Mass Media Wk6

Martinville’s Phonoautograph

- First audio recording machine (no playback) (1857)

Edison’s Phonograph

- First machine to record and playback sound (1877)

  - Recorded on cylinder wrapped in tinfoil

NAPSTER

Distributed Model (An early file-sharing website that allowed people to download and share music for free)

Music Streaming in the USA is ____?

Music Streaming in the USA is King - Spotify, Amazon Music

Edwin Armstrong joins this new radio arena

 - Armstrong discovers (and develops) FM (Frequency Modulation) Radio

- Same time as Sarnoff at RCA (Radio Corporation of America) with AM (amplitude modulation) Radio

 - They become business enemies/rivals

What is a “trust“?

- A trust = A monopoly

What’s an Antitrust law?

Antirust laws are regulations that encourage competition by limiting the market power of any particular firm

Vertical Monopoly

Vertical Monopoly: Control of the chain up and down

1910 - 1996 Major Radio Communications Events

• Wireless Ship Act of 1910

• Radio Act of 1912

• Radio Act of 1927

• Communications Act of 1934

• Telecommunications Act of 1996

Wireless Ship Act of 1910?

Required all US Ships with over 50 passengers and 200 miles of the coast must have a 100-mile-range radio/wireless equipment (Saved lives on the Titanic)

Radio Act of 1912

Gives Commerce Department the power to deny a license and begins the uniform system of assigning call letters to identify stations, as well as adopted the S.O.S as the official distress call.

Radio Act of 1927

FRC (Federal Radio Commission) is appointed to oversee licenses and negotiate channel assignments; first expressed that licensees did not own their channels; must operate to serve the “the public interest, convenience or necessity”

Communications Act of 1934

Combined and organised federal regulation of telephone, telegraph and radio communications. The act created the FCC (Federal Communications Commision) to oversee and regulate these industries; officially allows advertisements rather than underwriting. 

Telecommunications Act of 1996

Meant to benefit small companies, but the regulation benefitted large ones as well. In 1983, 50 companies owned 90% of the media consumed by Americans…. By 2012, it was down to just 6 companies owning 90% of the media; it’s still six

The Authority of Radio

 - Radio has a voice in your home - voices have power

- 1938: War of the Worlds broadcast had such an impact because it sounded like news radio and had one 11 second disclaimer start of the broadcast. 

The Big Three Music Groups

 - The global music industry is dominated by three major companies

- Sony Music Entertainment (SME)

- Universal Music Froup (UMG)

- Warner Music Group (WMG)

 - Together they control oabout two-thirds of the worldwide market

 - Each owns dozens of famous labels