| “Digital music” refers to the distribution of music files via the Internet. One popular format for delivery of digital music is called MP3, a compression technique that condenses audio files making them faster to distribute and easier to store. In 1998, college students, undiscovered bands and other musicians began to make wide use of MP3 to copy and share music. Online start-up services entered the business to exploit the potential of the new digital music marketplace. By 1999, “MP3” was the second most widely searched keyword after “sex,” and the search engine Lycos featured links to more than half a million MP3 files on the Internet. It seemed as if an “MP3 revolution” was underway.; There were hopes that MP3 would change the structure of the music business as it cut costs by eliminating middlemen such as record companies and retail stores and help musicians earn more while consumers would pay less. Furthermore, new artists and bands focusing on niche markets would have a greater impact on musical culture as they tapped new audiences. There were also predictions that the MP3 revolution would undermine oligopolistic control of the music industry by the Big Five record companies.; In following the MP3 revolution, this dissertation uses the political economy approach to the study of communications. The dissertation is divided into three parts: first, an institutional analysis of the recording industry's history and current structure with a focus on the influence of the context of production and distribution on musical culture; second, a critical analysis of the intersection between new communications technologies and copyright law; and third, a brief historical analysis of the Internet and then the processes of commercialization, concentration and corporate dominance of the new medium, with particular emphasis on the music industry.; The concentrated structure of the music industry, its control of music copyrights and influence over copyright law, and its deep pockets for venturing into cyberspace, suggests that there is little historical or empirical support for an actual MP3 revolution. Rather than challenging the historical record, digital music already has been shaped by oligopolistic practices following the logic of capital. The major record companies together with leading computer hardware and software producers creating secure formats and rights management systems. Just four years after the MP3 gained its popularity and the MP3 revolution was declared, the music industry was set to launch its own “legitimate” delivery systems. Bettig (1997) has described the process as the “enclosure of cyberspace,” the result being what Mosco calls the “pay-per society.”; There continues to be resistance to the enclosure of cyberspace. There are many uses and users of digital music which need to be explored in further studies, to help us understand why and how people share digital music. Also, comparative political-economic studies of the introduction and uses of MP3 in different countries would be useful. They could examine how the global music oligopoly has fared in its efforts to keep digital music securely within the framework of existing industry structures and practices. |
