Introduction
It is foolish to deny that the music business is booming nowadays. It has continued to evolve and uncover new methods of delivering and satisfying consumers for nearly a century. Long ago, the ability to listen to music was limited geographically, economically, culturally, and technologically; it is available almost for every individual currently (Bruenger 8). It can be safely said that this industry is the most successful one compared to other entertainment. It is not surprising that music as a form of entrepreneurship has attracted the attention of various academics, scientists, and experts. David Bruenger is one of them and has written a book, “Create, Produce, Consume: New Models for Understanding Music Business,” which explores and explains the phenomenon of the music industry through the lens of culture, society, and even technology. This work contains many unique and extraordinary insights related to the discussed segment of contemporary art and society.
Music and Technical Accessibility
The quality and importance of consumer access to music products are one of the most exciting topics that Bruenger presents in his book. He notes that the availability of a single track or an album of an artist is related to value creation causally (Bruenger 8). The more technologically advanced access to music products is, and the better, more thoughtful, and far-sighted the producer’s control over it is, the more items they will be able to monetize and profit from. Understanding by musicians and producers of modern software innovations, hardware capabilities, and the ability to predict consumer behaviors determines financial success in the modern music industry, not the quality of musical works. Moreover, it explains why some tracks and albums are released on specific online platforms exclusively or temporarily exclusively. Platform rules, their multi-sidedness, and technical potential have become new means of competition for music organizations.
Music and the Theory of the Society of the Spectacle
One will find Bruenger’s philosophical perspective on current processes in the music industry near the end of the book. Bruenger claims that “historically, music has always been threaded through virtually every form of spectacle” (326). Here, the author looks at the subject of his book through the prism of the philosophical and critical theory of the society of the spectacle. Guy Debord, a French thinker and communist, first developed this concept. According to him, all social processes, trends, their nature, and changes are defined by and depend on individuals’ appearances and everything that comes from these, not their actions or words (Russell). The writer applies it to explain why the looks of each new generation of musicians become more bright, provocative, and controversial and their concerts and music videos get more spectacular and visually striking. Bruenger concludes that it attracts attention and, therefore, profits (327). Moreover, the visual show today is not only a tool for competition between celebrities and companies but also a channel for conveying a message.
Conceptual Extinction of Producers
Analyzing the transformation of a music producer into a tour manager is another high-quality knowledge that the writer gives to his readers. In the past, these persons were co-authors or even conductors for artists. Nowadays, the producers are mainly responsible for the stage’s logistics, equipment, technical and safety aspects (Bruenger 34). With digital platforms and music creation software, artists can deliver their products without a mediator, so these people have slightly changed their position to stay relevant. As a result, the focus of music listeners shifted to celebrities, and companies began to promote celebrity publicity more strongly. Producers’ lesser interference and digitalized scene and products have increased the power of artists, celebrities and their independence from companies.
Conclusion
The multifacetedness and number of topics analyzed in Bruenger’s book are amazing. The author used a variety of theories and concepts for a comprehensive study of all 12 segments of the modern music industry. His perspective on technological access to music products, the industry as a philosophical spectacle, and the function of producers are among the best presented and explained. Reading this work would be fascinating for anyone considering music an essential component of their entertainment and life.
Works Cited
Bruenger, David. “Create, Produce, Consume: New Models for Understanding Music Business.” University of California Press, 2019.
Russell, Eric-John. “Nothing is Any Longer the Opposite of Anything: Guy Debord’s The Society of the Spectacle Today.” Verso Books.