Are the media becoming more democratic?

The technological advances has revolutionized the way in which we perceive the news which we receive. This is because the change in consumerism has meant that the concept of 'We media' and Citizen journalism' has become the dominant force in the way we receive news;With a developing world and the new age of technology it is having a great effect on industries such as media as the sources and way which we consume media. The introduction of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter has made a big impact as the majority of internet users now have the choice of what they read and what to believe. This has now challenged the mainstream old media suer powers such as newspapers and TV by making the population question if what they are told is true. However this shift in power to citizens has been abused and can lead to false news which is said to be damaging the newly created virtual sphere.

With Twitter being a place where the users do not fear recogniton

Citizen journalism is one of the pioneering concepts which has changed the way in which we consume news and entertainment from the media and this is mainly due to advancement of digital convergence. Digital convergence is where several different types of media are put into one product for example a smart phone will now have a camera and a internet receiver so that a person can take a picture and then post to a blog or twitter account allowing for mass distribution instantly. This was notable in the recent London riots as victims and culprits were using messaging services such as bbm to communicate about what they were planning to disrupt or what the current situation of their local area was.. This became a powerful tool as the 'media gods' such as newspapers and television no longer had the power to dictate what news we saw as there was alternative choice put in place for the masses to consume. This is a very democratic example of new media as there was freedom of speech and a choice to select what people wanted. This new movement of citizen journalism disrupted the hegemonic order that the media gods had established as no longer was it a minority dictating to the majority what could and couldn't see. However media convergence showed that citizen journalism eventually aided the big media industries as news channels such as sky news used the images that were published to capture and alert the police to who the criminals were.

This made it clear to media gods that the power of the public sphere had become more potent due to its large involvement for creating and stopping the London riots. This was due to the initial fact that initially the big news were circulating the same old images of the riots each day without fresh evidence having chosen not to display the images that the citizen were choosing to show. Even with advances like this however the democratic movement of media isn't completely floor less world wide. With certain countries and members of the population with limited or no access to the internet cannot participate in the media revolution and this is known as the digital divide.

This was noticeable in countries if north Africa as the growing numbers of citizens with access to internet are grasping the concept of citizen journalism. The Syrian uprising is an example of this with bloggers using there power to broadcast there message to powers of the Europe to alert them to the mistreatment of their people. In December 2010 a man was harassed by a governor and slapped in plain view of locals and after the police failed to listen to his argument he incinerated himself as a beacon to the country. People decided to rally and use the power of smart phones to record and distribute their public protests so that there cause was not censored by the government. This lead to trouble for the Syrian government as countries like the United Kingdom were now aware of the political corruption and were using the videos from YouTube to notify their public about the problems abroad. This meant that the power of citizen journalism had grown as it had been shown by the media gods so that it was redistributed to a wider audience.

These actions of the Syrian people follows the principles of theorist Papacharissi who argues that in democracies "privacy is recognized as a basic human right — the ‘right to be let alone," and this idea that people had the right to be left alone was what spurred the Syrian uprising; as the man who died as a result of his incineration because of injustice left a whole nation in uproar and the people believed they had the right to be left alone by a corrupt government and so decided to use the power of the media as a way of broadcasting their message. These two example of the power of citizen journalism challenge the theory of media gods by Gauntlet and so how the people now have the power to produce themselves and it is the media gods using these publications to broadcast their news. As there is more choice and opinions out for news now this shows the media is becoming more democratic due to the changing political world and the power of the internet allowing production and distribution more accessible therefore allowing for more choice and freedom of speech which are fundamentals to a democratic society.

digital piracy

piracy has made a massive impact on how the mass population consume products such as music and film. With a percentage of 75% of pirated material coming from 15% of the population but with 70% of internet users admitting to using pirate material because it is easily accessible. Even though it is a small minority who are comitting the crime of piracy it is hard to ID to the culprits and the knock on effect of people re-uploading pirate material makes it harder for people to prosicuted for the original act and so piracy continues .This has damaged the profit margins for the music having fallen by 22% in the last year piracy has become of a problem.

Work Due for Monday 27th February

Work Due for Monday 27th February

Use the handouts from the lesson on Monday 20th February and do some online research to answer these questions:

1. What is Chris Anderson’s theory of ‘the long tail’?
The Long Tail or long tail refers to the statistical property that a larger share of population rests within the tail of a probability distribution than observed under a "normal" or Gaussian distribution. A long tail distortion will arise with the inclusion of some unusually high (or low) values which increase (decrease) the mean, skewing the distribution to the right (or left).

2. What does the theory of ‘the long tail’ mean for the music industry and to other areas of the media such as online television?
The smaller or "tail" of a product can have more of an effect on the profit margins than the main product or "head". for example when an album is released the sale of singles and merchandise can make up the majority of the profit and account for the success of the project.

3. What is Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams’ theory of Wikinomics?
It is program of mass collaboration which allows several users to write and edit information about the same document. It is done in real time and is constantly being update so that the information is more likely to be accurate as it is developed by the many but still has merit.

4. What are the five big ideas of Wikinomics and how might these ideas be applied to the music industry?

1. Openness

In the music business, you can be more open by for example sharing your processes. A number of artists and labels have numerous videos on youtube showcasing their song writing methods. Numerous artists now also have blogs (although some are written by PR people) revealing more about their personal lives. Transparency and openness should help foster a deeper relationship with the fans.

2. Peering

In the music business, you could apply the peering concept by inviting your fans to take part in the creation of your music or perhaps in the planning and arranging of a tour. The latter was put into practice by Frank Musik when in early 2009 he invited fans to give suggestions as to where he should tour. Fans from all over the UK emailed suggestions and from this he created a tour based on user submitted locations. Imagine how you would feel, as a fan, if your chosen location (maybe your favorite bar) was used?

3. Sharing

Freely sharing can heed returns. Giving fans a free song, a free mixtape, a free tour, or generally providing value without expecting an immediate return can contribute to that intimate relationship we mentioned earlier.

4. Acting Globally

For the independent artist, acting globally could involve collaborating with natives of foreign lands to create localized versions of the same song. RMXPLAY could also remix an English folk song into a Bhangra song for example. While localization seems to be counterintuitive to the concept of globalization - where cultures are being diluted and unified - it can also be the driving force of unification. Because every time a song is localized, it retains some of the original culture.

Summary

The 4 key drivers of Wikinomics are not new. However they are yet to be fully exploited by the music industry to the same extent as they have been in the world of software development for example. Web servers have Apache. Why don’t music producers have an equivalent for sequencing and producing music? The music industry is lagging behind but so are a number of other industries.

The trends are clear and we must begin to flow with the water, not against it. People want to have more information, freedom through choice, and flexibility (Openness). People want to collaborate and share with each other (Peering and Sharing). And Lastly, people want the same opportunities regardless of location (Acting Globally).

Task One

Show your understanding of David Gauntlett's ideas on your blog. Use these questions to help you:

1. According to Gauntlett, what was "the media" like in the past and what changes have now occurred?


David Guantlett's early ideas about the past shows has been a change in how we receive our media. There was a clear divide between the media and the people. It was as though the "media were like gods" giving the people newspapers and tv through the established hierarchy of distribution. With citizen journalism it has changed how the people receive media as they now have the power through mobile devices and the internet to record and publish their own media products as youtube demonstrates with the largest amount of amateur footage of events that the big media chooses to gloss over.

2. How far do you agree with Gauntlett?


I agree as before the introduction of web 2.0 and other technological advances media had a direct chain show that the studio would produce and distribute media products.

3. How might Gauntlett's ideas be applied to the music industry?


Before there was a clear chain of command in the music industry as to be an artist meant you needed a studio label to produce and distribute your records; It is now easier for upcoming artists to now produce and promote music from the comfort of their own room. Nowadays, it is much easier to film and record music than before. . Now with technological advances such as home digital recording equipment an amateur artist can record and using the power of web 2.0 upload their track to the internetthrough social media such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. This has lead to the discovery f artists such as Justin Bieber who was discovered after uploading a cover version of a well known pop track, this combats the problem of needing a big label to distribute your work as youtube is world wide enabling the masses to consume.


Task Two

Prepare a "music industry in the online age" case study and be ready to present your findings to the class on Monday 20th February. Your case study could focus on an artist (e.g., Lana del Rey), a website or service (e.g., Spotify or Rara), a practice (e.g., downloading or streaming), a problem (e.g., piracy)...It's up to you, but try to make your case study as up-to-date as possible. (No Lily Allen or Arctic Monkeys.)

In your case study, try to refer to some or all of these points:
- the impact of online media on the music industry and how the industry has changed from the past;
- the impact of online media on the production and distribution of music;
- how consumer behaviour and audience response has changed;
- how technological convergence has affected the industry.

Your presentation can be in the form of a video, a poster, a photo montage, or anything else you like. Be creative. If you choose to do a Powerpoint or a Prezi, do not read off the screen.

Try to bring some theory into your case study (e.g., Gauntlett's ideas). 

Browse some of the links below to get you started if you're stuck:
Spotify’s Daniel Ek: Music industry 'entering golden age'
The Difference Between the Music Industry & The Recording Industry 
IFPI digital report: annual music download revenues top $5bn for first time
Spotify now has 3 million paying customers
STOP COMPLAINING! Study Shows New Era Of Abundance In Music, Entertainment [INFOGRAPHIC]
Digital Music Piracy Since 2004 [INFOGRAPHIC]
The Civil Wars' Success Formula: Live Shows + Social Media + Music Placements
And the "20 things you must know about Music Online" link on the right!
Or simply click on the HYPEBOT.COM link above to find good case studies.