Link to The Guardian

The Guardian - Media

This a really useful link and gives really up-to-date reports and articles about current music industry and media issues and debates.

YOU MUST LOOK AT THIS

Getting Music to the Audience - Facebook

 

 

Date	5/12
Raised	$16B
Post IPO Valuation	$2.74B

General Information

Website	facebook.com
Blog	blog.facebook.com
Twitter	@facebook
Category	Consumer Web
Employees	1,000
Founded	2/04
Description	Social network

Offices

Headquarters

Menlo Park, CA
USA

Europe HQ

Dublin, IRL

New York

340 Madison Ave
New York, NY, 10017
USA

People   

Mark Zuckerberg

Founder and CEO, Board Of Directors

Sheryl Sandberg

COO

David Ebersman

CFO

Facebook is the world’s largest social network, with over 1 billion monthly active users.
Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg in February 2004, initially as an exclusive network for Harvard students. It was a huge hit: in 2 weeks, half of the schools in the Boston area began demanding a Facebook network. Zuckerberg immediately recruited his friends Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes, and Eduardo Saverin to help build Facebook, and within four months, Facebook added 30 more college networks.

Facebook’s growth has been staggering. Facebook announced astonishing numbers in February 2012 upon filing for its IPO. Over 845 million users log into Facebook every month, and 483 million users log in daily. Mobile users now make up half of Facebook’s user base, with 425 million monthly actives. Facebook also announced that by the end of 2011 there had been 100 billion friend connections, and in recent months users had been registering 2.7 billion Likes and Comments per day. Facebook is one of the most trafficked sites in the US, and its international growth has been impressive. Additionally, Facebook is the top photo sharing site with 250 million photos uploaded per day.

Facebook users’ passion—or addiction—to the site is unparalleled: more than half use the product every single day and users spend an average of 19 minutes a day on Facebook. The site’s popularity has garnered it pop culture fame, so much so that in 2010 a feature film entitled The Social Network was released which chronicled Facebook’s inception.
In its 2012 IPO filing, Facebook announced that it intends to grow in the near future by expanding its global user base, increasing engagement by developing new social tools, improving the mobile experience, and creating more value for advertisers and users.


Read more: http://www.crunchbase.com/company/facebook#ixzz2RCiAEMYj
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Music Industry - KEY CONCEPTS AND EXAMPLES

AUDIENCE	BRITNEY SPEARS	ARCTIC MONKEYS	50 CENT
TARGET AUDIENCE	Initially a young female audience of ‘teenyboppers’. Audience has matured with her and she has attracted a more male audience through provocative videos and magazine shoots. Gay following.	15-25 ‘music buff’ demographic. Reformer/Aspirer according to Rubicam & Youngs. The Pre-Kings of Leon audience.	Mainly male audience, who perhaps seek a similar success who are from similar backgrounds People who seek adrenaline from his triumph Possibly female who find him attractive Hype Music – used in gyms for physical activity motivation. People that aspire to be like 50 cent, usually from a deprived area who want the money, cars, sex, fame and party lifestyle of Curtis Jackson.
POSITIONING OF AUDIENCE	Immense press coverage. The audience becomes passive by consuming mass media photos and information about her.	Women may find them attractive, men will want to be their friends. Songs are about the reality of relationships. The audience are ACTIVE in helping the Arctic monkeys to achieve success. The band themselves keep a low profile and rely on the audience.	Women may find 50 Cent attractive and men may find him inspirational and want to be like him. Little press courage – especially in the UK. Songs are about his previous life experiences or opinions 50 Cent likes to be in the media promoting himself or his G Unit members through TV advertisements and interviews.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AUDIENCE AND TEXT	Britney communicates with her fans through her website, facebook and Twitter. She writes in a colloquial style which connects her with her fans and makes them feel closer to her. She wants to be a role model to young people. Fans feel as if they can communicate with her online although it is very difficult to actually meet her.	Interview style is informal (e.g. NME interview). They are on the same level as their fans.	50 Cent communicates to his fans through the use of his website, This is 50 and through his Twitter account. He likes to tell his fans what he is doing and where he is doing in the world at the moment like tours etc. But fans cannot really communicate with him back.
AUDIENCE RESPONSE	‘Loyal and Forgiving fans’ (Sunday Times article). Positive reaction to Circus Tour in 2009 after troublesome few years. 13 million viewers watched her UK comeback on the Xfactor in 2008 - she was criticised for miming. Her fans expect a spectacle at concerts, and may not care that she mimes. Concert revenue is extremely important in the music industry now. ‘Crossroads’ 2002 (dir. Tamra Davis) got negative reviews in the US as it was predictable and not suitable for Britney’s younger fans. It ranked at no.9 on the box office charts in its first week of release but then quickly dropped out of the top 10.	Known for audience participation in concerts	Huge fan base which is illustrated through the charting success of his singles and albums. Got new fan base through use of mix tapes on YouTube and publicity through his  “beef” with other big rappers such as Jay Z