chapter 10: recordings
Which of the following is NOT a major reason for the rise in vinyl sales in recent years? - Record players are no longer an exclusively luxury item; there is a growing number of affordable and aesthetically pleasing players on the market - Consumers increasingly view the listening of music as an activity itself, not as the backdrop to an activity - Consumers enjoy owning the physical vinyl record - Vinyl records are easier and faster to play compared to CDs
Vinyl records are easier and faster to play compared to CDs
What was the original purpose of the Compact Cassette?
dictation
The creation of a record album involves many steps. Which of these steps is most closely tied to whether you, as a member of the audience, are likely to buy the product? - The quality of the artists' performance. - The quality of the production. - The quality of the publicity and marketing. - The quality of the sales and distribution personnel.
the quality of the publicity and marketing
true or false Before the Walkman, listening to your own choice of music meant being limited to your home stereo or your car, or if you wanted portable music, you had to listen to a transistor radio playing music not selected by you
true
true or false Independent record companies have little overhead because they own neither recording nor distribution facilities
true
true or false Music has been used as propaganda, or at least as a method of persuasion, just as much as any other form of mass media.
true
true or false Nearly all of the top 100 YouTube videos of all time are music videos.
true
true or false One of the survivors of technological change in the recording industry has been the vinyl disc.
true
true or false One reason why CD sales have not declined completely in recent years is because some independent artists still find it easier to sell a portable CD as a concert memento.
true
true or false Recording sound on wax-covered cylinders is an analog process.
true
true or false Regarding explicit music, the FCC has taken the position that the station licensee has the same public service responsibility in selecting and rejecting music to be played on the station as it has in selecting and rejecting any other content of the station.
true
true or false Sony released the first commercial compact disc (CD) player in 1982.
true
true or false The CD's digital nature probably formed the basis of its own undoing. That is, the record labels digitized thousands of albums and released them on CD without any copy protection.
true
true or false The fact that a niche product, vinyl, can compete with the new standard means of distribution, streaming, illustrates the music industry's very poor ability to monetize its non-physical products.
true
true or false The initial response to the iPod by both the public and critics was not good.
true
true or false The key enabling technology for the iPod was a tiny hard-drive that Toshiba didn't know what to do with.
true
true or false Until the early 1980s, probably no gatekeeper for any medium of communication had more power than the radio disc jockeys had over which recordings would become hits and which would die.
true
true or false Vinyl record sales have increased every year since 2006.
true
true or false When opening iTunes Music Steve Jobs argued that simplicity and ease of use would trump music piracy.
true
What distinguishing feature of CDs enabled them to rapidly become more popular than existing technologies?
you could skip directly to the song you wanted to listen to
In the year 2000, how much did it cost to download a single on Napster?
1 cent
Cassette tapes reached their peak popularity in which of the following decades? 1990s 1950s 1970s 1980s
1980s
In what year did annual CD unit sales exceed those of cassettes for the first time?
1992
About how many monthly customers does Youtube have?
2 billion
About how many monthly customers does Spotify have?
350 million
About how many minutes of music could be stored on a CD?
75 minutes
Which of the following was NOT an underlying issue with 8-track technology that hindered its widespread adoption? 8-tracks broke easily, and the tape often became tangled 8-track cartridges were very large and could not be easily transported 8-tracks could not rewind The sound quality declined as 8-tracks were played and songs would bleed over into the next
8-track cartridges were very large and could not be easily transported
Why were 8-track tapes so successful when they were first released in the mid-60s? 8-tracks were mechanically superior to cassettes and CDs 8-tracks could fit an entire album on a small device 8-tracks allowed people to listen to the songs they wanted to in their own cars 8-tracks allowed people to listen to AM radio with higher fidelity
8-tracks allowed people to listen to the songs they wanted to in their own cars
What did Alexander Graham Bell develop that greatly improved the phonograph? - A wax-covered cylinder recording from which a copy of a recording could be made - The flat disk recording from which numerous copies of recordings could be made - The gramophone - The telephone extension
A wax-covered cylinder recording from which a copy of a recording could be made
What division of a record company is responsible for scouting new talent? A&R (Artists and Repertoire) Production Publicity and Marketing Distribution and Sales
A&R
Which of the following companies is NOT currently among the major record distributors? Warner Music Group Sony Music Universal Music Group BMG
BMG
Which of the following was NOT a consequence of the Walkman's popularity? - Audiologists feared ear damage from constant musical accompaniment - Some towns passed ordinances banning the use of the Walkman from anyone driving or riding a bike on a public street due to safety concerns - Repair shops refused to service Walkmans because the parts were too tiny - Cassette tapes, which were primarily manufactured in rural American towns, were rendered obsolete
Cassette tapes, which were primarily manufactured in rural American towns, were rendered obsolete
What is the most important contribution independent and small record companies make to the industry?
Finding and popularizing previously unknown artists.
The most powerful of the two musicians' unions, American Federation of Musicians (AF of M), represents whom? - Vocalists - Instrumentalists - Radio performers - Record companies
Instrumentalists
What advantages for the recording industry were gained by the development of tape technology? - It facilitated the adoption of the new electrical system for recording to replace the mechanical system. - It permitted long, continuous recording and easier editing. - News of the development attracted additional capital for expansion of the industry. - It led directly to Goldmark's invention of the long-playing record.
It permitted long, continuous recording and easier editing.
Which of the following is NOT an important way that music impacts our perceptions and interactions with others? Music, especially music that addresses salient topics, shapes our understanding of the world Music provides each generation of young people a common and cherished experience Music allows the youth to seek approval from and assimilate with older generations Music provides a relatively harmless source of rebellion for the young
Music allows the youth to seek approval from and assimilate with older generations
How do composers receive payment for the use of their materials on the radio, in jukeboxes, and so forth? - Musicians' unions collect fees and distribute them among members. - Royalties from record companies on records sold provide the only payment to artists. - Radio stations, jukebox companies, and others pay a royalty each time a record is played. - Music rights organizations collect annual fees for the commercial use of music and distribute them to member composers, authors, and publishers.
Music rights organizations collect annual fees for the commercial use of music and distribute them to member composers, authors, and publishers.
Which of the following is NOT a music rights organization? ASCAP RIAA BMI SESAC
RIAA
Which of the following was NOT a factor that contributed to the success of the early record industry? - Competition among record and phonograph manufacturers - Companies cutting the prices of their records due to competition - The popularity of jukeboxes in the 1930s - Radio was beginning to decline in popularity, so people had to use records to listen to their favorite radio personalities
Radio was beginning to decline in popularity, so people had to use records to listen to their favorite radio personalities
The LP, or long-playing record: - Recorded and played at 78-RPM with more grooves per inch and could play for three or four minutes on a side - Recorded and played at 78-RPM with more grooves per inch and could play for fifteen to thirty minutes on a side - Recorded and played at 33 1/3-RPM with more grooves per inch but could only play for three or four minutes on a side - Recorded and played at 33 1/3-RPM with more grooves per inch and could play for fifteen to thirty minutes on a side
Recorded and played at 33 1/3-RPM with more grooves per inch and could play for fifteen to thirty minutes on a side
Why was the Compact Cassette such a revolutionary innovation? The Compact Cassette gave anyone the ability to record tracks of audio by themselves The Compact Cassette could be installed in vehicles so people could listen to music on-the-go The Compact Cassette allowed professional audio engineers to record higher fidelity sound than ever before The Compact Cassette allowed for compact discs (CDs) to be played on-the-go
The Compact Cassette gave anyone the ability to record tracks of audio by themselves
What is an advantage that the major record labels have over smaller independent record labels? They are more resilient to fluctuations in the market They appeal exclusively to niche audiences They have a smaller variety of more popular labels There are no advantages of major record labels over independent companies
They are more resilient to fluctuations in the market
What do the two musicians' unions NOT bargain for on behalf of their members? - Minimum fees musicians must receive for making a record - The conditions when musicians are being recorded for a film's soundtrack - What extra fees musicians must be paid if a soundtrack they recorded will be used to market a film - Whether or not a broadcast station should censor a song
Whether or not a broadcast station should censor a song
What audio format accounted for the most sales in the 1980s? - audio cassette - 33 1/3 rpm vinyl - 45 rpm vinyl - CD
audio cassette
What prompted the inclusion of a second headphone jack and the ability for two listeners to talk to each other through a microphone in the design of the Walkman?
concerns that the device was too isolating
How did rap music, an important genre in Black American culture, begin? Major record labels wanted a genre that would target the Black population, so they invented rap Rap became the primary expression of anti-war sentiment in the 1970s, a topic that was important to the Black community Disk jockeys in the 1970s, who worked at nightclubs and in parks, started experimenting Black immigrants from Africa introduced rap music to America in the 1970s
disk jockeys in the 1970s who worked at nightclubs and in parks started by experimenting
true or false Apple probably expected consumers to purchase most or all the music for their iPods.
false
true or false Both the Edison and Berliner machines electronically recorded sound with a microphone.
false
true or false CD sales have risen 80 percent in the past decade, from roughly 89 million to 450 million units sold.
false
true or false Independent record companies do not have the time or resources to invest in the development of young artists and would prefer to sign with already established artists.
false
true or false LP sales have been declining steadily over the years and currently fewer than 1 million units are sold annually.
false
true or false Most Americans in 1982 were familiar with digital devices, and this is why the CD was adopted so rapidly.
false
true or false Most music artists have an agent who receives between 30 to 40 percent of an artist's fees.
false
true or false Most radio stations only belong to one of the three licensing companies.
false
true or false Napster made its two founders incredibly wealthy.
false
true or false Napster no longer exists.
false
true or false Once Edison saw that the phonograph worked he knew that the primary application would be playing music.
false
true or false Payola is music industry slang for royalty payments
false
true or false Sony released the first Walkman in 1992.
false
true or false Studies show that people who download pirated music actually purchase more music than they would otherwise.
false
What was the name of the machine that played Emile Berliner's flat disk recordings? - Phonograph - Berlophone - Telephone - Gramophone
gramophone
Which of the following age groups is mostly responsible for the increase in vinyl sales in recent years? Baby Boomers GenX Millennials GenZ
millennials
One of the greatest problems that digital technology presented to the recording industry was:
pirating of recordings
The largest percentage of the regular retail price of a recording goes toward: - Artist royalty and recording fees - Manufacturing costs - Retailing costs and profit - Legal fees
retailing costs and profit
