Glossary

Production : 

Music production is the overall process by which an album or song is created. It is an umbrella term referring to a composition's structure (beats, chord progression, melodies, etc.) and/or the engineering (sound levels and various elements of the song).
The person in charge of music production is usually the record producer. He or she will work with an artist to create a sound that is likely to be commercially successful. Music production usually but not exclusively includes deciding on the recording environment, arranging the sounds, choosing the instruments involved and mixing the track in post-production.

Distribution:

Distribution is how albums get into shops. Distribution companies sign deals with record labels (or very rarely, directly with artists) that gives them the right to sell that label's products to record stores that have an account with that distributor. The distributor takes a cut of income from each album sold and then pays the label the remaining balance.

Marketing: 

Music marketing is a term that describes a technique in which a brand promotes its products and services to consumers through the use of musicians, endorsements, concert tours, festivals, events, and other similar tactics within the music industry.

Consumption:

Consumption can be easily defined as the act of consuming, therefore to take something in or use it. In music, consumption relates to the way people get their music and listen to it, which in todays age is usually through downloads.

Music Industry:

The music industry involves the production, distribution, and sale of music in a variety of forms as well as the promotion of live musical performance. It is the term used to describe the whole process of how music is made and shared, and the industry in which the music artists are a part of.

File Sharing:

Internet file sharing describes digital information which is distributed by downloading, uploading, or even both at the same time. The information that can be shared is varied and includes digital music, audiobooks, movies, software, ebooks, etc.

Vertical Integration:

When a company expands its business into areas that are at different points on the same production path, such as when a manufacturer owns its supplier and/or distributor. An example of this would be the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster created a vertically integrated entertainment company that manages and represents artists, produces shows and sells event tickets.

Synergy:

The potential ability of individual organisations or groups to be more successful or productive as a result of a merger. This would therefore mean two music organisations joining together to help each other be more successful, an example of this is record labels among different countries working together.

Convergence:

Convergence is a coming together of two or more distinct entities or phenomena. Convergence is increasingly prevalent in the IT world; in this context the term refers to the combination of two or more different technologies in a single device. Taking pictures with a cell phone and surfing the Web on a television are two of the most common examples of this trend.

Copyright:

Copyright is the exclusive ownership of and the right to make use of a literary, musical, or artistic work, protected by law for a specified period of time. In music specifically, it is a document granting exclusive right to publish and sell music.

Conventions:


Conventions are the widely recognised way of doing something which is to do with content, form and style. There are two types of conventions which consists of:

- Technical Conventions - A convention in a technical area. These conventions, apply to the majority of music videos for e.g. the video being the same length as the song and fast cuts

- Genre Conventions - this is where conventions are associated with a particular genre. An example of this would be Pop videos, which may consist of dance routines and bands performing songs with instruments.

Demographic:

Demographic information is used in media marketing to classify an audience into age, gender, race and other categories.
In media, as in all business, demographics are used to pinpoint potential audience growth and to spot underperformance. All forms of media are targeted to certain audiences.

Download: 

To transfer data or programs from a server or host computer to one's own computer or digital device. In the case of music this would mean downloading music in the form of albums or singles from the internet onto your device.

Hardware:

The mechanical equipment necessary for conducting an activity, usually distinguished from the theory and design that make the activity possible. This basically means the equipment used to make music play on a device.

Independent: 

Independent is the description given to music artists who work and operate on their own without the help of record labels. This means they independently record and market/advertise their music. As a result of this they will not have to pay anyone else and can keep profits for themselves.

Subsidiary:

A subsidiary is a company that is partly or completely owned by another company that holds a controlling interest in the subsidiary company. This would mean that a record label may own control over a music artists and make decisions on their behalf on what music they release etc.

Horizontal Integration:

The acquisition of additional business activities that are at the same level of the value chain in similar or different industries. This can be achieved by internal or external expansion. An example of this would be a large online music distributor such as Apple buying over a music store such as HMV.

The Big Three:

The big three is the term given to the three main music labels which control around 88% of the music industry. They are:

- Universal Music Group

- Sony Music Entertainment

- Warner Music Group