Record sales languished in the 1930s and right through until World War II, which followed on the heels of the depression. Access to and from Asia was limited by the war in the Pacific, cutting off access to raw material for shellac from which 78s were manufactured. Shellac is a resin sourced from the secretions of the lac insect (Tachardia Lacca) that feeds off the sap of certain trees in India and other parts of Southeast Asia. Shellac was rationed in the United States due to the war effort, thus limiting sales and even, allegedly, putting Asch Records and prob-ably others out of business. Amidst these difficulties—on June 27, 1942—James C. Petrillo, tough Chicago union boss of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), “issued an ultimatum to all e.t. [electrical transcription] and waxing firms” that he would “pull musicians off wax after August 1, 1942.”8 Against resistance from record companies and congress, the ban went into place. It held until September 1943 when Decca agreed to a four-year deal that would start at the beginning of 1944. Within months, dozens of other labels signed with the union but Columbia and Victor held out until November 1944. Helped by the war, which impeded imports from the UK, the AFM scored a victory of sorts. During the ban, major label big bands were unable to record but singers belonged to a different union and a cappella recordings had filled the recorded music void. Between the time of Decca’s agreement with the AFM and Columbia and Victor’s, small independent labels (that were inclined to sign smaller com-bos) established themselves in the market place. This was one of many factors that may have contributed to the end of the big band era.9 Petrillo instigated a second recording ban in 1948, with a less decisive outcome for the union and a less devastating effect on the industry.
40 The History of Music Production
Recovery
By war’s end, the health of the record business had recovered from its more than decade-and-a-half slump. Columbia Records’ sales increased from around $1 mil-lion in 1938, when CBS purchased it, to approximately $10 or $12 mil$1 mil-lion by 1945.10 Overall, US record sales hit a peak of $204 million in 1947. It was in this setting that the new technologies of magnetic tape and long-playing microgroove LPs were introduced. Both were liberating for producers in overthrowing the tyranny of the three- to five-minute side. Magnetic tape also introduced new levels of pro-ducer control by allowing editing and by separating the mastering process from the recording session—both of which permitted post-production refinements. Even more significant creative advantages would follow shortly.
By 1947, the now “big six” record companies, Columbia, Victor, Decca, Capitol, MGM, and Mercury, controlled the recording industry again. Nevertheless, just as there have been recurring contractions in the music business since its beginning, there are also periods of expansion stimulated by technological change. Once again, there are parallels with recent trends. Dr. Peter Alexander observed that the cost and scale-reducing production and manufacturing technologies of the second half of the 1910s and 1950s allowed smaller, more innovative businesses to gain trac-tion.11 In the late 1940s, magnetic tape lowered the cost of entry for entrepreneurial producers who introduced innovative culture-based products to the mass market.12 Among many examples from around that period, Atlantic, Chess, and Sun Records come to mind. As in the 1910s, the smaller companies championed genres that were not well supported by larger companies, an example being “race” records that, renamed as rhythm and blues, would permeate other styles.
At the time of this writing, the industry—outside of the major labels—has been expanding similarly for more than a decade. More artists and producers made and released recordings every year, resulting in a more than fourfold gain in the United States and 30 percent increase in the UK less than ten years after 2000.13 And these may be conservative figures. Inexpensive digital recording equipment and access to alternative distribution and promotional channels, via the Internet, enabled this expansion. Demographics and public taste also factor in to these cycles. Whenever a significant slice of society (often teenagers) rejects the established mainstream and embraces fresh forms of music, new independent labels emerge if the technological and business environment is conducive. The power of the large corporations lies in their financial strength and ability, as an oligopoly, to manipulate market condi-tions. In a high-cost environment, they can control not only production, manufac-turing, and promotional and distribution processes, but also the dynamic timing of the supply chain. Digital delivery and marketing, at least initially, collapsed the cost of most of these activities and democratized the process.
Why is this important for producers? The massive increase in the number of releases has been negatively characterized because less than 6 percent sell 1000
units or more in the first year.14 It is all but impossible to get accurate figures from major labels as to their success rate, but even as far back as the seventies a major label group chairman said to me (and the approximate magnitude of this number seems to be widely accepted) that less than 5 percent of their art-ists recoup. Whatever the real percentage of successful major label artart-ists is, it is low. Therefore, if more artists and producers are able to make and release more recordings than previously and the success rate is similar to—and maybe slightly better than—before, this seems like a win for everyone. Major labels make significant investments in records they release. They base their business model on big-selling hits and they are obligated to produce quarterly growth for shareholders.
Below several hundred thousand albums sold, the major label model does not work well for artists, producers, or record companies. Moreover, in order to make a record, labels require artists and producers (before they are established) to audition and meet the company’s criteria for commercial appeal or stylistic preferences. The convergence of these disintermediating digital technologies, that we have experi-enced, means artists and producers need no longer submit to this process. They can record what they like, release it, and market it. Should they experience a modicum of success, they can begin to build a business.
This is no utopian vision; it is a specter of hard work, much of it non-creative, over an extended period that may not generate even a modest middle-class income.
Democratization represents opportunity not certainty, but the restrictive effect of major label gatekeepers has, if only temporarily, diminished. For artists and producers who value independence and copyright ownership or are simply entre-preneurial, creative freedom, ownership of intellectual property, and retention of revenues generated are now possible. A wide swath of possibilities falls under the rubric of an independent release. These range from an exclusive long-term deal with a large independent label, through shorter-term deals, and license deals, to entirely self-released productions. Economic and creative benefits vary widely as well. A deal with an independent label can be as draconian and difficult to get as a major label deal. However, many are not and most offer more creative freedom.
Notably, the Grammy’s Album of the Year category has been won by an indepen-dently signed album every year from 2009 to 2013.15
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