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Making It In a "Dead" Industry: The Importance of Innovation and Adaptability in the Music Business

Description

The music business has constantly evolved since its inception. Sheet music was the first physical form of music sold and was influenced by innovations in printing technology. Recorded music came about in the late 1800s and early 1900s, with Thomas Edison pioneering the phonograph record. Technology shifted from records to…

The music business has constantly evolved since its inception. Sheet music was the first physical form of music sold and was influenced by innovations in printing technology. Recorded music came about in the late 1800s and early 1900s, with Thomas Edison pioneering the phonograph record. Technology shifted from records to 8-tracks to cassettes, and finally, digital audio, which revolutionized the entire industry. Compact discs (CDs) skyrocketed in popularity during the 1990s and early 2000s, but so did file-sharing. To combat piracy, record labels began selling and streaming music online. Music sales have plummeted in all formats. Streaming reigns as the most popular form of music distribution, but it produces a mere fraction of the revenue traditional albums once did. The loss affects all those in the industry, especially the artists, who see an average of only $23.40 for every $1000 in music sold. But technology has allowed the independent artist to record and distribute their music to the world for little cost compared to their major label predecessors. Many wonder if the music industry is dead, but as with any other technological change in history, the adaptors and innovators will survive.

ContributorsDamiano, Alec (Author) / Swoboda, Deanna (Thesis director) / Whyte, Rutger (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Music (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)

Created2015-05

Once On This Island - An Exploration of Nontraditional Casting

Description

Only in the world of acting can an individual be denied a job simply on the basis of their appearance, and in my thesis, I sought to explore alternatives to this through the concept of nontraditional casting and casting against "type", which included the presentation of a full-length production of…

Only in the world of acting can an individual be denied a job simply on the basis of their appearance, and in my thesis, I sought to explore alternatives to this through the concept of nontraditional casting and casting against "type", which included the presentation of a full-length production of the musical "Once on this Island" which I attempted to cast based on vocal quality and skill alone rather than taking physical characteristics into account. I researched the history and implementation of nontraditional casting, both in regards to race and other factors such as gender, socio-economic status, and disability. I also considered the legal and intellectual property challenges that nontraditional casting can pose. I concluded from this research that while nontraditional casting is only one solution to the problem, it still has a great deal of potential to create diversity in theater. For my own show, I held the initial auditions via audio recording, though the callback auditions were held in person so that I and my crew could appraise dance and acting ability. Though there were many challenges with our cast after this initial round of auditions, we were able to solidify our cast and continue through the rehearsal process. All things said, the show was very successful. It is my hope that those who were a part of the show, either as part of the production or the audience, are inspired to challenge the concept of typecasting in contemporary theater.

ContributorsBriggs, Timothy James (Author) / Yatso, Toby (Thesis director) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Music (Contributor)

Created2014-12

The Recording and Marketing Development of an Original CD

DescriptionThis written work is accompanied by an audio CD and accompanying design and packaging materials, on file at the Barrett Thesis Library. The work details the process of recording an original audio CD and developing a marketing plan, including the building of a personal brand, strategies, tactics, and environment analysis.

ContributorsHoal, Lauren Elizabeth (Author) / Russell, Timothy (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Rigsby, Clarke (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor)

Created2013-05

Popular Music Songwriting

Description

The goal of the creative project "Popular Music Songwriting" was to jump into songwriting with strategy and study on popular music, looking at why songs make the charts. The project had one focus on Max Martin's songwriting principles, but looked at anything that hit the charts. The conclusion of the…

The goal of the creative project "Popular Music Songwriting" was to jump into songwriting with strategy and study on popular music, looking at why songs make the charts. The project had one focus on Max Martin's songwriting principles, but looked at anything that hit the charts. The conclusion of the project brings an understanding of several rules and patterns in songwriting that hit makers typically obey. A common purpose for pop songs is to keep its listeners engaged but not overwhelmed. The goal is to do something different, but keep things familiar and to make people want to listen to it again. Songwriting has become very business-minded in that many informal rules to songwriting have become established because they are supported by psychology, showing that we have developed certain expectations in songs. For example, when a song gets very complex, we oftentimes tune out and do not want to hear it. This problem makes a song unfriendly to the radio. Also, repetition is often exercised. Many pop listeners have favorite parts of songs; therefore, when a songwriter has created a hook that listeners will want to look forward to through the song's duration, then that hook should be recycled strategically to keep the listener engaged. Four songs are submitted at the project's completion. The songs' names are "Soon to be an Emergency," "They Will Look at Us," "Black and White," and "Psychedelic Nights." The songs well represent a timeline of the project. As new songwriting rules were learned in the process of this project, they were employed accordingly, making each new song a fair representation of the learning up to that point.

ContributorsDudzinski, Bryce Daniel (Author) / Libman, Jeffrey (Thesis director) / Wells, Christopher (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)

Created2017-05

Methodology for Inexpensively Creating, Recording, and Producing Studio-Quality Original Music

Description

Due to increasing lack of resources and funding for budding student musicians, it is often not possible for this demographic to create, record, and produce their original music in the same high-budget studio environment in which music has been traditionally made. The objective of this project is to explore alternatives…

Due to increasing lack of resources and funding for budding student musicians, it is often not possible for this demographic to create, record, and produce their original music in the same high-budget studio environment in which music has been traditionally made. The objective of this project is to explore alternatives which are more accessible to young independent musicians and reveal the most cost-efficient routes to obtain a high-quality result. To make this comparison, the group created budget recordings of their original music in a bedroom in true DIY fashion, and then recorded the same songs in a professional music studio using the best music and recording equipment available. The DIY recordings were mixed and mastered by the group members themselves, as well as separately by a professional audio engineer. The studio recordings were also mixed and mastered by a professional audio engineer, resulting in three final products with varying costs and quality. Ultimately, the group found that without mixing and mastering experience, it is very difficult to achieve high quality results. With the same budget recorded tracks, the group found that quality of the final product vastly increased when a professional audio engineer mixed and mastered the tracks. As far as the quality of the result, the studio recorded tracks were by far the best. Not only was the quality of the sounds from the high-end music and recording equipment much higher, the band had more freedom to be creative without the responsibility of simultaneously serving as recording engineers as was the case in the low budget recordings. The group concluded that this project was highly successful and demonstrated that high quality results could be obtained on a budget. The DIY recording techniques used in this project prove that independent musicians without access to expensive equipment and resources can still produce high quality music at the cost of more effort to serve as audio engineers in addition to musicians. However, recording in a studio with the help of a producer and professional audio engineers affords creative freedom and an increase in sound quality that is simply not possible to reproduce without the equipment and expertise that money can buy.

ContributorsBonk, Alan (Co-author) / Dhuyvetter, Nicholas Alan (Co-author) / Wickham, Kevin (Co-author) / Tobias, Evan (Thesis director) / Swoboda, Deanna (Committee member) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)

Created2018-05

EP - Kyan Palmer

Description

"EP \u2014 Kyan Palmer" is a compilation of three songs, "Hit List," "Queen Cobra," and "Burn Mona Lisa" all written and recorded by Barrett student, Kyan Palmer. The project explores the process involved in creating recorded music and exposes the vulnerability and self-reflection in writing a song. The following depicts…

"EP \u2014 Kyan Palmer" is a compilation of three songs, "Hit List," "Queen Cobra," and "Burn Mona Lisa" all written and recorded by Barrett student, Kyan Palmer. The project explores the process involved in creating recorded music and exposes the vulnerability and self-reflection in writing a song. The following depicts the thought process that came about in the creation of each song from the lyrics, to the vocals, to the production. This paper depicts a journal-like writing style outlining the various events that took place while creating EP \u2014 Kyan Palmer. The bulk of this Thesis/Creative Project was the written, produced, and recorded music attached in the appendix. With that said, the following document is intended to be reflective rather than scholarly and acts as an accompaniment to the audio recordings and video entries.

ContributorsPalmer, Kyan (Author) / Swoboda, Deanna (Thesis director) / Tobias, Evan (Committee member) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Music (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)

Created2016-05

How does musical taste influence social connection when forming new relationships?

Description

Music has consistently been documented as a manner to bring people together across cultures throughout the world. In this research, we propose that people use similar musical taste as a strong sign of potential social connection. To investigate this notion, we draw on literature examining how music merges the public/private…

Music has consistently been documented as a manner to bring people together across cultures throughout the world. In this research, we propose that people use similar musical taste as a strong sign of potential social connection. To investigate this notion, we draw on literature examining how music merges the public/private self, the link to personality, and group identity, as well as how it is linked to romantic relationships. Thus, music can be a tool when wanting to get to know someone else and/or forge a platonic relationship. To test this hypothesis, we designed an experiment comparing music relative to another commonality (sharing a sports team in common) to see which factor is stronger in triggering an online social connection. We argue that people believe they have more in common with someone who shares similar music taste compared to other commonalities. We discuss implications for marketers on music streaming platforms.

ContributorsDrambarean, Julianna Rose (Co-author) / Simmons, Logan (Co-author) / Samper, Adriana (Thesis director) / Martin, Nathan (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)

Created2021-05

How does musical taste influence social connection when forming new relationships?

Description

Music has consistently been documented as a manner to bring people together across cultures throughout the world. In this research, we propose that people use similar musical tastes as a strong sign of potential social connection. To investigate this notion, we draw on literature examining how music merges the public/private…

Music has consistently been documented as a manner to bring people together across cultures throughout the world. In this research, we propose that people use similar musical tastes as a strong sign of potential social connection. To investigate this notion, we draw on literature examining how music merges the public/private self, the link to personality, and group identity, as well as how it is linked to romantic relationships. Thus, music can be a tool when wanting to get to know someone else and/or forge a platonic relationship. To test this hypothesis, we designed an experiment comparing music relative to another commonality (sharing a sports team in common) to see which factor is stronger in triggering an online social connection. We argue that people believe they have more in common with someone who shares similar music taste compared to other commonalities. We discuss implications for marketers on music streaming platforms.

ContributorsSimmons, Logan Patrick (Co-author) / Drambarean, Julianna (Co-author) / Samper, Adriana (Thesis director) / Martin, Nathan (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)

Created2021-05

Quality in Motion: A Music Educator's Guide to Basic Visual Instruction in Marching Band

Description

This project is intended to fill gaps in the professional knowledge of music educators in the state of Arizona concerning the pedagogy, content, and importance of a visual education program in the scholastic marching band. It also aims to contribute to the general pool of knowledge surrounding visual education. While…

This project is intended to fill gaps in the professional knowledge of music educators in the state of Arizona concerning the pedagogy, content, and importance of a visual education program in the scholastic marching band. It also aims to contribute to the general pool of knowledge surrounding visual education. While music educators are often expected to begin teaching marching band immediately following their graduation, many do not ever receive proper training in the visual aspect of the marching arts. The marching band is the most visible element of a holistic educational music program, and often represents the school to the community and the educator to their administrators. While significant music training is given at the collegiate level, many educators have not had further experience in the marching arts. The author uses his experience in Drum Corps International, as well as in teaching marching band to synthesize research-based practices into a handbook of immediately applicable visual pedagogical information that would be immediately useful to any music educator.

ContributorsGerald, Thomas (Author) / Swoboda, Deanna (Thesis director) / Quamo, Jeff (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Music, Dance and Theatre (Contributor)

Created2023-05

The Creation and Marketing of Album Cover Pop Art

Description

Music, which is easier to access than ever before, has become an integral part of many passionate enthusiasts’ lives. As a fellow music-obsessed listener, I set out to create and sell music-related art to other impassioned fans. This thesis contains every step of the business plan for Album Art By…

Music, which is easier to access than ever before, has become an integral part of many passionate enthusiasts’ lives. As a fellow music-obsessed listener, I set out to create and sell music-related art to other impassioned fans. This thesis contains every step of the business plan for Album Art By Andrew, including executive decisions based on primary and secondary research, as well as a projected P&L for the first year of operations.

ContributorsMarkau, Andrew (Author) / Eaton, Kate (Thesis director) / Schlacter, John (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)

Created2023-12

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