Music Piracy Effects on the Music Industry

Alanna Lawrence 

 With today’s technology growing and expanding, it seems as though everything is at the touch of your fingertips.  One of the popular trends that the music industry seems to be facing is the usage of streaming and downloading illegal music. It has become evident that just about every individual has participated in a form of illegal downloading or streaming, whether it’s transferring files, converting videos to MP3 , or just simply “ burning a free copy” for a friend. It has now become the new craze to be involved as a Pandora or Spotify user. Because of this we easily fall into the category of an illegal user. But has it crossed your mind that we are breaking a law and committing a crime? Or have you ever wondered what really happens when you download illegal music? Do you think this affects music artists’ and sales?

Well with this trend being an ongoing battle within the industry it has become harder and harder to stop. It has developed and evolved so much in time it’s starting to get out of control. Music piracy has become one of the most popular issues going on within the music industry and the concept of downloading and streaming music has spread like wildfire. In this blog it will focus on some positive and negative aspects of music piracy towards the music industry.

According to the article “ Rethinking the Music Industry” , it has been said that apart from the illegal aspect of file sharing it can be a  form of promotion for the new upcoming artists and the old. With music piracy going hand in hand with the expansion of the Internet it supports the idea that this aspect can benefit the music industry.  “ Though the focus has been on file sharing, the real story is how the internet has empowered audiences, allowing them to transcend distance and reach large audiences themselves,….enabling new forms of creative engagement, and lessening the social distance between them and media producers.”  Even though it may be looked upon as an illegal act, these users are promoting the works of artists’ by spreading their music and information through blogs and other social media websites. This can be taken as a positive act because it helps get certain music out there and online, circulating to others worldwide. 

In addition to music piracy being a promotion to artists, the usage of illegal downloading has started to decrease over the years. In the article “Music Industry Sales Rise, and Digital Revenue Gets the Credit” from New York Times reflects back on the idea of music piracy finally dying out.  It was said that for the first time since 1999 there was an increase of 0.3 percent and total revenue of $16.5 billion dollars. Edgar Berger, chief executive of the international arm of Sony Music Entertainment, states “At the beginning of the digital revolution it was common to say that digital was killing music, but now….. That digital is saving music.” Despite the tiny increase in sales, the music industry has come up with new ways to support their industry by combining services with Apple’s ITunes and subscriptions with Google. It is taking some time but the music industry is still going strong regardless of music piracy and streaming.

Apart from music piracy being a lee-way for users to listen and download music illegally there has been a recent update that music piracy is no longer the most popular target out there. Studies have shown there has been a decrease over the last few years. From the article “Music Piracy way down, Study Shows” discusses the new trend that has taken over. It was a study funded by NBC Universal and conducted by Envisional, looking at 10,000 of the most popular files on the BitTorrent tracker PublicBT and found that music comprised just 2.9 percent of the files examined. The most popular pirated material was Porn, which compromised 35.8 percent. (Malone 2011). It’s interesting to see that music piracy isn’t as big of a deal as it was before. It seems as though consumers are starting to shift their habits, whether it is legal downloading or porn but music piracy still leaves a lot of consequences for those left in the music industry. 

Not only are there consequences for those within the music industry, but it is just as severe to those committing the crime. People are still fighting charges for downloading illegal music and being charged thousands of dollars for committing the act.  A recent article “Consumers Could Start Receiving Anti-Piracy Notices This Week” reveals actions being taken on those committing the crime. They say starting in a few days the five participating ISP’s ((AT&T, Comcast, Cablevision, Time Warner Cable and Verizon) will take matters in their own hands and start sending out alerts and possibly slowing down Internet connection.

Music Piracy has had its share of pros and cons towards the music industry, but it just seems to never really quite die out. Do you think music piracy will continue its success with illegal downloads or do you think over time it will eventually become obsolete?

 

Bachman, Katy. "Consumers Could Start Receiving Anti-Piracy Notices This Week." AdWeek. Technology, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.

Malone, Aemon. "Music Piracy Way Down, Study Shows." Digital Trends Music Piracy Way down Study Shows Comments. Digital Trends, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.

Baym, Nancy, “Rethinking the Music Industry,” Popular Communication 8.3 (2010): 177 – 180

Pfanner, Eric. "Music Industry Sales Rise, and Digital Revenue Gets the Credit." The New York Times. The New York Times, 27 Feb. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.

Music Video Gender Roles

​The music industry is probably the most progressive, forever changing, entertainment industries in the world today. There are constantly new artists, performing new types of music, from new locations all over the world, in a wide array of languages. Subsequently, the music industry has continued to grow, providing newer and more engaging ways for viewers to be entertained. The idea of a ‘music video,’ to go along with an artist’s number one hit from an album is now a more than common occurrence. But what isthe affect these music videos are having on today’s society? Are they having a positive or negative affect on today’s youth? What kind of messages are these music videos portraying?

​These are only a few of the many questions critics of music videos have begun to ask as this form of entertainment has grown exponentially in recent years. If one were to turn on MTV2 (nowadays, the regular MTV no longer shows music videos as it once did) he/she would see some of the most popular videos in the music industry today. Typically, the music derives from: Hip Hop, Country, Rock, Contemporary, and House genres among others. However, a commonality amongst all of these different videos from different genres of music is their portrayal of gender roles.

​ According to an article titled, “Aggressors or Victims: Gender and Race in Music Video Violence,” by Michael Rich, Elizabeth Woods, Goodman, Erans, and DuRant, the male gender was significantly associated with the emotion aggression. 78.1% of aggressors were portrayed by males, likewise 46.3% of victims were females. Among the Caucasian race 72% of aggressors were male and 78.3% of victims were female. As opposed to statistics from the African-American population which read that African-Americans were aggressors in 25% and victims in 41% of music videos.

​In addition to violence, sex is an exceedingly common theme seen in music videos from all different types of music genres. In an article titled, “An investigation of sex-role stereotyping in music videos,” by Steven A. Seidman, a survey was done of 182 random sample of MTV music videos. The results found that males were typically portrayed as: adventuresome, domineering, aggressive, violent, and victimized whereas females were portrayed as: affectionate, dependent, nurturing, and fearful. It was also noted that a large percentage of females in music videos wore scandalous clothing and either initiated or received sexual advances more frequently than males.

​It is clear that music videos portray men and women in a very questionable way. Especially nowadays with the expansion of technology, these music videos are able to be seen by millions of people, worldwide, free of charge, from the comfort of their homes. Internet sites such as YouTube allow individuals to come together to view artists’ material on both a professional and amateur level.  As a result of this, individuals have begun to question what type of messages these music videos are sending. Violence is displayed as “cool” or appropriate in many Hip-hop music videos. Women dress in very provocative clothing and display graphic sexual movements and acts for cash.

​The thrive to continue to produce viable entertainment in an ever-changing society has produced what some may describe as filthy or obtrusive when describing today’s music videos. It is as though it’s not about the music or the actual song anymore, but more about the most eye-popping display producers to create to go along with the music.

Sell-Outs or Successes? Branding in Music

Lauren Taylor

You can go to any country in the world and see an advertisement for a musician that is identical to an advertisement shown in America. Why? Branding. Branding has become a necessary element for any musician or band to become successful not only in America, but also, throughout the world.

As stated in an article titled, Musician Marketing: Branding, “A branded image establishes you as a legitimate musician…and it presents upsell opportunities such as apparel, hats and other merchandise. Without a branded image, all you have is a name.” The truth of the matter is that most people will recognize a band first by their music, and second by their brand. If you were talking to a younger kid about the Rolling Stones, they might not know who you are talking about right away. If you explain the Rolling Stones as the band with the lips and tongue logo, there is a better chance that they will know who you are talking about. This might be a dated example, but the Forty Licks cover is an image that is still used on merchandise, online, and in advertisements to this day. Just as some people are visual learners and some are auditory learners, some people remember bands from just their music, and others need something visual to remember them by.

In the article titled, Music and Branding: Sell-out or Buy-in?, the author writes, “Even though there will always be detractors who feel any association with corporate America is a ‘sell-out,’ well, ‘Times, they are a’changin’.” Originally, music and branding did not go hand in hand. Even today, some people may be worried that their favorite rebellious group will be a sell-out if they begin a career by branding their image. The idea of being branded with a corporation can create a negative image about that band. Fans used to view bands that worked on branding as caring more about money than they do about their artistic ability. In a New York Times article by Ben Sisario, Looking to a Sneaker for a Band’s Big Break, it is stated, “And while a generation ago these arrangements would have carried a stigma for artists, branding deals are now as common in rock as guitars.” Today it’s almost seen as though when a band decides to sign with a brand, it is the same decision as when a band decides to sign with a record label (Sisario).

Even artists that have made their mark in the music industry are still benefiting from branding. In the article, Madonna crowned top music earner in 2012 due to world tour, it is discussed how Bruce Springsteen released a number one album in 2012, but a large majority of his revenue came from merchandise sales. The majority of his earnings came from his artistic talent and fame, but because of branding, he was able to bring in even more earnings. Branding gives the musician an opportunity to target fans that may not be able to make it to a concert or tour, but instead can buy merchandise to support their favorite artist. If he or any other famous artist had stuck solely to their music, they would not be nearly as well known, or well off as they are because of the merchandise and memorabilia they get to sell and promote themselves with thanks to branding.

Brands like Converse have begun a new trend of opening studios to try to sponsor new bands. These bands will be getting better record deals while working with through these brands, but are still having all of their own artistic freedom. Converse has said that they are doing this not only to “give back” to its loyal customers, but also to build good will for the brand, and generate future sales. If a band becomes popular through a record contract with a brand rather than a record label, not only will the band will achieve success, but the brand will also benefit from having brought the band to the public eye, therefore giving the band automatic advertising.

A musician’s artistic ability as either a songwriter or performer is what inspires them to be successful in their field. That artistic ability is what brings in fans and creates original pieces that are favorites for years to come. However, music is just as much of a business as anything else. Any artist that wants to be known needs to know how to sell themselves to make a profit. They need to know that their artwork, imagery, and personality are all a part of the product they are trying to sell, along with the music they create.

Based off of this information, it is easy to see how both the musician and the company will benefit from branding. However the real question is: will musicians and their audiences ever truly understand that branding is a necessary aspect for bands to succeed, or will they always place a stigma on the musicians that decide to go the branding route?

Flattum, Jerry. "Music and Branding: Sell-out or Buy-in?" Technorati Entertainment. Technorati.com, 26                Aug. 2012. Web. 22 Mar. 2013.

"Musician Marketing: Branding." PsPrint.com. PsPrint.com, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2013.

Reuters. "Madonna Crowned Top Music Earner in 2012 Due to World Tour." Yahoo! Music. Yahoo!          Music, 22 Feb. 2013. Web. 22 Mar. 2013.

Sisario, Ben. "Looking to a Sneaker For a Band's Big Break." The New York Times. The New York Times, 10              Oct. 2010. Web. 22 Mar. 2013.

New Music Trends: Pandora & Spotify

Stephanie Griffin

 

           The music industry has been affected by the increase of the internet and technology over the past decade. A growing trend we are seeing is the popularity of streaming music programs now available on computers and smart phones. They are changing the way we purchase (or do not purchase) music, what we are listening to, and where we can listen to music. According to one of our readings this week, "At least 33 million people have tried Spotify, more than 150 million have registered for Pandora" (Sisario). Although Ben Sisario's article demonstrates some negative aspects of these programs through a financial standpoint, this blog focuses on how programs like Pandora Radio and Spotify may have positive affects on both the music and radio industries.
 

Spotify in particular allows us to connect our listening history to Facebook. Eliot V. Buskirk of Hollywood Reporter mentions the increase popularity of Spotify through the social media connection. He states, “Facebook integration seems to be working well for Spotify based on its September numbers. Whether it can keep that up next month is another story -- and from where we're sitting, largely depends on whether Spotify can convince people to use its upcoming Private Listening feature when they don't want to share, rather than disconnecting Spotify from Facebook permanently” (Buskirk). In most cases, people are not ashamed to share what they are listening to on Spotify. Furthermore, anything that is easily connected to social media can readily become an active part of our online activity. Therefore, think if you have been using these programs to listen to music. Why are you using them and where are you using them the most? Furthermore, in response to the trade publication analyzing this combination of programs and social media, do you feel these programs are a good or bad technology for today’s musicians? Considering how accessible computers, smart phones, and even tablets are becoming, we are able to take our information anywhere we go- this includes our music. Not only has technology changed the way we listen to music, but the music industry itself has also been forced to modernize to stay in business.

We have established how these streaming programs are forcing the music industry to become digital. NY Times writer, Eric Pfanner, writes in his article, "Music Industry Braces for the Unthinkable,” about how the music industry has certainly taken a financial hit with the increase of online piracy and illegal downloads. Yet, the streaming programs of Spotify, along with Rdio and Deezer could save the music industry. He writes,

 

“Around the world, 10 million people have already signed up for subscription-based online services from Spotify, Rdio and Deezer, some of which have attracted additional millions of users with free, advertising-supported services. Many executives hope the growth of offerings like these can reduce the industry’s dependence on sales of individual tracks through digital stores like Apple iTunes, a model that has attracted little interest from young music fans, particularly outside the United States. Music executives say Internet service providers hold the key to solving the piracy problems and helping the music companies recoup lost revenue” (Pfanner).

 

In response to Pfanner’s statement, why do you think the online streaming programs target specifically young music fans like our generation through aspects like social media? Does this mean we will affect how the music industry works in the future? As the music industry adapts to such technological changes, the radio industry may not be far behind.
             Not only are programs like Pandora and Spotify affecting the opportunities for audiences to buy music since these programs are free, they are also competing against today’s radio industry. According to our Arbitron reading from this week, radio is still listened to frequently amongst audiences ("Radio Today 2012”). Even with the streaming programs of Pandora and Spotify, “Americans depend on radio as a reliable media companion” (“Radio Today: 2012”). Do you agree with the Arbitron research study even with these programs growing popularity? Why or why not?  Although we’ve learned how radio was forced to change its format upon the arrival of television, it is important to consider the future of the music and radio industries with the increase of online music programs like Pandora and Spotify.

            With the enhancements of streaming music programs, the future of the music industry will inevitably be affected. According to the journal article, “The Future of the Music Industry” by Bohdan and Anastasia Pikas, along with Candice Lymburner, music programs like Pandora and Spotify are a benefit for the music industry since they allow audiences to discover new artists. The authors state, “As more music downloads become available at little or no cost, and file sharing continues to grow, people will be exposed to a much larger array of bands, artists, and even genres of music. With the opportunity of increased exposure at the expense of lost song profits, artists all over the world may reap the benefits in other ways, including that of larger audiences at their live concerts” (Pikas, Pikas, and Lymburner 142). In other words, even though music listeners can now listen to most music online free, they are still likely to contribute to the artists’ revenue through attending concerts and buying merchandise. What do you think about this idea of the future of the music industry with Pandora and Spotify program offering this newly digital service of listening music?

 

Works Cited:

 

Buskirk, Eliot V. "Spotify Usage Explodes After F8, Facebook Integration." The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., 30 Sept. 2011. Web. 23 Feb. 2013.

 

Pfanner, Eric. "Music Industry Braces for the Unthinkable." The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 Jan. 2011. Web. 23 Feb. 2013.

 

Pikas, Bohdan, Anastasia Pikas, and Candice Lymburner. "The Future of the Music Industry." Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness 5.3 (2011): 139-49. North American Business Press, June 2011. Web. 23 Feb. 2013.

 

"Radio Today 2012: How America Listens to Radio." Www.arbitron.com. Artbitron, 2012. Web. 23 Feb. 2013.

Sisario, Ben. "Pandora and Spotify Rake In the Money and Then Send It Off in Royalties." Media Decoder Pandora and Spotify Rake In the Money and Then Send It Off in Royalties Comments. N.p., 24 Aug. 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.

Film Sequel Success for Hollywood- Kim Rizzitano

The film industry has been one of the leading hubs in entertainment throughout the years. The public’s fascination in drama and stories of the unbelievable has been due to the creation of  worlds thought up by Hollywood.  At one time, more movies seemed to equal more revenue but in recent years, Hollywood has found a way to get more people to the theaters and increase sales with fewer movies annually.  The answer was sequels and remakes.  By producing films with familiar themes and characters, more global movie-goers are lured to the theaters by the promise of a superior film because they were satisfied with the first. In a way, you could think of the first movie as positive advertisement for the following sequels or remakes. 

The article “Hollywood Eyes Record 2013 With ‘Star Trek,’ ‘The Hobbit,’ ‘Hunger Games’ Sequels”, highlights the fact that making films that attract broad global audiences, like “action films, comedies, and historical dramas which all broke $100 million in sales during the past year”, create the most steady increasing revenue (Advertising Age).  Top grossing films of the year included “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 which saw a long stream of success over the past few years of release.  Twilight fans and Harry Potter fans, though different in taste, share the common characteristic that they were successful long running sequels.  They brought familiar characters and plot for viewers to hold onto and become enamored with.  The article “Movies, Myths, and Messages: How Entertainment is Creating a Global Brand Culture” supports this idea with the statement, “Simply put, movies are mythic messages that bond culture. They imprint a dialogue of images on our emotions. We trade on their meaning. They echo our existence, express what we see, think we know, or wish to be,” (Ken Markman, The Licensing Journal).  Esentially, the films become part of our culture.  They bond together fans internationally with the common interest of these long running characters and plots.

Aside from ticket sales, Hollywood also benefits from sequels because movie paraphernalia is produced and sold in mass quantities. The Harry Potter series exemplifies this especially with not only the production of t-shirts, mugs, and wands, but also a whole theme park at Universal Studios dedicated to the story.  The park only further creates that global cultural bond over the film by creating a common meeting place for all Harry Potter fans thereby equally strengthening the successful formula of film sequels. 

The “Hunger Games” series is expected to soon follow a similar sequel success path as Twilight and Harry Potter, its first film being the third top-grossing film released in 2012. It similarly has taken on a huge fan base from the similar tactics of its predecessors.

One of the most influential and especially Oscar-worthy sequels has been The Lord of the Rings trilogy.  The release of The Hobbit this year has furthered the success of the trilogy with this sequel of a different sort.  The film essentially has many familiar characters yet follows a different storyline.  By keeping the same setting and many familiar characters, Time Warner has been successful in reaping the benefits of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.  Past fans have come again to the theaters to continue the stories of the lovable hobbit characters which resulted in $84.6 million in box office sales in the opening weekend (Advertising Age).

Like sequels, “reboots” of popular films have seen similar success due to familiarity and character popularity.  The remake of Spiderman brought fans of the superhero and the first Toby Maguire film back to theaters to rate and reviews it in comparison.  This method is also successful because it causes fans to not only want to see if the film improves but also what fails, and the subtle changes in plot.  The New York Times article “Familiarity Breeds Hollywood Sequels” notes remakes as more successful in 2011 due to familiarity in film winning out. “One after another the more original studio films in a variety of genres failed to draw a really large number of viewers this year.” It continues on by mentioning though many films like The Help saw great profit, they failed to break the top ten due to popular familiar sequels and remakes (Cieply).

Though the film industry will continue to turn out both remakes and sequels along with original pictures,  familiarity will most likely continue to win out in box office sales due to a stready fan base already established.

           

Works Cited

 

Cieply, Michael. "Familiarity Breeds Hollywood Sequels." New York Times: C.1. Dec 29 2011. ABI/INFORM Complete; Hartford Courant; Hoover's Company Profiles; National Newspapers Core; New York Times; ProQuest. Web. 8 Mar. 2013 .

 

"Hollywood Eyes Record 2013 With 'Star Trek,' 'Hobbit,' 'Hunger Games' Sequels, Record 2012 Comes Despite Continued Improvements in Home Viewing." Advertising Age ( December 2012): Blackboard. Web. 8 Mar. 2013.

 

Markman, Ken. "Movies, myths, and messages: how entertainment is creating a global brand culture." The Licensing Journal, June Vol. 25, Aspen Publishers. Academic OneFile. Web. 8 Mar. 2013.

 

 

 

 

Crowdfunding: the Future of the Film Industry?

 

There are countless film projects that never quite make it into production, usually due to lack of funding and support. But, thanks to sites like Kickstarter, audiences can make donations to a project to get the film into production. These sites, and the users that support these projects, have the power to change the film industry.

According to the article “Crowdfunding: The Future Of The Film Industry? ”by Ilya Pozin, crowdfunding not only brings to donations to a film project, but also attracts early viewers who would generate early interest in a project and help market it. Crowdfunding sites offer incentives to those that donate. The incentives could be anywhere from your name in the opening credits, to a signed DVD, or even credit on IMDB. Offers like this have never been given to those that have donated in the past because opportunities to invest in an artistic project have been illegal until the passing of the JOBS Act, which allows people to make small donations to companies or projects like a film.

According to Ilya Pozin, “This combination of potentially infinite resources and independent filmmaking is an important change of tides for the future of film… it could pave the way for a new model of film production, one that more closely aligns the moviegoing public with the films they choose to see.” Kickstarter, and companies like it have the power to overthrow Hollywood in the sense of giving people the power to choose what films they want to see by only supporting those that they are interested in seeing come into fruition. The film industry tends to focus on putting out the best movies leading up to awards season. However, the rest of the year, all the lesser worthy films are put out and audiences have to suffer through them. What if crowdfunding was away to put out films that we actually want to see? It seems that Hollywood is catching on. According to the article, “Who needs an Oscar? Hollywood basks in industry’s comeback” Glover states that “Tinseltown might just be striking the right balance between making what people want to see, getting it to them in a way that works and letting them share their buzz over social media. According to the article, “Crowdsourcing success: Veronica Mars movie raises over $2.5 million with Kickstarter “ Suis states that “So much has been said about how social media has turned opening weekend into opening day.  Word-of-mouth can destroy bad movies much quicker than they used to. As this Kickstarter campaign shows, it can also work in reverse. Good programs may be subject to cancellations by executives or declining ratings despite a rapt fan base.”

Currently the biggest success Kickstarter is having with bringing a film into fruition is the Veronica Mars movie. After the popular television show was cancelled, its creator Rob Thomas had talked about turning it into a movie. This could finally come true. If they reach their goal $2 million they will start shooting this summer. Well, according to Suis, the campaign has already reached $2.6 million dollars. They met their goal of $2 million in just eleven hours. It also shows that the Internet and social media play a crucial role in getting projects noticed and funded.

According to the article “How crowdfunding is changing the way movies are made” Geist states that “By the end of this year, over 100 Kickstarter-funded films will have been released theatrically in North America. In 2012, three Kickstarter funded films ranked among the best reviewed films of the year with six films – two documentaries, a live action short, and three documentary shorts – garnering Oscar nominations.”

Could crowdfunding help underfunded films succeed? Though the studio has the final say in whether or not a film project get the green light to be shown in theaters, could more indie film make it mainstream? Could crowdfunding hurt the film industry after it has just seen so much gain in profits?

 

Works Cited

Geist, Michael. "How ‘crowdfunding’ Is Changing the Way Movies Are Funded: Geist." Thestar.com. The Star, 01 Mar. 2013. Web. Mar. 2013.

Glover, Ronald. "Who Needs an Oscar? Hollywood Basks in Industry's Comeback." Reuters

Pozin, Ilya. "Crowdfunding: The Future Of The Film Industry?" Forbes 20 Dec. 2012.

Suis, Sarah. "Crowdsourcing Success: Veronica Mars Movie Raises over $2.5 Million with Kickstarter." 'Screener' Screenerblog, 14 Mar. 2013.

Your Magazine Follows and Friends You

With the Internet still being so new each of the more traditional media outlets have had to adapt to the web in order to insure the survival of their medium; magazines were not immune to the side effects of the Internets ever-increasing power. When the Internet was still new, but it was clear the immense impact it would have, many magazine industry professionals worried that subscriptions to magazines would decrease so significantly over time that the Internet would essentially be responsible for the death of the magazine. 

In an article in Advertising Age as part of the “Ad Age Special Report “ author Keith Kelly notes “The Internet has grabbed the spotlight from publishers in sharp contrast to a decade earlier, when magazines were among the hottest of all media. ``From a sex appeal and a buzz on Madison Avenue point of view, there is nothing to compare with the front-of-mind impact that new media are creating,'' says John Suhler, president of Veronis Suhler & Associates. ``It's a new field with new thinking, new tools. Everyone is trying to understand it. `Magazines can't compete with that, but the fundamental, enduring value of magazines is still there.'' This article as published in 1996 documents the concerns of media professionals at the very early stages of the Internet. Magazines were still attempting, as was the rest of the world, to see what the Internet really was and what it could be. As the Internet has developed we have seen the ways in which magazines have utilized the Internet and even Web 2.0 to sustain their presence in everyday life. Kelly reassures the readers with the opinion of a media professionals confirmation that, `` ‘Magazines are not dead,’ Mr. Bibb agrees. `They have a different kind of sex appeal-more like the woman who turns 40. She can still be attractive but she has to recognize that she's not an ingenue anymore. [Magazines] are more like Jane Fonda or Raquel Welch. They don't have to take off their clothes to generate heat.' “  Much like Mr. Bibb suggested, we are now seeing a way that magazine generates heat by using the power of the Internet.

The class reading, “Magazine Media Readers are Social,” outlined research that suggests that magazines have surged because of the Internet, more specifically social media. The article concludes that of the respondents of the study 68% “believe technology has improved the experience of accessing various media.” Moreover, an astonishing 81% of avid magazine readers also agree that technology has improved their experience. The article suggests that the Internet and social media sites have given magazine readers a much more personal connection with their favorite publications. Through Twitter, Facebook and other sites, “They [magazine readers] also interact to a much higher degree with magazine content and even directly with magazine editors via Twitter exchanges.” “Avid” magazine readers also use social media platforms to share magazine articles/content with their friends “and they do it to a high degree using social devices,” according to the reading. Personally, I don’t follow magazines on Twitter because I don’t find the content to be that pressing but I was wondering if anyone in the class follows magazine publications on Twitter? We discussed in class one night the likelihood of clicking on a link on our Twitter feeds and this YouTube video I found suggests that people are less likely to click on a link as opposed to an image or video on Facebook, so if you share content are they images? I know for me, I am more likely to follow a magazine publication on Instagram because I find that magazines are very much an image driven media and I would rather see the image on Instagram than an article on Twitter or Facebook. Going along with that, Mashable had an article outlining the ways that magazines are able to use the internet to not only sustain their readership, but advance the relationships they have with their readers, and one of the things the article mentioned was National Geographic’s use of Instagram. Mashable suggests that, “The tactics adopted by these marketing-savvy publications generate relationships and conversations around their brand — on and offline.” Another use of the Internet and social media for magazines is the advancement of editorial pieces. Mashable outlined ways that, “magazines are successfully employing social media to create an editorial journey for readers, rather than just a linear reading experience.”

According to these publications, magazines have turned to social media to advance the industry, but do you think this can sustain the magazine? Are subscription numbers too important for the industry to allow the magazine industry to rely so heavily on social media and the Internet? The Internet certainly hasn’t “killed” the magazine but has it compromised what it used to be by making it too social?



http://mashable.com/2011/02/09/social-media-magazines/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8JeLGz6ArA

Kelly, Keith J. "Magazines." Advertising Age 67.42 (1996): S1. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 1 Mar. 2013.

“Magazine Media Readers are Social”, Magazine Publishers of America

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