEAR, THE FUTURE OF THE COMPACT DISC IS BECOMING HAZY AND HAS MANY FANS AWAITING ITS FINAL SPIN.

CONCORDIA’S CJLO PROGRAM AND HIP HOP DIRECTOR BRIAN JOSEPH SAYS THAT THE CD IS OUT OF DATE IN TODAY’S SOCIETY AND IS MORE OF A NUISANCE THAN A NECESSITY.

                                                                        In: 27 sec.

                                                                        Out: 46 sec.

                                                                        Runs: 19 sec.

ONLINE PIRACY IS PRIMARILY TO BLAME FOR THE DECLINE OF THE CD. USERS CAN FIND THEIR FAVORITE SONG OR ALBUM ONLINE FOR FREE AND WITH JUST A CLICK OF A BUTTON, IT’S ON THEIR COMPUTER.

 RECORD LABELS AND ARTIST ARE ALSO FEELING THE DIGITAL PAIN AND ARE FORCED TO PROMOTE THEIR MUSIC TO LISTENERS IN DIFFERENT WAYS.

THE LARGEST SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE MYSPACE LAUNCHED A MUSIC PAGE IN SEPTEMBER IN HOPES OF BECOMING THE ONE-STOP WEBSITE FOR MUSIC FANS. PEOPLE STREAMED MUSIC OVER 1 BILLION TIMES IN THE FRIST OPENING THREE DAYS.

(Sound on Tape) CDs cases

STORING CDS IS ALSO AN ISSUE FOR MUSIC JUNKIES.THE PLASTIC CASE THE DISC COMES IN IS OFTEN LARGE AND AWKWARD TO KEEP. MANY MUSIC FANS HAVE SLOWLY BEGUN TO TRANSFER THEIR MUSIC ONTO COMPUTERS.

CRITICS ARGUE THAT THE USEFULNESS OF THE CD IS OUWEIGHTED BY THE HASSLE OF THE MEDIA AND ITS END WILL COME SOON.

STANDUP:For City Edge, I’m Stephanie Dubois.

END

I felt that the Washington Post Soundslides was well formated because it used background noise effectively. This story didn’t really need to have a voiceover explaining what was happening and where because the stills represented it well.

The New York Times Soundslides was well-done and I felt that the voiceover was needed in order to locate and educate the viewer. The photos weren’t able to stand by their own and it was necessary to have the reporter tell the story. I did find however that the piece was a bit too short and at times felt rushed. I would have liked to see the pace slow down as well as tell me more about the subject.

For my project, I plan on using the format the reporter from the New York Times used. I feel that it is more appropriate for my story and that it will add information to the photos that will be presented.

Are you suffering from awkward plastic lying around your house, a broken disc or even a case of the Walkman? Say no more. The music industry has come to your rescue to cure those compact disc blues.

The remedy? The music industry’s 360 contract deal.

This recent agreement has the record label making a profit off of all aspects of an artist’s revenues in order to develop a well-rounded musician. Instead of making money only from CD sales (which are almost non-existent these days), the label gets a portion of the profits from concert revenue, merchandise sales, endorsement deals, ringtones and other beneficial areas. The exchange is that the music label will work with the artist to improve their overall career by using their developed resources, like contacts and press relation officers. The major labels even go as far as to say that they have more time to promote their artists because they’re not hunting down record sales to cover their investment.

With CD sales of 2008 slumping 20% from 2007 numbers while the CD’s arch-enemy, illegal downloading, rises 32% from 2007, there is no wonder the music industry feels the need to cash in on all areas of their artists’ success.

According to an article on TechCrunch.com, Warner Music Group CEO Edgar Bronfman says that these contracts are mandatory for all new artists who sign with his label. He also went on to comment that about a third of all of his company’s signed artists are already under this kind of contract.

But there has been a lot of controversy surrounding these deals amongst artists, as well as amid music fans. Many feel that these newly signed artists are not fully ‘reaping the benefits’ from their work and become more of a product, rather than a talent. The element of choice is taken away from the artist when these deals are made since the record label often has control of over 33% of the artists’ profits.

The decrease of CD sales has also led to the music industry becoming more selective with the artists they sign to a record label. The labels need to be very careful of the artist’s they recruit as well as the hit singles they release to the fans because the industry no longer relies on CD sales to establish a accepted musician.  The success of the artist relies primarily on the artist themselves but also relies on the influence, power and opinion from the record label.

 According to a Huffington Post article, Atlantic Records was quite successful with profits from digital revenue in 2008 when compared to the labels’ physical CD profit. Popular artists from Atlantic Records, like T.I. and Jason Mraz, are some of the artists who helped to achieve this downloading success.

The record labels have also teamed up with MySpace this past year to create MySpace Music, a webpage solely dedicated to upcoming artists as well as popular musicians. The website has specific links to videos, tour dates and special contests. The webpage allows the musicians and their labels to display new talent to a wide community of music fans around the world with very little promotional effort involved.

The 360 deal is also making its way across the border into Canada. In the United States, the four major music labels have all adopted this new kind of deal but Canada has smaller, independent labels using the 360 deal for their artists. The Canadian music labels vary from their American counterparts because some staffers even stand in as promoters and artist merchandisers for their artist.

The 360 contract first got its origins in the 2000s with UK pop star Robbie Williams who was able to draw large crowds to concerts but wasn’t able to move many albums in the United States.  Eventually, major artists like Madonna and The PussyCat Dolls followed the trend which has led to their profitable success.

It seems that the remedy to the diminishing CD sales and the illegal downloading is for the record labels to make more money off their artists. Even in these hard economic times, the music industry seems to know how to make their artists’ good until the last beat.

-30-

Sources for story

1)Arrigton, Michael. (2008) “360″ Music Deals Become Mandatory as Labels Prepare for Free Music. Retrieved February 13,2008 from  http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/08/360-music-deals-become-mandatory-as-labels-prepare-for-free-music/

2) Abramovitch,Susan and  Carnegie,Shelagh (2007).FOCUS ON MEDIA LAW. The Lawyers Weekly, p.1.

3)McDonald, Heather.(N.D.)360 Deals.Retrieved February 13,2008 from http://musicians.about.com/od/ah/g/360deals.htm

4)Gasparek, Brian(N.D.). The 360 Deal:Examining the modern record contract. Retreived February 6,2008 from http://www.indiscover.net/Features/Articles/the_360_deal_examining_the_modern_record_contract.

5)Sandoval, Greg (2008). MySpace Music makes its debut. Retrieved February 6,2008 from http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10050206-93.html.

The only problem with this assignment was that I wasn’t able to finish it by using the sound mixer. It wouldn’t load the sound clips and ended up freezing my computer several times. Even though I have done a lot of radio editing, I would have liked to fully complete the assignment.

These two videos were very compelling and interesting. They both focused on very different subject matters. I really liked how they both used video in a very interesting way that stimulated the subject’s theme.For example, in the L.A. Sun piece, it plays with video tools like slow motion or fastforward. It made this somewhat dry (no pun intended, I swear) subject more interesting. I also enjoyed the interactive map at the bottom of the window that moved across Nevada when the interview subject changed. I thought that was a great way to help situate the viewer while being discreet.

The Dallas news video, I felt that the use of photos was outstanding. It relayed the narration from Yolanda while still concentrating on her powerful words. I found that the use of photos mixed with video that portrayed her point-of-view was a great idea. It really allowed me to be in her shoes and explore her horrible travels.

In terms of my captivation as a viewer, the L.A. Sun video on  Las Vegas’s diminishing water supply failed to do so. I think the subject was a little on the boring side and leaned towards being preachy/repetitive in terms of environmental journalism. I feel like there is this sort of problem around the world and the Las Vegas one wasn’t captivating enough to hold my attention. The Yolanda’s Crossing video on the other hand had me looking forward for the next chapter. Not that I enjoyed hearing about this girl’s rape but I thought that the way her story was told through photographs and her narration was to the point and emotional. I felt like she was telling me the story and as if she was right next to me.

I found them both very strong pieces but Yolanda’s Crossing was more compelling in all aspects: journalistically, visually, narratively.

                                                      -30-

Interview Sources-Known

1)      Brian Joseph

program@cjlo.com

Brian Joseph is the Program Director at Concordia’s CJLO and is very knowledgeable on the subject. He has already been contacted and interviewed for a previous television project. I plan on exploring the possible future of the CD and where it is headed and how that effects radio stations. Since he is a great interviewee and has great on-camera presence, I plan on featuring him for my video section of my project.

2)      Hamid Rouse and “Solo” Rouse

Tel. (514) 651-4545

These brothers are the owners of Montreal record label Tru Kings and have already given me an interview. They provide an interesting aspect on the demise of the CD since they are the “artistic producers” of the CDs themselves. I think I will use their interview for my audio aspect of my project since the visuals for their interview are not overly stimulating.

3)    Mark-Anthony Maimone

mamaimone@hotmail.com

Mark-Anthony is a local DJ who has a positive point of view on the CD. I feel like he will add a great opposition p.o.v. to the other interviewees who take the popular view. Since I have already interviewed him, I will use his interview for my visual project. Also, since he is a DJ and I have footage of him DJ-ing, it makes for a better visual story.

Unknown interview sources

1)        Owner of Primitive record store on St.Denis

2)        A person with a large record collection

3)        A music fan with a large CD collection

Secondary Sources

Published articles

1)    USA TODAY article

http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2008-04-02-album-sales_N.htm

This article discusses how and why CD sales have gone down in 2008.

2) Globe and Mail article

http://0-proquest.umi.com.mercury.concordia.ca:80/pqdweb?did=1544598231&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=10306&RQT=309&VName=PQD

This article is interesting because it discusses the return of the record.

2)    Toronto Star article

http://0-proquest.umi.com.mercury.concordia.ca:80/pqdweb?did=1432471251&sid=2&Fmt=3&clientId=10306&RQT=309&VName=PQD

       This piece discusses the changes the industry has made in order to generate extra revenue.

Online only articles

1)    The 360 Deal: Examining the modern record contract

http://www.indiscover.net/Features/Articles/the_360_deal_examining_the_modern_record_contract

This article talks about how the music industry is trying to generate revenue (due to the diminishing revenue from CDs) through this unique recording contract.

2)    MySpace Music makes its debut

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10050206-93.html

This piece talks about how Myspace Music plans on changing how music fans get their music. I think it’s interesting to see how illegal downloading is being embraced by Myspace.

3) Is the CD still a viable market?

http://www.slyck.com/story1125_Is_the_Physical_CD_Still_A_Viable_Market

This article is interesting because the writer examines how CDs are a dying breed and how the technology is dying with it. He also discusses how illegal downloading has its ‘cons’ as well.