The Early Recording Industry in the Czech Lands – Part 1

Guest post by Daniel Matoušek

Until now, there has not been much literature on the recording industry in the former Czechoslovakia.  Particularly the history after the 1950s is not mapped at all yet. However, there are two books about the early music industry in the Czech lands that stand out in scope and in depth of detail: “Fonogram I” and “Fonogram II” by Czech record collector and sound industry historian Gabriel Gössel. The following short series of four articles is thus a look into the history of early gramophone industry in the Czech lands as described in these two volumes.

The first part deals with the very beginnings of a Czech recording industry before World War I, a time span when the Czech lands – Bohemia and Moravia – still belonged to the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.

Music Business Research in 2011 – in retrospect

Dear friends of the music business research blog. I would like to thank you for your interest in my blogging activity and before starting into 2012, I would like to look back to 2011. It was a very eventful year for the music business/industry. The number of recorded music major companies shrank to ony three. The global live music market was faced a downturn after a long boom period. Apple, Goolge and Amazon.com introduced their music clouds to the public. Spotify was not only launched in the U.S., but also in Belgium, Austria and Switzerland. iTunes has become available in most of the Eastern European countries as well as in Latin America. The EU extended to copyright term for sound recordings from 50 to 70 years – to name only a few events.

However, from a music business research perspective, one of the highlights was the second Vienna Music Business Research Days on “New Music Distribution Models” held at University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. In talks, discussions and in the first Young Scholars’ workshop the recent developments in the dissemination of music by streaming, download and cloud-based services were highlighed by music business researchs and music industry professionals. The summaries of all the talks and discussions can be read in the blog as well as streamed for listening.

In the following you can find all academic theses & papers, which have been added for downloading in 2011. In addition find a list of important music business/industry studies and books published last year. You can also find a top-10-list of the most visited blog-posts and some more information.

The US Recorded Music Market in the Light of the Billboard Hot 100 – the 1960s

In February 2011, Billboard Magazine celebrated the 1,000^th number one hit of the Hot 100 single chart since its introduction in September 1958 by listing all number one hits with links to YouTube videos and additional information. I used this list as a starting point to analyse the preferences of US music consumers for artists and music genres and how major and indie labels economically profited from it. Part 1 of the analysis highlights the top chart positions of the Billboard Hot 100 in the 1960s.

Ticket Masters – Part 6: The Begin of a New Era – the Ticketmaster-Live Nation Merger

“Ticket Masters. The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped” by Dean Budnick and Josh Baron is one the first books that highlight the emergence of the modern concert industry by telling the story of the rise of its main players: Ticketmaster and Live Nation. It gives a deep insight into the processes within the network of concert promoters, ticketing firms and artist agencies and how this network has evolved over the decades.

In the last part of the summary of Budnick’s and Baron’s book the merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation as well as the emergence of 360 deals are highlighted.

Call for Papers: Young Scholars’ Workshop 2012

Once again the Young Scholars’ Workshop, as part of the third Vienna Music Business Research Days, invites young researchers’ to submit paper abstracts of all disciplines exploring questions that help understand economic and managerial problems as well as processes of the music business sector and in the field of music management.

Submissions are strongly encouraged from students at all levels of the MA & PhD.

Abstracts (of about 1,000 characters) are due by December 31, 2011 and full papers (15-30 pages) are due by May 2, 2012.  A maximum of 12 papers will be selected for presentation to guarantee a workshop atmosphere at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna on June 29, 2012. The sessions will combine paper presentations and discussions including interactive elements. The information on the acceptance of the paper proposal will be sent latest until January 31, 2012.

Please email your submission to viennamusicresearch@ijk.hmtm-hannover.de

Dowload here the full text of the young scholars’ workshop call for papers.

Ticket Masters – Part 5: SFX Entertainment and the Revolution in the Concert Promotion Business

“Ticket Masters. The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped” by Dean Budnick and Josh Baron is one the first books that highlight the emergence of the modern concert industry by telling the story of the rise of its main players: Ticketmaster and Live Nation. It gives a deep insight into the processes within the network of concert promoters, ticketing firms and artist agencies and how this network has evolved over the decades.

Until the mid-1990s the US concert promotion business was dominated by local venues and promoters. This changed dramatically when SFX Entertainment appeared on the scene. In part 5 the rise of SFX Entertainment to the main power of concert promotion and its transformation into Live Nation is summarized.

Ticket Masters – Part 4: Online Ticketing and the Secondary Market

“Ticket Masters. The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped” by Dean Budnick and Josh Baron is one the first books that highlight the emergence of the modern concert industry by telling the story of the rise of its main players: Ticketmaster and Live Nation. It gives a deep insight into the processes within the network of concert promoters, ticketing firms and artist agencies and how this network has evolved over the decades.

In the first decade of 21^st century the ticketing market was fundamentally changed by the launch of online ticket platforms on the Internet. In part 4 Ticketmaster’s strategy towards online ticketing is highlighted as well as the rise of ticket scalpers to secondary market ticketing firms is outlined.

Ticket Masters – Part 3: The Ticketmaster’s Challenge: The Grateful Dead, Pearl Jam and String Cheese Incident

“Ticket Masters. The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped” by Dean Budnick and Josh Baron is one the first books that highlight the emergence of the modern concert industry by telling the story of the rise of its main players: Ticketmaster and Live Nation. It gives a deep insight into the processes within the network of concert promoters, ticketing firms and artist agencies and how this network has evolved over the decades.

Ticketmaster had a more or less monopolistic position in the ticketing market after the purchase of its main competitor Ticketron. In part 3 the conflicts between Ticketmaster and bands such as The Grateful Dead, Pearl Jam and String Cheese Incident over the right to sell tickets are highlighted.

EU Copyright Term Extension in Sound Recordings to 70 Years – An Economic Assessment

On September 12, 2011 the EU Council of Ministers passed the copyright term extension in sound recordings from 50 to 70 years, which was proposed by the European Commission in 2008 and voted on by the European Parliament in 2009. The term extension was welcomed by the music industry bodies and several musicians. The newly appointed IFPI chairman Plácido Domingo called the extension great news for performing artists which “(…) reflects the important role performers play in success of songs by narrowing the gap between the protection offered to recorded performances and that offered to compositions.” IFPI CEO Frances Moore added that “The extension of the term of protection to 70 years (…) improves the conditions for investment in new talent.” In first statements U2 manager Paul McGuiness and ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus applauded to the EU decision.[1]

On the other hand, the extension is criticized by open access activists, but also by most of the academics in the field of intellectual property rights. In an open statement to the European Parliament the who-is-who of IP-law professors and economists, including Nobel laureats Sir James Mirrlees and Kenneth Arrow, opposed the copyright term extension as an ineffective and unnecessary extension of monopoly rights in 2008[2].

Thus, the question arises, what is the economic rational for such a term extension? What are arguments and counter-arguments and how they can be assessed by economic theory?

Ticket Masters – Part 2: The Rise of Ticketmaster

“Ticket Masters. The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped” by Dean Budnick and Josh Baron is one the first books that highlight the emergence of the modern concert industry by telling the story of the rise of its main players: Ticketmaster and Live Nation. It gives a deep insight into the processes within the network of concert promoters, ticketing firms and artist agencies and how this network has evolved over the decades.

After the main players of electronic ticketing service in the 1970s established a modern ticketing market, only Ticketmaster survived. In part 2 the “Rise of Ticketmaster” into a more or less monopolistic market position is highlighted.