The entertainment
industry's global grip on mainstream culture shows no signs of
slowing down. From box-office blockbusters to platinum-selling
superstars, the world's most successful artists influence every
aspect of our lives in order to draw from our wallets. But as
traditional TV and radio make way for online streaming and social
media, it gets more difficult for content creators to make their mark
on vastly diversifying audiences.
The music industry
has seen a seismic shift in its business model thanks to the advent
of online streaming services like Spotify and iTunes - and a steep
decline in sales. The advent of Napster - and all streaming trend
that followed - saw total revenue from U.S. music sales and
licensing drop from $15 billion in 1998 to $6.3 billion in 2009.
Through making canny
licensing deals and having a hand in the creative output, record
labels can rely on their sister companies in film, TV and even video
games to influence the zeitgeist. This influence in turn is felt
everywhere from nightclubs to TV adverts.
By using hit songs
from world-famous artists they can make viewers' or listeners'
experience better than ever before, by pairing it with memorable
moments outside of music's natural sphere.
Music
in sport
So much of sport's
world-beating appeal is linked to making emotional connections with
fans. It's hardly surprising, then, that broadcasters and event
organisers use music to heighten the experience.
The BBC made an
unusual choice of 'Nessun Dorma', from Puccini's Turandot, to
accompany its 1990 World Cup coverage. But the striking contrast of
sporting triumph and tragedy backed by Pavarotti's stirring
performance made it a hit. No doubt helped along the way by the
patriotic pride viewers felt as England made it to the semi-final,
'Nessun Dorma' reached Number 2 in the UK charts, and both
football and opera made a cultural comeback during a dark time for
the former.
When Merseybeat
musicians Gerry and the Pacemakers scored a hit with a song from
Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel, the city of Liverpool - and
Liverpool FC fans in particular - related to the song's message
of strength in unity. And so when You'll
Never Walk Alone first played from Anfield's tannoy system in
1963, fans sang loud and proud - and the song has stuck with them
ever since.
Other teams to adopt
their own theme tunes include the legendary Harlem Globetrotters with
Sweet Georgia Brown, and the Seattle Seahawks NFL team. The Seahawks
made the slightly left-field choice of The Verve's Bittersweet
Symphony as the music played at various moments during home games -
possibly in tribute to the people-bumping antics employed by both the
team's defensive line and Verve vocalist Richard Ashcroft.
Music
in video games
Away from the pitch
and into the living room, video games have increasingly used the work
of famous artists as integral parts of the plot and gameplay. In
search of a suitably cinematic soundtrack to match their movie-like
story, Rockstar Games approached Edgar Froese, founder of the
legendary progressive rock band Tangerine Dream, to score Grand Theft
Auto V. Froese had previously overseen movie soundtracks including
Risky Business and William Friedkin's Sorceror, so his talent was a
natural fit for the retro stylings of the next entry in the GTA
juggernaut.
Not to mention the
games which have music as a central focus. The Guitar Hero series, in
which the living room becomes centre stage for players to live out
their rock god fantasies, was a huge success for publishers
Activision.
Total sales
of Guitar Hero games? $1 billion in North America in 26
months
In units and
dollars, Guitar Hero III was the number one title in 2007
Since 2005,
the series has sold 14 million units
In 10 weeks,
gamers have downloaded five million songs for Guitar Hero 3
(Data from
arstechnica.com, January 2008)
Another area in
which music is used to great effect is in the world of online slots.
With their popularity spanning generations and different tastes, one
thing that everyone shares is a desire to play the sort of games that
appeal to their interests. For music fans this can mean searching out
games which can reward successful play with a snatch of the music
that they enjoy the most. Wink Slots feature games based on everyone
from Michael Jackson to Elvis, making their slots
a huge hit with music fans.
This works well for
both sides - slots players get to hear the sounds they enjoy the
most, and record companies and publishing houses enjoy a good source
of revenue in terms of music royalties.
The
soundtrack of success
But no examination
of how the worlds of entertainment and music come together would be
complete without discussing the close links between the movie
business and the songs that can play such an important part in a
film's success. On the most obvious level there are movies like
Mamma Mia which use some of the world's best-loved songs as an
integral part of the plot. But there are those like The Bodyguard
that become known, above even the film itself, for its use or debut
of one
particular song.
Another, more
surprising, area of the film industry that relies heavily on music to
boost its profits is the world of the movie trailer. These snappy
previews of coming attractions are becoming art forms in themselves,
with a distinct look and feel that captures the viewer and secures
their seat at a future screening. Trailers use music that's often
composed specifically for the trailer, or else used as a shorthand
for the general vibe of the film. Because of the nature of the
trailer - a advertisement to try to encourage people to see the
film generally using footage that has already been shot for the movie
itself - there is a reluctance to pay big money for the music. But
there are a number of composers out there who are happy to write to
order in a particular style or genre - and even companies who exist
for the sole purpose of
soundtracking trailers.
So there's no
doubt that the links between music and entertainment are strong, and
getting stronger, and this is being further reinforced by the
creation of multimedia companies like Sony Entertainment with
divisions covering everything we've discussed here. And, with the
increasing globalisation of the modern world, it's a trend that we
can only expect to increase.
