Academic Paper Sessions
Friday 3:15-4:15
Presentation of Academic Papers 6 (Terrace C)
Kim L. Wanger, Moderator
Presentation of Academic Papers 6 (Terrace C)
Kim L. Wanger, Moderator
Entertainment Management Students: Why They
Share Files and How They Process Their Behavior
Patrick Preston
Associate Professor of Entertainment Management
Bay State College
Abstract
Patrick Preston
Associate Professor of Entertainment Management
Bay State College
Abstract
In its 2012 Digital Music Report, released in
January, the IFPI
(International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) reported that
globally 28% of Internet users, using a variety of sites including P2P,
blogs, and on-line forums, “accessed unauthorized services on a monthly
basis” (16) in order to share or download digital music files
illegally. This percentage, over one in four Internet users, is
considerable and represents a continuing challenge to the recorded
music content providers; however, the growth in both legal
subscription-based services and paid digital downloading, as well as
the recent US Department of Justice shutdown of Megaupload.com,
demonstrates that consumers have increasingly responded to the
opportunity to legally download and that governments can and do limit
unauthorized file sharing. On the whole, while illegal file sharing
continues, the recorded music industry can rightly claim some victories
in this new digital world order.
The question of who actually shares files illegally has remained largely unanswered with any degree of certainty. Various reports and surveys have tried to identify profiles or user behaviors (e.g., The Pew Internet & American Life Project; Rainie, Fox and Lenhart 2000; Madden 2004; Madden and Lenhart 2003; Madden and Rainie 2005); in the end, though, we can only say with certainty that file sharing is omnipresent: both older and younger people share files, as do even those industry stakeholders, such as musicians, who ostensibly would have a stronger interest in respecting intellectual property rights.
One population of file-sharing users that remains unexamined, however, is college students preparing to be future entertainment management professionals, especially those focused on the music industry. The goal in focusing on these students is to explore how this population engages in, views, rationalizes, and defends its own industry-adverse file-sharing behaviors. Using data collected over a three-year period, covering 2009-2011 from one school’s program, surveying students at all stages of their college careers, this paper will examine several related questions: What do these entertainment management students think about the threat level the music industry faces from illegal file sharing? Who do they think should be held responsible for illegal file sharing? How do they view their own behavior, including both its ethical and legal implications? How do they perceive the effects of their file sharing behavior on musical artists?
This two-part study will employ both quantitative and qualitative analytical approaches to provide a richer understanding and thick description of the beliefs, attitudes, and values surrounding music file-sharing that characterize this population of future entertainment management professionals. The first part of this study, to be presented at the MEIEA LA 2012 Summit, will offer the quantitative results with the expectation that feedback from the conference will inform and shape the second part of the study, the qualitative research.
The question of who actually shares files illegally has remained largely unanswered with any degree of certainty. Various reports and surveys have tried to identify profiles or user behaviors (e.g., The Pew Internet & American Life Project; Rainie, Fox and Lenhart 2000; Madden 2004; Madden and Lenhart 2003; Madden and Rainie 2005); in the end, though, we can only say with certainty that file sharing is omnipresent: both older and younger people share files, as do even those industry stakeholders, such as musicians, who ostensibly would have a stronger interest in respecting intellectual property rights.
One population of file-sharing users that remains unexamined, however, is college students preparing to be future entertainment management professionals, especially those focused on the music industry. The goal in focusing on these students is to explore how this population engages in, views, rationalizes, and defends its own industry-adverse file-sharing behaviors. Using data collected over a three-year period, covering 2009-2011 from one school’s program, surveying students at all stages of their college careers, this paper will examine several related questions: What do these entertainment management students think about the threat level the music industry faces from illegal file sharing? Who do they think should be held responsible for illegal file sharing? How do they view their own behavior, including both its ethical and legal implications? How do they perceive the effects of their file sharing behavior on musical artists?
This two-part study will employ both quantitative and qualitative analytical approaches to provide a richer understanding and thick description of the beliefs, attitudes, and values surrounding music file-sharing that characterize this population of future entertainment management professionals. The first part of this study, to be presented at the MEIEA LA 2012 Summit, will offer the quantitative results with the expectation that feedback from the conference will inform and shape the second part of the study, the qualitative research.
Patrick Preston, L.P.D., is an
Associate Professor and the Department Chair for Entertainment
Management at Bay State College in Boston since 2005. Dr. Preston
received his B.A. in Theater Arts from the University of
Massachusetts/Boston and both his M.A. in Public History and his
Doctorate in Law & Policy from Northeastern University. In 2009,
Dr. Preston joined colleagues from the L.P.D. program and formed the
IALAP (International Association for Law and Policy) where Dr. Preston
served as an interim board member. His current fields of
interests include the production, financing and distribution of film
and television. Prior to his coming to Bay State College, Dr. Preston
was both an actor and playwright in the Boston/New England markets, and
undertook additional coursework in screenwriting at the UCLA Writers
Program and Improv training with the Groundlings.
Digital Audio Workstations’ Growth in
Education
Devin Marsh
Program Director, Media Writing and Production
University of Miami
Abstract
Devin Marsh
Program Director, Media Writing and Production
University of Miami
Abstract
The number of wireless devices in the United
States is now greater than
its population. The pervasive use of computers in almost all aspects of
our lives is undeniable. So why not include computer based recording
and composition skills within core music curricula? Digital Audio
Workstation’s growth in education offers students the benefit of
recording private lessons, practice sessions, and rehearsals for later
reference. An easily manipulated accompanist is now as close as a power
button. The same device can also include an equally accessible portable
composition tool. In the past, cost effectiveness has always been one
of the biggest obstacles. A laptop in a backpack now has enough power
to be a basic recording and composition studio. These advancements will
enhance any musician’s ability to create wherever they may be. This
paper will discuss how to make these tools a part of every music
student’s repertoire. How do institutions of higher education implement
these concepts for all music students? What are the obstacles and
solutions necessary to make these concepts a reality?
ModeratorDr. Devin Marsh is an
accomplished performer, writer, arranger, producer and instrumentalist.
He has toured internationally with his band Nori Nori supporting his
three self-produced CDs. He has composed, recorded, and produced for
various films, commercials, ballets, dance groups and other artists,
all while managing his recording facility, The Chill Lodge. On a Gary
Burton Scholarship, Marsh studied at the prestigious Berklee College of
Music in Boston. He continued his studies at the University of Miami
where he received his Bachelors in Music Education, a Masters in
Commercial Music, and a Doctorate in Theory and Composition. He serves
as program director for the Media, Writing and Production department at
the University of Miami. Additionally, he is the Director of Sound and
Recording at the distinguished Robert Morgan Educational Center where
he also teaches television production.
Kim L. Wanger, MM,
MBA, joined the faculty of Appalachian State University in 2005 as
Director of the Music Industries Program. Ms. Wangler teaches
management, marketing, and music entrepreneurship as well as serving as
the faculty consultant for Split Rail Records—the university’s
student-run record label. She has served in the industry as President
of the board of directors for the Orchestra of Northern New York, House
Manager for the Community Performance Series, and as CEO of Bel Canto
Reeds—a successful online venture. Ms. Wangler is published through the
MEIEA Journal, the NACWPI Journal (National Association of College Wind
and Percussion Instructors), Hal Leonard, and Sage Publishing.
© 2012 MEIEA Nashville TN