5 - Sound recording

Summary

Sound recording functions

Unlike music publishing, the recording industry was severely hit by digitization. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the global sound recording market decreased by 46.6 per cent from 1998 to 2014, but since recovered due to the music streaming boom in the following years. The record companies, however, had to adjust their business model to the emerging digital music environment and redefined the functions of the sound recording business: artist and repertoire (A&R), production, and marketing.

The A&R function

Talent scouting and the acquisition of repertoire is the main function of a recording company. No record company can afford to rely solely on a back catalogue of master recordings, and must invest in new talent and new repertoire. The A&R person embodies this function in a record company. The traditional role and romantic image of a person scouting for talent in small music venues has changed in the course of digitization. Social media such as Facebook and YouTube have become important means to discover new talent, such that desktop research and data mining have supplemented and even substituted to some extent the daily visit to clubs, concerts and festivals.

New actors have also appeared on the A&R scene. Instead of sourcing and developing acts over several years, record companies, especially the record majors, have started to outsource the A&R function by contracting freelance A&Rs or purchasing master recordings from music producers and A&R teams. Another possibility to avoid the risk of A&R failures is to acquire successful indie record labels and their artists’ rosters (see Klembas 2013: 256– 7). Non-traditional A&R platforms have also emerged in the past few years, such as television casting shows – X Factor and Pop Idol – which outsource the process of finding new talent to the audience. Whereas casting shows have a long tradition in the music business, the concept of crowdsourced A&R has become a new practice in the digital age.

Crowdsourced A&R usually includes a crowdfunding campaign on special platforms that enable the collection of money for any music projects, but also fulfil traditional A&R functions. ArtistShare, since 2001, has been a pioneer of music crowdfunding.