1.2. Applied Musicology. Music Journalism and Music Criticism in the System of Applied Musicology

Musical criticism and musical science Many scientific fields are engaged in the study of the phenomenon of music: in addition to musicology itself, it attracts the attention of art criticism of various directions, aesthetics, philosophy, history, psychology, cultural studies, semiotics, and

Musical Criticism and Society The musical life of society, which also includes musical-critical thought and practice, is a subject of interest for musical sociology. It is no coincidence that it is sociological science that most often turns its attention to art criticism,

1.4. Professional Musical Journalism At the forefront of modern music and journalism practice is the most important problem - the problem of professionalism. What is it made up of? There are several important components that make it possible to distinguish

Composer's musical criticism This original phenomenon requires separate consideration. Even in Pushkin, we find the argument that "the state of criticism in itself shows the degree of education of all literature." It's not just about respect

5.4. Musical production as an object of review Musical production is a synthetic genre. In it, music is combined, according to the laws of artistic synthesis, with other artistic "streams" (plot development, stage action, actors' play, pictorial

3. Musical version of A. S. Dargomyzhsky The musical solution of A. S. Dargomyzhsky in his romance on the text of Pushkin's "October 19, 1827" (composed in Paris in 1845) is extraordinary and worthy of special attention of researchers, including Pushkinists

Producing in the Digital Age of Media Communications This book about production was "produced", designed and published by students of the Master's program "Media Production in the Creative Industries" of the HSE Faculty of Communications, Media and Design, for whom

2.1 Anna Kachkaeva. Producer in the Digital Age Anna Kachkaeva is a professor at the Faculty of Communications, Media and Design at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, a journalist, a member of the Academy of the Russian

2.2 Valentina Shvaiko. Multimedia and Transmedia Opportunities for Music Promotion in the Digital Age G. V. Plekhanova, a graduate of the master's program "Media production in creative

The beginning of the 20th century is characterized by the rapid development of the music entertainment industry. The St. Petersburg Philharmonic Society, the Moscow Philharmonic Society, the Russian Musical Society, the Circle of Russian Music, and the House of Song concert musical organization, which existed until 1918, played an important role in the development of concert activity. The musical stage during this period was mainly in the hands of a private enterprise.

The recording industry is especially active. The first record factory in Russia opened in Riga in 1902. And in 1907, the production of records was organized by the Pate company, which imported matrices from abroad (since 1922 - the “Factory named after the 5th anniversary of October”). Since 1910, the Metropol-Record factory at the Aprelevka station near Moscow has been producing records. In 1911, the factory of the Sirena-Record partnership was put into operation, which printed 2.5 million records in a year.

The State Duma adopted the law "On Copyright", which for the first time took into account the interests of sound recording companies. The Music Rights Agency for Russian Authors (AMPRA) was formed. The annual gross production in Russia amounted to 18 million gramophone records, about 20 companies operated on the market. The Aprelevka plant increased its capacity to 300,000 records a year. A "Syndicate of United Factories" was created to oppose large foreign manufacturers. However, after the outbreak of the First World War in Russia, their number decreased.

In 1915, the "Writing Cupid in Moscow" plant was put into operation. Before the revolution in Russia there were six factories producing 20 million records a year; in addition, 5-6 million were produced using imported matrices. Most of the factories were based on personal Russian capital - "Partnership of Rebikov and K?" and others.

However, at the same time, the market is also faced with the first negative phenomena in the music industry, which are also characteristic of modern show business. The first pirated records appeared, produced by the Neographon company and the St. Petersburg branch of the American company Melodifon. Entrepreneur D. Finkelstein went the furthest - his Orfenon partnership produced exclusively pirated records.

Similar phenomena occurred in music publishing houses. At the beginning of the 20th century, music publishing in Russia reached a high level of development, not inferior in terms of printing technique to foreign music publications. Such Russian music publishing houses as Jurgenson's firm won world recognition.

In the first decades of the 20th century, there were numerous music stores - firms on the periphery (Yaroslavl, Rostov-on-Don, Yekaterinburg, Saratov and other cities) engaged in music publishing activities. Music publishing houses and music stores in Russia produced catalogs of the sheet music they published, which are to this day valuable sources for studying the musical tastes of the era.

Cardinal changes in the art of music took place after the revolution of 1917. The publishing business passes into the hands of the state (Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of December 19, 1918). In 1921, music publishing houses and music printing houses were merged into a single music publishing house, which in 1922 became part of Gosizdat as its musical sector. In 1930, the music sector was reorganized into the State Musical Publishing House "Muzgiz" with a branch in Leningrad, which became the largest music publishing company.

In the same years, a number of other music publishing houses also operate, in particular, the cooperative "Tritron" (1925-1935). They published sheet music and books on music. A number of public organizations and departments are involved in the episodic release of notes: the Moscow Society of Dramatic Writers and Composers (MOPIK, 1917-1930), the All-Union Directorate for the Protection of Copyrights.

In 1939, the Musical Fund of the USSR was created under the Union of Composers, whose tasks included publishing works by Soviet composers. In 1964, "Muzgiz" and "Soviet Composer" merged into one publishing house "Music", but in 1967 they separated again. These publishing houses publish the magazines "Soviet Music" and "Musical Life".

Record production is also undergoing a period of dramatic change. This industry was nationalized. And one of the first gramophone records released under the Soviet regime was a recording of the speech of V.I. Lenin's Appeal to the Red Army. In 1919-1920. The department of "Centropechat" "Soviet plate" produced more than 500 thousand gramophone discs. These were mostly speech recordings - speeches by prominent party and public figures.

In the 1920s, production was resumed at old enterprises, and in the 1930s the All-Union Recording House in Moscow began its work. In 1957, the All-Union Recording Studio was founded. In 1964, the All-Union Firm Melodiya was created, which united domestic factories, houses and recording studios and became a monopolist in sound recording for many years.

There have also been big changes in the concert activity. The organization and management of the entire industry passed into the hands of the state, which had a great influence on the ideological orientation of the performers' creativity. This was especially noticeable in the field of pop art. Special state institutions were created that organized the concert activities of artists of all genres, including pop music.

This system, under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture, included the State Concert, Soyuzconcert, Rosconcert, republican, regional and city philharmonic societies, concert associations that led the entire most complex concert life in our country. Free enterprise was punished by law as an illegal activity. Together, during this period, musical, educational and cultural work comes to the fore.

Concerts are held not only in the concert halls of big cities, but also in small clubs, houses of culture, in the shops of factories, factories, state farms, collective farms, in red corners and on farms. At the same time, the artists were paid according to strictly established tariffs - from 4.5 to 11.5 rubles per concert.

With the emergence of a market economy, alternative directions begin to develop on the official stage. There are problems associated with the reorganization of this activity. The main contradiction was formed: between the personal nature of talent and the practice of appropriation by the state of his work. After all, the right to pay the contractor on demand was previously absent. The emergence of numerous firms and companies working in the musical stage has become an objective response of the new time to the increased interest of both consumers and entrepreneurs in the stage as a whole and its directions.

There are currently more than seventy public and private associations, firms, companies, and associations in Moscow that organize concert activities. Without taking into account illegal, unformed associations, only highly professional specialist managers can manage such multifaceted activities, who must not only and not so much satisfy the growing demands of the public, but also anticipate them, clearly capturing market conditions and monitoring the activities of competitors, taking into account other factors in their work. this market, such as the solvency of the population, etc.

Lecture - Sergey Tynku

It's amazing, but so many people still don't know how the mechanism of the music industry works today. Therefore, I will try to explain everything in a nutshell. And by the way, if you don’t understand what industry is, then abroad they understand it as business. That is, it's about how the music business, or the music industry, works. Get it in your head, once and for all, the industry is a business.

Like any other industry, the music industry makes and sells a product. And this product is a concert. Previously, the product was records, but in our time it is no longer relevant. Now the product is just a concert. Why a concert? Because musicians make money at concerts and listeners pay money for concerts.

Accordingly, the main goal of the industry is to understand the demand of the audience (in a given territory) for concerts of a particular format, style and price tag. The industry itself does not care what kind of music and what musicians to sell. Just to sell better. It's like being in a bar. An adequate bar owner does not care what kind of beer to trade, and he pours the one for which there is more demand, and on which you can earn more - buy cheaper and sell more expensive.

For an artist to get into the music industry, stay there and be successful... all you need is to be in demand. It's like with any product in any market. If there is a demand for your concert, then you will be in the industry. If there is no demand, then you will not be there. The industry is interested in artists who bring in money that people will come to.

This law works both for large stadiums in the Americas and for small taverns in the Samara region. The music industry is the same everywhere.

Please note that it is not necessary to be good, but it is necessary to be in demand. And in our country people often think that if a product (musician) is good, then it must be in demand. And these are different things. And "good" is very subjective. But the concept of "in demand" can be felt with your hands and measured in the number of spectators and the money they bring.

The industry consists of three main participants - a concert venue, an artist, a spectator. And the main thing is the viewer. Because the whole thing exists on the money of the viewer. He pays for everything. Concert venues and artists live on his money. He orders music in every sense and pays for the banquet.

The industry does not care how an artist achieves popularity and demand (this is a personal matter and the cost of the artist and his manager). Good music, scandals, competent PR, fashion, etc. The industry doesn't care what product to sell. Its task is to sell what is in demand. If people don’t come to your club (or bar), then you go broke. Therefore, the task of the industry is to understand what the people need - this is perhaps the most important thing in the industry.

Just imagine for a second that you have your own rock club. You spent the money to buy it, you spend the money to maintain it, you pay the staff, and you incur a bunch of other expenses. And now imagine you have to choose one of the artists for a concert in your club. And pay him a fee. Whom do you want to see in your club if you need to earn and not incur losses?

To make any artist in demand and popular is the task of the artist himself (and his management). The industry doesn't care whom to sell. She simply focuses on the current tastes of the audience. Of course, these tastes somehow constantly change. Since the tastes of the audience are heterogeneous, the industry works with artists of different genres and styles.

In accordance with the popularity (demand) of the artist, the industry offers the audience concerts at venues with a larger or smaller capacity, plus sets different ticket prices. But the industry is always driven by demand. It can be said that this is a soulless machine, stupidly reflecting the current state of the market and demand. Roughly speaking, the industry is thousands of concert venues, whose number, size and format is determined solely by the market, that is, the demand for certain artists and genres in certain territories.

Remember, at different times in different territories, the demand is also different!

It makes no sense for the artist or the viewer to be dissatisfied with the industry. It simply shows the state of the market, reacting to it, not shaping it. If there is no something in the industry, or it is poorly represented, then this is only because at the moment in this territory there is such a demand for this product (zero or small).

If an artist doesn't make it into the industry (or does, but not on the scale we'd like), it's not the industry's fault. She only reacts to the tastes of the crowd. And she does not care about the specific names of artists.

That's how it all works in a nutshell.

Accordingly, the concept of demanded music is different. If you're making music to your own taste, don't be surprised the music industry doesn't need it. Your taste is not necessarily the same as the taste of the audience that is paying. And if it does, it's not a fact that the quality of your musical product can compete with other artists. Always be aware of the competition. Nowadays, there are much more musicians in the world than the audience needs. Therefore, not everyone gets into the music industry.

If the demand for music in a village is one harmonica player for a New Year's party, then ten harmonists will not fit into the industry of this village.

There are musician managers in the world. They are intermediaries between artists and audiences, artists and the industry. Someone (as elsewhere) can do without intermediaries, but someone does not succeed. Like any intermediaries, managers strive to earn. Therefore, it is important for them to see and understand whether a particular artist will be able to become popular or "not in horse fodder." This vision of understanding distinguishes a good manager from a bad one. This is his income. Again, the industry doesn't care how an artist tries to become popular - with or without managers. The word "manager" in this text can be understood not only as one person, but as an entire promotion office.

Many artists have high hopes for managers who, in their opinion, will solve all problems. But it's not all that simple. If the manager is good and understands the market, then he will only work with an artist who, in his opinion, has potential. And the artist must somehow be able to charm the manager, make him believe in himself. And it turns out that the manager is not a magician who sells a bad product, and the artist first of all needs to give out a product of the appropriate properties (which can be sold).

If the manager is bad, then he can easily take on an artist with unclear prospects. And here it may be that a bad manager will not help in any way, or it may be that a good artist from the point of view of market prospects will be successful even with a bad manager. But in any case, if an artist decides to promote himself with the help of a manager, then he needs to make the manager believe in this artist.

And we must remember that the manager is not free. If a manager (office) invests money (or time / effort) in promotion, then it means that they see the potential in the product (artist) and plan to recoup the costs and earn more. And if none of the smart managers want to do business with you, then they don’t see market potential in you. They, like everyone else, can make mistakes - try to prove it to them and the market.

Understand that if your potential is obvious, then a sea of ​​people will immediately form around you, who want to make money on you. But if it is not obvious, then you have to drag out the miserable. It's like with women. If you are a super chick, then there is a sea of ​​\u200b\u200bmuzhiks around you. And if you are not very good, then the demand for you in the men's market is much less. Everything is very simple in this world.

The same laws apply in the music industry as in the general market. Imagine a grocery store. There are 10 packages of milk from different brands. So, let's say you decide to make milk. Good milk. You come to the store and say - I have good milk, take it on the shelf. And they answer you, milk may be good, but no one knows it and will not buy it - the demand of the people has already developed for certain brands. Why should we buy some potential illiquid stock on the shelves? Then you start advertising your product - you shoot videos for a box, hang ads on billboards around the city, distribute free packages to the population near the metro, hire a star for promotion. All! Demand appeared - they took you to the store. First in one, then in another, then all over the country! You're in business, man!

Of course, in reality, the situation with demand and the store may be more complicated. They can say that they don't care what to trade - people in the area will buy any milk for this price and therefore they are not going to change anything in the assortment. Then it will be necessary to motivate the store - to offer them purchase prices below competitors or stupidly shove a bribe. In the case of concert venues, which do not care who plays in their conditional tavern, everything is decided by the same methods - reducing requests for fees to the artist and, again, a good old bribe. This is the market.

Simple clear diagram. But one detail is important here. You must produce milk of a quality that the people like. And at the prices at which people want to buy it. That is, the package should not cost 200 bucks. And it doesn't have to be dog milk. At least in Russia. You yourself may like dog (or rat) milk, but if you enter the market, try to crawl into the milk industry, that is, into business, then you need to take into account the demand for products in a certain area.

That is, if we talk about the dairy industry, then everything is the same here - a product (artist), a store (concert venue), a buyer (spectator). And there are advertising departments and agencies (labels, intermediary managers) that promote goods for money.

Of course, a lot of musicians all over the planet don't want to think about the market, product, customers and other unromantic things at all. And many successful artists managed to live in their exceptionally sublime world, doing only creative work (but at the same time paying managers who are immersed in routine and everyday life).

But if you have not reached such a level of enlightenment, then you either need to deal with the market and your popularity on your own, or try to charm some manager (office) who will believe in you. And such managers, of course, exist. Since there are successful artists in any country, and someone is involved in the affairs of these artists. But if they don’t believe in you, then, my friend, all the problems are only in you. In no one else. It's hard to admit - look in the mirror and say to yourself "it seems that I'm not what people need."

Of course, you can hire a manager (like any advertising agency) stupidly for your own money (and not for a share of concerts) ... but it's like paid sex. The right guys are given for free. And if you are not given a freebie for love, then you obviously have some problems with being in demand.

Very often, unclaimed artists blame the industry, intermediary managers, and spectators for their lack of demand. It is so stupid. The industry and managers respond to the needs of the viewer, to the demand. And viewers are free people who decide where to spend their money. If they don't want you, that's their right. They don't owe you anything. They didn't force you to make music.

And the most reliable way to join the industry, and this is known to all professional musicians and managers of all times and peoples... is very simple. You have to be stupid to write hits. And that's it! Songs that people like. Write hits, dude, and you will definitely have everything! Pay attention - all the performers who failed to fit into the industry - they do not have a single hit.

But let's say you can't or don't want to write hits? But after all, you can play strangers - this is also in demand (in taverns and at corporate parties), and with this they also get into the industry - just maybe not at the level where someone would like. And if you don’t play hits at all, then there are no guarantees of getting into the industry. It may work out in the industry, but it may not.

OK it's all over Now. I hope now you understand why some artists have a lot of concerts and money, while others have a cat crying.

How often we hear music from everywhere. Music becomes the sound background of our life. Do you know the feeling when you just forgot to take your headphones with you? Silence, no - even emptiness. Unusually, and hands tend to turn something on. The music stops playing - the inner voice turns on, but somehow I don’t want to listen to it at all. Reminds us of unfinished business, reproaches us with something, brings serious thoughts. No, a new track would have started as soon as possible. We just got used to music, got used to being not alone all the time, but with these cheerful (or not so) musical rhythms.

Probably, everyone has favorite melodies, at the sound of which lines of familiar songs pop up somewhere deep inside. At the same time, it often happens that a person knows the lyrics by heart, but he never thought about the meaning of the words imprinted in his memory and even frequently spoken words. This happens because most people are used to listening to music in the background or rest format, that is, relaxing and not thinking about anything, enjoying emotions or simply plunging into third-party thoughts.

As a result of such listening, a person's worldview is filled with texts and meanings that have not been filtered at the level of consciousness. And since the information is presented accompanied by various rhythms and melodies, it is assimilated very well, and in the future, from the level of the subconscious, it begins to influence human behavior. What programs of behavior are broadcast to the mass audience by modern popular music - the one that is played on TV and radio, and can it be treated unconsciously, that is, without thinking about its influence? Let's watch some videos:

After watching these videos, it is appropriate to recall the quote from the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius: “The destruction of any state begins precisely with the destruction of its music. A people without pure and bright music is doomed to degeneration.”

Please note that in the last review, it was not only about the content of specific songs, but also about the general direction of the topic of popular music. This is an important nuance that must be taken into account. After all, music should reflect different aspects of our life, and not elevate one to an inappropriate size and importance.

The creativity of a person, when it comes from the heart, always reflects his inner world, touches upon the issues of personal development, the search for answers to exciting questions. If creativity is replaced by business, and earning money comes first, then its content is automatically filled with appropriate meanings and forms: primitive, stereotyped, insipid, stupid.

Listening to the content that is played today on and on the air of most radio stations is a real process of programming people to unconsciously implement in their lives all the behaviors listed in the videos.

At the same time, in the presented video reviews, only the content of the texts and the video sequence of the clips was analyzed, but rhythm, tonality, melody, and loudness of music have a huge impact on a person. After all, any music is, in the end, vibrations that can either harmonize with the internal state of a person, or act destructively in the literal sense.

The impact of music on society

Dissonance in music, sudden changes in rhythm, loud sound - all this is perceived by the body as stress, as a polluting factor that affects not only the nervous, but also the cardiovascular and endocrine systems. On the Internet, you can find the results of many experiments that show that if classical or folk music improves mental abilities, then modern pop music, built on the same rhythms, or heavy ragged music, on the contrary, depresses the human psyche, worsening memory, abstract thinking, attentiveness.

You can clearly see the influence of music in these pictures:

These photographs were taken by Japanese researcher Masaru Emoto. He exposed water to various melodies and human speech, after which he froze it and photographed the resulting frozen water crystals with high magnification. As you can see on the slide, under the influence of the sounds of classical music, crystals of distilled water acquire graceful symmetrical shapes, under the influence of heavy music or negative words, emotions, frozen water forms chaotic, fragmented structures.

Considering that we are all mostly water, you can imagine what a significant influence music has on us. For this reason, the choice of those compositions that you often listen to yourself or include for children should be conscious, evaluating the impact of the music and the effect you would like to get.

Music affects a person in 3 aspects:

1. Meaningful message of lyrics and video clips
2. Music vibrations (rhythm, tonality, melody, voice timbre, etc.)
3. The personal qualities of popular performers whose lives are on display

As the third point on this slide, we highlighted the personal aspect associated with the morality of those performers who receive fame and glory. Since modern show business is built on the fact that it brings to public discussion the entire personal life of the so-called stars, imposing them on the younger generations as idols embodying "success", when evaluating modern songs, one must also take into account the lifestyle that they broadcast by their example their performers.

Everyone has probably heard about such a popular Western singer as. Let's see what ideology she promotes with her work, and by personal example.

As part of the Teach Good project, similar reviews were made on other most popular Western performers: - and everywhere the same thing. Their career develops as if according to a pattern: from relatively simple and modest girls, having entered the show business industry, they gradually turn into those whose photographs and fruits of creativity are even embarrassing to demonstrate during a lecture due to obsessive vulgarity and vulgarity.

At the same time, it is these stars who are constantly awarded the main music awards, their videos are played on TV channels and radio stations, even here in Russia their songs are regularly played. That is, the same system is built in the music industry, based on 3 main tools: award institutions, financial flows and control over the central media.

Where to find good songs?

It is almost impossible for good performers, those who sing really meaningful songs and try to direct their creativity for the benefit of people, to break through this barrier. The situation is beginning to change only today, when with the advent of the Internet, each person got the opportunity through their accounts in social networks, through blogging and creating websites to act as an independent mass media.

The emergence of the Teach Good project and many other associations of caring people is a natural process of destroying the old system built on strict control of persons admitted to the media. And it is on the Internet that you can find songs of those performers that you will not hear on TV, but whose music is really pleasant and useful to listen to.

They also tour cities, perform on stages, gather full houses, but their photos are not printed in glossy magazines, and their songs are not broadcast on popular radio stations or music TV channels. Because for the modern music industry, their work does not fit the “format” defined and imposed on a wide audience through all the same media, or rather, the means of forming and controlling public consciousness.

As an example of meaningful creativity, we bring to your attention one of the songs that was invented and recorded by the readers of the Teach Good project.