Chapter 5

Sound Media
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Sound recordings &

human experience
Recorded music has the capacity to touch the

human soul like perhaps no other mass

medium.
We relate to the artists sound, lyrics,

struggle and it touches our emotions.

Recorded music is literally the soundtrack of
our lives.

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In-class activity
Take out a piece of scratch paper.
Freewrite for a few minutes about 1 song that

has meaning to you and why.

Did the song accompany a milestone in your

life?
You will share your song and insights with

another.

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Timeline of recorded music

From 1877 to modern times, from the

phonograph to MP3s to the iPod to

Spotifywatch the progression of time and
innovation on sound technology

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Recorded music has become:

-- smaller
-- more portable, accessible
-- easier to store

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Timeline of sound media

FIRST SOUND MEDIUM
SOUND RECORDINGS late part of 1800s

1877
Thomas Edison introduces a recording
playback device

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Next step in recorded

musics evolution
1887
Emile Berliners invention of the
gramophone makes possible multiple copies
of recordings
Eventually hand-cranked recording machines

are coupled with electricity

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1887 - Emile Berliners

gramophone and record disks

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Timeline of sound media

RADIO becomes the next step in sound recording
Early 1900s
Radio signals in 1912 from Titanic establish radio in minds
of Americans
1920 - First commercial radio
KDKA, Pittsburgh (exception to FCC rule, which assigns
W to call letters of stations east of the Rockies, K to
stations west of the Rockies
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RADIO
1927 Government regulation begins in
broadcast media
Congress creates Federal Radio
Commission (eventually renamed FCC) to
give licenses, control bandwidth, and
monitor the new medium

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Meanwhile, recordings keep

progressing and evolving

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1920s 78-rpm disks (platters)

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1949 RCAs 45-rpm disks

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1963 Magnetic recording tape gives birth to

compact cassettes, which dont become popular
until after another recording tape has its day

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1966 8-track cartridges

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1983 Digital revolution begins:

CDs (compact disks)

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Late 1990s, 2000 Then the the Digital Revolution ushers in MP3technology. Napster, among others, evades music purchases and
upsets the music industry with peer-to-peer downloads

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2001 iPod takes MP3s media to a new,

transformative level with a new business
model

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Radio goes beyond terrestrail

forms with satellite and
Internet
2000 - Pandora streams
2001 - Sirius and XM
customized medleys

challenge terrestrial
radio
Eventually combine as

SiriusXM

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Micropayments, pay-per-use
trend becomes established
Radiohead's In

Rainbows paywhat-you-like, Webonly release in

October 2007.
In 2011 its King of

Limbs album
available 1st online
for $9, then CD,
album
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Record Labels - Big 4

The Big 4 recording labels

1.
2.
3.

4.

Universal Music
Sony BMG
EMI
Warner Music

Recording industry controlled by a handful of

conglomerates:

84 % of US market

75 % of global market
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Governmental regulatory pressure

on recorded music
Objectionable Music
FCC restrictions on recorded music only when
played on radio, NOT recordings
Self-policing industry through artists and labels

Labeling
Parents Music Resource Center voluntary by
labels after pressure from parent groups
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Symbiosis (mutually beneficial)

relationship of sound recordings & radio
More than 100 years of a relationship between

the two
Music industry relies on radio for free

promotions of its recorded music: airplay

Radio is reliant on free recordings for its

programming

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In decline with digitization

Music recordings and Radio
Once essential, now diminishing because of rise in
places to hear and see new music in mass media

YouTube
Facebook
Pandora, Spotify, iRadio

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Radio is everywhere
Ubiquity EVERYWHERE!
Standard features in most cars Called a

carry-along characteristic
Arbitron says:

Average American 22 hours a week listening to

radio
6.6 radio receivers on average in U.S. households;
radios outnumber people in US by 2 to 1
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Radio is inexpensive
Not confined to urban areas

Anyone can own one

Messages sent easily on low-power stations

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Marshall McLuhans theory of

hot/cool media in relation to radio
Hot/cool is on a spectrum
Hot = involves all senses and doesnt allow

involvement in other activities

Books isolated humans

Movies cocooning of senses

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Hot/cool
Cool = fewer senses needed to be involved in

the medium

TV you can multitask as you watch it

McLuhan said TV created a global village,

retribalized humans

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Government regulation of radio

Almost from its inception, radio has been

heavily regulated by the government

Established by the Federal Radio Act of 1927

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TRUSTEESHIP CONCEPT
(GOV REGULATION)
Federal government

came in 1927 to regulate

airwaves because of
pandemonium
Trusteeship of
government on radio
was that airwaves are
public property, but
need management

A few short years later,

renamed as the Federal

Communications
Commission (FCC) and
eventually extended
regulation to another
new broadcast medium
- television

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Radio a model for TV

1) Gov regulation
FCC models TV regulations after radio
regulations because of similar technology, radio
with pictures
2) Network structure
3) Programming

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Network Structure
Radio networks develop TV networks in

1940s and 1950s after its invention

Radio networks (NBC, CBS, ABC, Mutual

Broadcasting System) and affiliates also

become TV stations

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Programming

Radio programs like Amos and Andy and The

Green Hornet become TV shows

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Characteristics of radio
Advertising

Licensing made

(commercial radio) is
standard, though some
public radio stations
exist; airtime is sold to
advertisers to generate
revenue
Ownership once
restricted by Federal
Radio Act now
unrestricted

government a
stakeholder in orderly
management (assigning
frequencies to prevent
overlapped signals)
Content was supposed
to be in the public
interest

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Modern Radio Station Formats

Country
News/Talk/Sports
Adult Contemporary
Religious
Golden Oldies
Classic Rock
Top 40
Alternative/Modern Rock
Urban Contemporary

2,041 stations
1,579 stations
1,213 stations
1,019 stations
822 stations
639 stations
444 stations
334 stations
312 stations

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Changes in modern radio

1996 Telecommunications Act relaxed ownership

rules

Many owned by chains:

CBS's Infinity Broadcasting

Entercom
Disney radio
Clear Channel
Cox Radio

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Radio Station Content

News, entertainment, public radio (NPR)
Talk Radio defined for media literacy

Emerged in 1980s as major genre

Focus on personalities, not really news
Talk listenership huge; Rush Limbaugh top radio
talk-show host

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Corporate Radio
Chain Ownership

Centralized Playlists
Advertising
Less diversity in sound and consumer choice with
corporate media

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Radio chains in Sacramento

Entercom in Sacramento owns 6 local

stations
KCTC ESPN Sports 1320
KDND 107.9 The End
KRXQ 98 Rock
KSEG 96.9 The Eagle
KSSJ 94
KWOD 106.5
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Stations owned by Clear

Channel

KFBK- 1530 am News talk radio

KGBY- MY925 pm Adult Contemporary
KHYL- V101 fm Oldies
KSTE- 650 am Talk radio

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