Friday 1 February 2013
Case Study Questions:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/19584138
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/technology/micwright/100007692/lets-stop-panicking-about-digital-piracy-legal-content-providers-just-need-to-get-their-act-together/
Has new and digital media had an impact upon ownership and control if the media institutions involved in your case study area? Explain in detail any impact and what exactly has changed.
My case study is based upon the illegal consumption of media goods, such as illegal downloading of music, films and pay-per-view events. Ownership has changed significantly from where it was even just 10/15 years ago. Where once a artist's success was dependent on them being part of music label, they now can be independent. Services such as uStream and YouTube allow artists to get their music out to a wide audience using new and digital media. They still use the conventional ways of trying to get discovered, but these new and digital services allow them to broadcast themselves to a wider audience, for cheaper as well.
The best example of YouTube discovery is Canadian pop star Justin Beiber, who has gone on to be one of the biggest pop superstars in the history of the genre. He was just a teenager who liked singing and put his videos up onto YouTube, and he got discovered by a former music label executive named, Scooter Braun. Before his career began he had two of the most successful pop/R&B artists vying to be his mentor, Justin Timberlake and Usher. He has gone on to be the most followed person on twitter as of Febuary 5th, taking over from pop rival Lady Gaga, with 33,682,239 followers. He has gone on to have several hit albums, sold out tours around the world, a hit film, books that fly off the shelf, and millions of girls lusting around him. One thing is clear though, if it wasn't for new and digital media, Justin Beiber wouldn't be successful and we probably wouldn't know him.
There is a huge change in control of music. A lot of artists are having there computers targeted and hacked into, with their music being taken. This is stealing, which is against the law. People still do it and still download the music also. The artists are loosing out on huge sums of money through piracy. Institutions are finding it hard to hold onto the control that they had once about release dates. For example with rap music group G.O.O.D. Music's album cruel summer. The album was leaked early and downloaded, illegally by thousands. The control of the release was taken out of their hands, thanks to someone hacking into their computer and releasing it. This is only possible because of new and digital media and wasn't something that was possible 10 years ago. Songs are released early, and also youtube videos are duplicated and as a result the media institution doesn't get the full amount of views they normally would and they would get more money.
One way that music institutions are trying to regain control is through mixtapes, this is more a code and convention of rap music, than any other genre. For example rapper Meek Mill, of label Maybach Music Group (MMG) released a mixtape to keep his fans patient whilst he worked on his album. The mixtape was a hit and helped to build up hype about his album, and was likely to of contributed to his sales figures. He released the mixtape in August 2011 another in May 2012, and then his album in, October 2012.
The best example of YouTube discovery is Canadian pop star Justin Beiber, who has gone on to be one of the biggest pop superstars in the history of the genre. He was just a teenager who liked singing and put his videos up onto YouTube, and he got discovered by a former music label executive named, Scooter Braun. Before his career began he had two of the most successful pop/R&B artists vying to be his mentor, Justin Timberlake and Usher. He has gone on to be the most followed person on twitter as of Febuary 5th, taking over from pop rival Lady Gaga, with 33,682,239 followers. He has gone on to have several hit albums, sold out tours around the world, a hit film, books that fly off the shelf, and millions of girls lusting around him. One thing is clear though, if it wasn't for new and digital media, Justin Beiber wouldn't be successful and we probably wouldn't know him.
There is a huge change in control of music. A lot of artists are having there computers targeted and hacked into, with their music being taken. This is stealing, which is against the law. People still do it and still download the music also. The artists are loosing out on huge sums of money through piracy. Institutions are finding it hard to hold onto the control that they had once about release dates. For example with rap music group G.O.O.D. Music's album cruel summer. The album was leaked early and downloaded, illegally by thousands. The control of the release was taken out of their hands, thanks to someone hacking into their computer and releasing it. This is only possible because of new and digital media and wasn't something that was possible 10 years ago. Songs are released early, and also youtube videos are duplicated and as a result the media institution doesn't get the full amount of views they normally would and they would get more money.
One way that music institutions are trying to regain control is through mixtapes, this is more a code and convention of rap music, than any other genre. For example rapper Meek Mill, of label Maybach Music Group (MMG) released a mixtape to keep his fans patient whilst he worked on his album. The mixtape was a hit and helped to build up hype about his album, and was likely to of contributed to his sales figures. He released the mixtape in August 2011 another in May 2012, and then his album in, October 2012.
Consumers have started to look towards downloading music, instead of going out and buying music as it is more convinent for them, as it can be done from the comfort of their own home instead of going out to buy the CD As consumer habits have changed, institutions such as iTunes have stepped up and tried to monetize the situation. They provide the convinence that downloading provides, for a price however making it legal. iTunes was first released in 2001 and in April 2003 the iTunes store was introduced which allowed users to download music. The iTunes store is regarded by the guardian newspaper as "probably the best available" and "most successful download service". For a $0.99 song, $.34 stays at apple, the major labels get $.55, and then the artist gets $.10.
In the music industry there is a power tussle between consumers and institutions.
Consumers tend to download music on their devices more because of the ease, as well as convinence. The introduction of the uk official download chart, on 26th June 2004, showed how downloads had taken over from going out to buy the product. In early 2005 legal downloads overtook physical downloads for the first time.
Consumers now download music on their phones, and tablets where before they had to sit down at their computers, download the music and put it on their device. They can now download on the go, without the need for a computer.
Another reason for the change in the way that consumers, consume music products could be because of the economic downturn. As a result of lower incomes, audience members are looking for cheaper ways to consume the product. Downloads might be a cheaper way of consuming music, than the previous alternative of physical sales.
Both music and movies are moving towards digital media. For example download sales are more prominent than physical sales. Consumers have made the first move towards the digital media that they require, whether it be for the convinence or whatever, and now institutions are catching up. For example audiences were downloading illegal music because there werent many services that offered the music digitally and reasonably, then services such as Spotify and mog were introduced and had 8.2 million subscribers in 2010 and 13 million in 2012 and as a result music piracy dropped by 25%. Online film streaming service Netflix has 23.6 million subscribers, that pay for their services instead of deciding to download illegal copies. This shows that maybe if there was more digital options avaliable to the the audience then there would be less piracy.
What impact has there been on the way in which the audience now consume the media products/texts involved in your case study? How does it differ from what went before? Consider (SHEP)
A lot has changed in how audiences consume music. Whereas once audiences would have to go out and purchase a single song on tape or CD they can now listen to it for free, as many times as they like on YouTube. Audiences can still buy singles, through services such as iTunes and other online music retailers, but not so much a hard copy as was once available at places such as HMV. HMV is now selling off stores as a result of less revenue.Consumers tend to download music on their devices more because of the ease, as well as convinence. The introduction of the uk official download chart, on 26th June 2004, showed how downloads had taken over from going out to buy the product. In early 2005 legal downloads overtook physical downloads for the first time.
Consumers now download music on their phones, and tablets where before they had to sit down at their computers, download the music and put it on their device. They can now download on the go, without the need for a computer.
Another reason for the change in the way that consumers, consume music products could be because of the economic downturn. As a result of lower incomes, audience members are looking for cheaper ways to consume the product. Downloads might be a cheaper way of consuming music, than the previous alternative of physical sales.
Both music and movies are moving towards digital media. For example download sales are more prominent than physical sales. Consumers have made the first move towards the digital media that they require, whether it be for the convinence or whatever, and now institutions are catching up. For example audiences were downloading illegal music because there werent many services that offered the music digitally and reasonably, then services such as Spotify and mog were introduced and had 8.2 million subscribers in 2010 and 13 million in 2012 and as a result music piracy dropped by 25%. Online film streaming service Netflix has 23.6 million subscribers, that pay for their services instead of deciding to download illegal copies. This shows that maybe if there was more digital options avaliable to the the audience then there would be less piracy.
What impact has there been on how the media institution now has to produce the texts and the way in which the texts/products are distrubuted and exhibited? This should involve a detailed textual analysis of at least 3 texts to demonstrate the point.
Media institutions are adapting their ways in order to give the consumer what they want. Consumers want media products available across a variety of platforms so they can enjoy them in different ways during different situations.
The film, The Dark Knight Rises, which was distributed by Warner Bros Pictures was released on Blu Ray, Dvd, and also download. In order to try and avoid people illegally downloading the film, along with a hard copy came a code which allowed users to download the film online and have a soft copy. With the soft copy they could put it on their mobile device, tablet or even watch it straight from their computer. The institution provided the soft copy to capitalise on the films popularity whilst also making the illegal copying less attractive. By implementing this tactic of offering the digital download, the institution is attempting to cut the amount of money that they are loosing from this way.
Is the size of the audience any different now than before the impact of new and digital media (or has the pattern of usage changed?) E.G. consider for the impact of new and digital media on tv broadcasting the change in audience ratings for programmes as a consequence of the deregulation of TV. (Prior to deregulation audience figures could be 20m+ for eastenders etc to a situation today where, due to the massive number of channels now available, audiences are vastly reduced and fragmented.
The audience size has been increased due to new and digital media causing globalisation. Artists can now access a worldwide audience where as before they could only reach a region of a country at max, through radio stations. Services such as YouTube that allow people to broadcast their talents to the world allow the artist to get a bigger audience. Distance used to restrict how close to a celebrity somone could get, for example a fan of Rihanna in Japan 15 years ago, couldn't follow her career, but now thanks to fan sites, official websites, twitter, facebook and other social networking services a fan all the way around the world can be as informed with a celebrity as someone in the same country as the star.
Performances which would only be available on television in one country or region are now uploaded on-line almost instantly and then shared around the internet getting millions of views in the process.
New and digital media makes the world a smaller place. As a result, media institutions/artists, can now reach fans all around the globe and keep them informed about performances and new songs.
New and digital media makes the world a smaller place. As a result, media institutions/artists, can now reach fans all around the globe and keep them informed about performances and new songs.
Who are the primary target audience now and has this changed? Who was it before and how do you know?
With the consumption of illegal media products, there is no target audience, because institutions don't want that to happen. However with music, it is often the teenage audience that are illegal consuming music. This is because they don't have the income to purchase the music so they find alternatives so that they can still get the music. It is easy to find illegal ways to download music, you just have to google "free download" and whatever album or song you want to find. You can even download straight from YouTube with the help of add-ons. As people grow up however, behaviour is likely to change as the illegal customers become more mature and have a greater income. It's also part of the culture of being a teenager, the whole sticking it to the man situation, and this is one way that teenagers may see as getting one over on 'the man'. The primary target audience would be into the socio-economic class of E, definitely, and maybe D.
As for films it is even harder to classify the main culprits. Films are recorded or somehow obtained, and then put onto websites for streaming or downloading. Again the teenage audience has a part to play in this. They are usually the main culprits when it comes to streaming. When it comes to downloads, it is an older audience that are illegally consuming these media products. This is because the majority of the download websites require an annual fee to get access to the download links aswell as a decent download time. It can be argued that institiutions are taking back the power, by offering not just the DVD or Blu Ray but also online codes for consumers to download the film and have on mobile devices aswell as computers.
70% of 18-29 year-olds admitted to pirating, 46% of American adults admitted to pirating also, and men and women are equally likely to pirate. 70% of online users think there is nothing wrong with piracy. 67% of piracy websties are hosted in North America and Western Europe.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16262412
As for films it is even harder to classify the main culprits. Films are recorded or somehow obtained, and then put onto websites for streaming or downloading. Again the teenage audience has a part to play in this. They are usually the main culprits when it comes to streaming. When it comes to downloads, it is an older audience that are illegally consuming these media products. This is because the majority of the download websites require an annual fee to get access to the download links aswell as a decent download time. It can be argued that institiutions are taking back the power, by offering not just the DVD or Blu Ray but also online codes for consumers to download the film and have on mobile devices aswell as computers.
70% of 18-29 year-olds admitted to pirating, 46% of American adults admitted to pirating also, and men and women are equally likely to pirate. 70% of online users think there is nothing wrong with piracy. 67% of piracy websties are hosted in North America and Western Europe.
How have the audience responded to the changes? Is there more customer choice? Is there evidence of a more pluralistic model?
Before new and digital media, the main consumption of illegal media products would be pirate Dvds, which were sold stereotypically by Asian men. Consumers could only get what the pirate seller had, but now there are vast amounts of choice for the audience. For example, it just takes a simple google of a film title with 'free download' on the end to find millions of links to downloads. There are also services which consumers have to pay for in order to get their catalogue of millions of links to albums, films and almost anything else media related. The audience has flocked to the illegal media products. It can be argued that the increased numbers of illegal downloads is directly linked to the recession, as households are receiving lower incomes and looking at alternatives for leisure products. Even when a piracy institution such as pirate bay shuts down, there are so many alternatives that audiences can turn to.
Whilst there are being sanctions imposed on people who download these media products, there hasn't been much change in behaviour from consumers, who obviously aren't scared about the sanctions for several reasons. It is however causing problems for the institution as they have less revenue. This could lead to job cuts, which could eventually result in a lower quality of media product being produced and distributed.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/14029865
http://www.channel4.com/news/more-than-250m-of-music-illegally-downloaded
Whilst there are being sanctions imposed on people who download these media products, there hasn't been much change in behaviour from consumers, who obviously aren't scared about the sanctions for several reasons. It is however causing problems for the institution as they have less revenue. This could lead to job cuts, which could eventually result in a lower quality of media product being produced and distributed.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/14029865
http://www.channel4.com/news/more-than-250m-of-music-illegally-downloaded
What evidence do you have to support this? What concerns/considerations are there (if any) for the media institutions involved in your case study as a result of the impact of new and digitial media? (e.g. deskilling or multi-skilling of the workforce/decline in workforce etc)
This obviously is a concern for media institutions. People are finding ways to obtain their media products for free. If this continues, somewhere very far down the road, there wont be enough revenue to warrant the production of some media products. Media institutions are looking at new ways to attract consumers to their products, and also deter people from consuming them illegally. Institutions will also be worried about how these products are being leaked, because sometimes its whilst the film is in the final stages it gets leaked, and not when its been distributed. This would pose even bigger problems if the problem came from within the production cycle, because that means that one of their workers is the one leaking out the film. One example that springs to mind of a film being leaked before it was finished was: X-men Origins: Wolverine. In the leaked copy it was clear it wasn't finished, as the scenes which used CGI weren't finished and polished as would be expected, they were still in the computer format. Also the cables that held Wolverine up in some action scenes were also visible. These things clearly showed that it wasn't a finished product, and that it was leaked early, which is likely to of resulted in less revenue than expected.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16262412
What are the political and social implications of the new technologies and the methods of their consumption? E.g. moral panics etc?
The consumption of illegal media products isn't something that is frowned upon in some social circles. In some circles its frowned upon when people pay for the music instead of the alternative. In mainstream society however it is tolerated and understood that it will always be there. With this acceptance comes an acceptance of stealing and breaking the law. That is what consuming media products is essentially, stealing and breaking the law. There is action being taken however, services such as PirateBay have been banned, taken down and are no longer running. PirateBay was a downloading service which had a huge catalogue of media products. Also megaupload has been banned and is no longer running. Megaupload was similar to the PirateBay, but it also allowed streaming of videos, instead of the user having to pay to watch them.
Consider the effects so far, and possible effects in the future, on media institutions involved in your case study (media production)
The effects so far for the media institutions is an expensive one. They are loosing out on revenue, and then having to invest further amounts in order to try and find new ways to protect their work, and ways in which they can generate revenue from audience members, who would rather steal the product.
In the future, if this continues it might get to the point where production of these media products isn't as attractive as it once was as, consumers will not pay for the product. Resulting in less revenue for the media institution and they can no longer afford the production anymore. There could also be job cuts, which could directly affect the quality of the media products. Also there could possibly be less money for the media institutions to invest into new technologies, which could improve the audiences experiences.
In these possible scenarios, the audience will loose out. It doesn't matter if they are the ones downloading the products illegally but all audience members will loose out, unless there is a new way found to prevent illegal downloading. The recovery might help after the recession, when people have more disposable income, and are willing to spend on leisure products again. But this will be a cycle. There still will be people who consume the media products illegally despite sell
In these possible scenarios, the audience will loose out. It doesn't matter if they are the ones downloading the products illegally but all audience members will loose out, unless there is a new way found to prevent illegal downloading. The recovery might help after the recession, when people have more disposable income, and are willing to spend on leisure products again. But this will be a cycle. There still will be people who consume the media products illegally despite sell
What issues may there be regarding media effects and/ or regulation/ censorship as a result of changes due to new and digitial media?
When it comes to the illegal consumption of media products, there is no regulation. This is because it is illegal. Censorship goes out the window. People can consume whatever they want to. The film certificates no longer have any use because there are no restrictions as to what people can download. This is how they are consuming the media products, through downloading.Wednesday 30 January 2013
Weekly Media Story 16
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/jan/30/asda-christmas-ad
Asda's Christmas advert received 620 complaints, from angry viewers. The complaints were dismissed by the ASA (advertising standards agency) as it was judged to not reinforce harmful stereotypes but to represent real life, that women do most of the work in Christmas preparation.
The advert is a success because 8/10 mothers were able to identify with the advert.
When I initially watched the advert I didn't see anything wrong with it. I can see where the people complaining are coming from. You are only shown the female protagonist in the home, not in a position of power, or of authority, and can be seen as an outdated stereotype. The fact that 8/10 mothers were able to identify with the female protagonist says that this isn't an outdated view.
I think that the ASA were correct not to bad this commercial, due mainly to the fact that so many mothers were able to identify with the advert. Does it really matter if its banned though? They aren't going to air it again now that Christmas 2012 is gone, and continuing with this process is only getting it more and more views, whereas leaving it alone would of killed the video after Christmas because it is seasonal advertising.
Asda's Christmas advert received 620 complaints, from angry viewers. The complaints were dismissed by the ASA (advertising standards agency) as it was judged to not reinforce harmful stereotypes but to represent real life, that women do most of the work in Christmas preparation.
The advert is a success because 8/10 mothers were able to identify with the advert.
When I initially watched the advert I didn't see anything wrong with it. I can see where the people complaining are coming from. You are only shown the female protagonist in the home, not in a position of power, or of authority, and can be seen as an outdated stereotype. The fact that 8/10 mothers were able to identify with the female protagonist says that this isn't an outdated view.
I think that the ASA were correct not to bad this commercial, due mainly to the fact that so many mothers were able to identify with the advert. Does it really matter if its banned though? They aren't going to air it again now that Christmas 2012 is gone, and continuing with this process is only getting it more and more views, whereas leaving it alone would of killed the video after Christmas because it is seasonal advertising.
Tuesday 29 January 2013
Message behind Black Mirror: The National Anthem
I think the message behind this satirical text is that new and digital media can be the driving force behind the loss of common sense and how we truly leave in the information age. Messages spread quickly in the viral community, through social networking websites such as twitter. When it would of taken traditional media institutions at least 24 hours to get the news story out, new and digital media now allows for instant information, its easily accessible and easily shareable from laptops, tablets to smartphones.
The message of the show is to show us how new and digital media could be our destruction, that just because a piece of UGC is used in the wrong way, the prime minster goes along with it. 25 years ago nothing like this could happen becuase there wasnt the capabilites, but now if we dont use common sense when using these services and products, it will destroy us because there are people with bad values and ideologies, who want to do bad for the world, and use the internet for it. They can do these things because on the internet there is a lack of censorship.
The message of the show is to show us how new and digital media could be our destruction, that just because a piece of UGC is used in the wrong way, the prime minster goes along with it. 25 years ago nothing like this could happen becuase there wasnt the capabilites, but now if we dont use common sense when using these services and products, it will destroy us because there are people with bad values and ideologies, who want to do bad for the world, and use the internet for it. They can do these things because on the internet there is a lack of censorship.
Thursday 24 January 2013
Cover Work
Will the internet end up controlled by big business and politicians?
Some governements around the world are trying to start monitoring and controlling the internet. They use instagram as an example of how free services are trying to monatize their services.
I think that the internet should be a free open source that isnt controlled by any one or anything as that is the internet in its best form.
Why power has two meanings on the internet
The article is stating that the internet is in the power of a few, just like how it is in the real world. They have the majority of the power, at 80% and the rest has 20% of the power. This is like an oligopoly.
I agree, the major players in the e-media field, such as Google, Facebook and Twitter do have the majority of internet traffic, and also links on the internet. The majority of internet users have used these online services at least once.
Lessons the tech world learned in 2012
The article looks at different cases of news in 2012, to show how things have changed drastically in just 1 year.
The link to the fourth article isnt working properly for me.
Why US newspaper publishers favour paywalls
11 of the biggest 20 selling newspapers in America are starting to charge for content. Some people think that the newspapers could generate more revenue from advertisers if they didnt have a paywall as their would be more traffic.
Wednesday 16 January 2013
Cover Work
The Daily closes shop:
The article states that one of the main reasons for the news app getting shut down was because of the pay wall that was mandatory for anyone who wanted to use the app. The content wasn't worthy of the subscription fee, especially as the content that they were charging for was easily available elsewhere for free. The app was described as not unique enough. Also enough wasn't spent on marketing to get the amount of subscriptions needed to make the news app sustainable.
I think that it if the same information is avaliable elsewhere for free, oppossed to having to pay for it people will tend to go to the free option. So if the quality of the stories isn't up to scratch then people will go elsewhere, and that is what happened with Murdoch's app. I think it is the right decision to close down the app, but there has to be questions asked from within the company about the research gone into this venture.
Print in 2013:
2013 is anticipated as being another tough year for the print platform, due to steep declines in advertising revenue. A 9% decrease in advertising revenue is estimated in 2013 when compared to 2012. There are going to be much needed cuts in both News International and the Guardian as they seek to become/remain profitable. Whilst there are cuts there will also be investments trying to look into new areas of the market which can be exploited. The paywall is likely to remain for the online content for News International, but they will look at trying to start 7 day production of newspapers. One of the only newspapers to have growth recently is the London Evening Standard, which recently went free and is booming. A key to newspapers success with be how they expand into the tablet market, and how they manage to monazite it.
They fall in advertising revenue is to be expected when it comes to the print platform due to decreased numbers of readership, due to the free and easily accessible online content. I think it is right that there should be cuts, because thats whats needed, but there still needs to be money spent on innovation because thats what is likely to see the print platform survive. Going free is a viable option, because of the success that the London evening standard has had.
BBC and ITV
Both companies have had to pay damages as well as Lord McAlpine's legal fees due to the false allegations that they said regarding sex abuse claims. Hes also suing some other people and the companys are in trouble.
They should have to pay him for what they've done wrong and they should also have something else done to them. For example they should have to check their stories or something along those lines.
Twitter active users pass 200 million
Users have become more active due to major events such as the olympics, the queens jubilee and other things around the world. There are over 500million users, with half not choosing to be active. More than half of the users use it on mobile devices, 80% in the UK have mobile access to twitter. The Uk is the 4th biggest twitter nation, behind America, Japan, and Brazil.
I think the growth that twitter is experencing is healthy for the social networking market as it poses competition to facebook who almost has a monopoly but it is typical of social networking websites, this boom of growth, the truth will be if the tend contiues and keeps increasing as it is doing now. The fact that less than half of twitter users are active shows that its not really catching on or contiuing to intice consumers to the point of making them to become active and tweet, instead just staying there and remaning passive.
Weekly Media Story 15
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/jan/15/facebook-announcement-graph-search-mark-zuckerberg
Facebook is launching a new service, a search engine type service to compete with googles dominance in the search engine area. Mark has described it as being the third pillar of the website, it the biggest move since the failed ipo of the company. Its slowly being rolled out, and is in the beta stages, but will be improved on through the years. The usp of this new service is it is supposed to give you the exact answer to your question rather than having to sive through thousands of links to find the exact answer that the user is looking for. Stock rose last week in anticiaption of the search enginge announcement, making this seem like a positive venture for the company.
Facebook is launching a new service, a search engine type service to compete with googles dominance in the search engine area. Mark has described it as being the third pillar of the website, it the biggest move since the failed ipo of the company. Its slowly being rolled out, and is in the beta stages, but will be improved on through the years. The usp of this new service is it is supposed to give you the exact answer to your question rather than having to sive through thousands of links to find the exact answer that the user is looking for. Stock rose last week in anticiaption of the search enginge announcement, making this seem like a positive venture for the company.
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