Movement Of The Music Industry Essay

Over the last decade the music industry has emerged reconfigured from a state of crisis in which record sales have plummeted while revenue from live music performance have increased. From this so called ‘Mp3 Crisis’, the live music industry has emerged resilient to the challenges faced by the recording industry vis-a-vis online distribution and music piracy. While recording studios around the world are shuttering, the live music industry is booming. Tours are grossing unprecedented revenues; ticket prices are higher with concerts selling out faster; and artists are now deriving their livelihood through live performance more so than record sales. The shift towards live music complicates the geography of the music industry. Unlike record distribution,

The process of movement is operationalized in numerous concepts including: migration, mobility, displacement, globalization, etc. These frameworks describe movements as having a clear vector; the object of study moves directionally from one place to another. In these frameworks, the focus is on the relationships that determine these vectors. Touring however, uses movement as an embedded part of the production system. I suggest that this industrially embedded form of movement is better described as motion. In my study of touring, I want to study the motion of tours not just the movement of music as a commodity to its termini. While tours move with clear direction, the various places on its path are less significant than how the production moves through the space between places. Numerous industries are organized and reliant on production systems in constant motion. Industries such as circuses, trade shows, tourism, shipping, and emergency aid delivery are not simply migratory, nor are they moving with a clear start and destination: these are industries constituted through motion. In these industries, the supply chain, division labour, and logistical coordination are uniquely organized to tackle problems derived through continuous motion. Motion, then is a novel concept that bridges the gap between numerous

While there is ample geographic research on the movement of physical commodities and labour migration, there has yet to be adequate discussion on movement as work. Touring sets work in motion. Unlike recorded music distribution, touring involves the movement of people. Numerous other industries involve movement as work, or work in motion including: circuses, trade shows, transportation, and tourism industries. Research into music tours can provide insight into how this industry is able to logistically coordinate mobile labour for just in time local production and to better understand the individual and social experience of work in