Discuss the issues raised by the increasing globalisation of media institutions and their ability to target national audiences?

An issue raised in regards to the media institutions and globalisation is that there are policies set in place to stop other countries dominating the media market of a country an example would be austria where upto 49% of shares can be owned by foreign companies, this restriction in place filters what material is available in different countries and how much of it can be broadcasted.

Globalisation of media institution however on a positive note means that more media material is available to the wider audience, this idea has been greatly impacted by the increasing development of technology which makes information more readly available to a mass audience through the use of internet which is apart of the online revolution. This has also had an impact on advertisment of media contexts, some websites have the facility to change the language of the website which makes communicating information more efficent.

In some places major multinational corporations own media stations and outlets. Often, many media institutions survive on advertising fees, which can lead to the media outlet being influenced by various corporate interests, so being a globalised media institution, this means advertisment of companies from a foreign country could attract attention of people in the country affecting the economy of businesses established in the country, by increasing demand for foreign companies. This is not such a positive factor for organisations finding it difficult to thrive in the existing market.

More info:http://www.globalissues.org/article/159/media-conglomerates-mergers-concentration-of-ownership

The online revolution has proved as damaging to independent labels as to multinational companies. How far do you agree?

There are different ways to look at this subject, and many different answers can be put as it depends on the audience's opinions however in my case i feel there is a lot of information present which illustrates that the online revolution is proving damaging to the Major labels rather than the independent labels, there are factors to be addressed:

Firstly the most important thing is remembering the purpose of music and the role it plays in our life, many people believe it affects their mood and how they feel, others say it connects them with the outside world. Some use music to put forward views hoping someone picks up the message.

Right the music industry is predominantly run by the major labels this includes Universal, these labels have a lot of market share so have the power to choose contracts to give to artists and usual or up an till recently did the producing, publishing, marketing and distributing of music. Recently the advancement of technology has had an impact on this as the Internet has now has opened opportunities for Independent firms such as Domino to start-up businesses in a market which before seemed impossible to enter because of the vast market share or the major labels. This means the demand for major labels have decreased because these independent firms are offering greater percentage of sales revenue.

Another important factor is that the revolution means the format of which tracks have changed from CD to MP3, is beneficial for new independent firms as they can sell electronic forms of the music to customers, which lowers there start up cost as they don't have to stock hold and employee people to do so whilst existing Major firms still distributing CD will have to cope with.

The INTERNET has linked millions of people to a network allowing for making advertisement more efficient for independent firms unlike before, allowing new upcoming artists to be promoted much more efficiently at considerably lower cost using sites such as Myspace or Facebook. This is extremely damaging for Major labels as they are no longer required to forward artist as they themselves can do so.

On a negative note for both types of firms is that the Internet revolution has brought up a method of sharing music without a lience this is called piracy, this affects both labels but has a greater impact on the major labels as they produce hardware at a much greater rate so if piracy is occurring they loose out on customers which may have bought a CD.

Overall i believe that the online revolution has been more damaging to the multinational organisations as it has allowed artist to find their own feet and start up with very little cost, and high profit levels, whilst increasing piracy also of which contributes to a loss, but like the major lable, piracy also has an impact on the independent labels.

Research on Universal Music Group (UMG)

What is it: 'Universal Music Group (UMG) is the world’s leading music company and is comprised of two core businesses: recorded music and music publishing.'

Who owns the company:

Where is it based:UMG has offices in 72 countries. UMG’s corporate headquarters are located at 2220 Colorado Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90404 and 1755 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

What organisations it is linked to:

'Universal Music Publishing Group, is the world's leading publishing business' it has rights to musical compositions and licenses them for use in recordings and uses them for other purposes such as films and advertisements.With 51 offices in 43 territories, Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is the industry's largest global music publishing operation.

'Bravado, its merchandising company' Tom bennet CEO of bravado oversee the development, marketing and manufacturing of licensed products through all channels of merchandise distribution in 77 countries. The company maintains offices in London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Stockholm, and partners with companies in Germany, France, Japan, Australia and South America.

VEVO is the leading innovative online premium music and entertainment service for consumers, advertisers and content owners that blends the very best in musical content with cutting-edge video technology and a thriving user community powered by YouTube.

Universal Music Store is a business linked to ebay, selling latest rarities, memorabilia and music.

Vivendi entertainment: Theatrical and home entertainment distribution division


Facts and figures of the business (record sales, percentage of world market): UMG represents 98% of the music market.

Five known record labels bought by Universal:
(identify style of music, geographical location, type of artist)

Island Def Jam Music Group is a well known record label owned by UMG, this consist of rnb/hip hop related artists such as The-dream, Justin bieber and Neyo. This is based in

DreamWorks Records is owned by UMG in 2003

Domino Records: a British independent record label

1. What differences do you notice between Domino and Universal in terms of artists and genres?

· Domino has become a label which is home for the most idiosyncratic of artists,
· UMG has artists covering the full spectrum of music around the world

2. a) How would you describe Domino’s target audience(s)?

The target audience is predominantly aimed at people from the ages 15-35 and it gains this audience, by providing more materialised music, than focusing on a materialised industry

b) How does the label address and appeal to its audience?

The music offered is unique and modern aimed at people who prefer more materialised music rather than main stream. The lable address audience using technology such as social networks and online advertisment.

3. a) Have you heard of any artists on their roster? Which ones?

Artic monkeys,

b) Why do you think a high profile artist might sign to Domino?