The cost of music

What is the cost of music in the so-called Anthropocene? We approach this question by focusing on the case of sound-recording formats. We consider the cost of recorded music through two overlapping lenses: economic cost, on the one hand, and environmental cost, on the other. The article begins by discussing how the price of records has changed from the late 19th to the 21st century and across the seven most economically significant playback formats: phonograph cylinder, gramophone disc, vinyl LP, cassette tape, compact disc, digital audio files on hard drive, and streaming from the cloud. Our case study territory is the United States, and we chart the gradual decline in the price of recorded music up to the present. We then examine the environmental and human costs of music by looking at what recordings are made out of, where those materials come from, and what happens to them when they are disposed of. Despite what rhetorics of digital dematerialisation tell us, we show that the labour conditions in the digital electronics and IT industries are as inhumane as ever, while the amount of greenhouse gases released by the US recording industry could actually be higher today than at the height of any previous format. We conclude by asking the obvious (but by no means straightforward) question: what are musicians and fans to do

One is the loneliest number: “one-man bands” and doing-it-yourselves versus doing-it-alone

There has been a notable resurgence in the phenomenon of the one-man band in the past ten years, as documented by Adam Clitheroe’s film, One Man In The Band (2008), BBC Radio 4’s “One Man Band” (2013), and Dave Harris’s enthusiast compendium, Head, Hands, and Feet (2012). Music festivals exclusively featuring one-man bands have also recently been curated in London and Montreal. The reasons for such renewed interest are complex, but include concerns ranging from the aesthetic (total creative autonomy), the romantic (the image of the lone troubadour), the technological (the mass production of looping software and pedals), to the economic (no bandmates with whom to split income at a time when traditional revenue streams, especially recording sales, have dwindled). This article examines the one-man band resurgence and the themes above from an auto-ethnographic perspective, using the author’s own experience as a one man band performer as a case study

The Laryngeal-Modular Skin Retractor

Self-retaining skin retractors provide an open and wide surgical window during procedures without the need for additional manual retraction from OR staff. These devices are prevalent across a variety of surgeries, but in our area of interest, laryngectomy procedures, there are no current devices available on the market. Therefore, the extensive amount of skin and muscle tissue must be retracted manually by the surgical assistants. Laryngectomies are a very lengthy procedure. Therefore, the surgical assistants can become fatigued, increasing the probability of human error when manually retracting these tissues. The goal of our device is to provide a viable solution that will retract the skin and muscle tissues without compromising the surgical window for the physicians so that surgical assistants would be allowed to aid in other components of the procedure. Our device will reduce the amount of operating room time and lower the cost of expenses, for both the hospital and the patient

Concepts of Sustainability in Music

No abstract available

Scotland on Tour: Strategies for Promoting the Scottish Music Industry

This report is the result of an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) 'Cultural Engagement' project, conducted between February and May 2013 with the aim of identifying the strengths and gaps in provision of development support (including but not limited to financial support) provided by the state for Scottish music businesses. A primary criterion for the Cultural Engagement research was that it involved a non-academics partner. In this case, that partner was the Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA). Board members and non board members of the SMIA were interviewed as were representatives from the support agencies in Scotland. We also conducted an online survey of the SMIA members regarding their knowledge of support provision and experiences of trying to access it. The SMIA co-operated on this research by advising on interviewees and by sending the online survey out to its membership. The main recipient of this report, then, is the SMIA itself. Representative rather than exhaustive, its primary purpose is to provide the SMIA with information to assist it in developing strategies to promote Scottish music businesses domestically and abroad, and in developing its relationship with both its members and with government bodies

Investigating local policy drivers for alcohol harm prevention: a comparative case study of two local authorities in England

AbstractBackground The recent transfer of public health teams to local authorities in England offers opportunities for new policy approaches to tackling alcohol harm. The new responsible authority status of directors of public health, for example with regard to licensing applications, raises the prospect of reducing excessive alcohol consumption through local availability measures. Local authorities are also responsible for the commissioning of community-based treatment services. We used a case study approach to identify the major drivers and characteristics of local alcohol policies and services in two contrasting local authorities. Methods The many sources used were semi-structured interviews with key informants, including two in public health, two in licensing and trading standards, one in the police, and one information specialist; documentary analysis, including two alcohol strategies; two statements of licensing policy; and field observation (attending a licensing committee hearing). Focusing on alcohol harm prevention programmes and their underlying objectives, we used storyboards and constant comparative methods to describe and explain differences in the alcohol policy landscape between the two local authorities. Ethics approval was obtained from the University of Sheffield Ethics Committee. Findings Substantial differences in the stated priorities of alcohol harm prevention strategies were shown in the contrasting policy responses of the two local authorities. Concern about how best to reduce high rates of alcohol-related hospital admissions in local authority 1 led to an emphasis on health-service approaches, such as screening and brief intervention, whereas a public disorder focus in local authority 2 resulted in policies aimed at reducing availability through licensing measures. Perceived tensions were apparent for local authority 1 between maintaining a supportive environment for local businesses at a time of economic recession and introducing policy measures with a regulatory focus. Field observations highlighted the underlying importance of well-functioning working relationships between licensees and all responsible authorities, for achieving acceptable implementation plans for novel policies. Resource constraints and a lack of clear policy champions were also barriers to more preventive measures in local authority 1. Interpretation Devolved responsibility for alcohol harm prevention clearly presents the potential for local authorities to tailor policies closely to their identified population needs. The exercising of responsible authority status in reducing availability through licensing approaches is best achieved however when fully integrated into the full spectrum of alcohol harm reduction activities, from prevention through to treatment-based interventions

The Cultural Value of Live Music from the Pub to the Stadium:Getting Beyond the Numbers

This report was produced as part of the Arts and Humanities Council’s (AHRC) Cultural Value project and with the co-operation of UK Music, the Musicians’ Union and PRS for Music. It aims to contribute to a conversation that looks behind the headline numbers to examine the relationships between venues and provide a qualitative illustration of the live music ecology in three locations – Camden, Glasgow and Leeds. It also seeks to expand the concept of ‘publicly-funded culture’ to include not simply the subsidy and cultural provision traditionally associated with ‘high culture’ (classical orchestras, opera, etc.) but also provision in areas such as local authority licensing for live entertainment, infrastructure in the form of arenas and other large venues which are majority-owned by city councils, and the role of live music in strategies for urban regeneration

Police practitioner views on the challenges of analysing and responding to knife crime

Knife crime remains a major concern in England and Wales. Problem-oriented and public health approaches to tackling knife crime have been widely advocated, but little is known about how these approaches are understood and implemented by police practitioners. To address this knowledge gap, this article draws on semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 44 police personnel to consider the processes and challenges of applying problem-oriented and public health approaches to knife crime. Findings show that knife crime was seen as a complex social problem which would not be solved by ‘silver bullets’; prevention was prioritised and the limitations of enforcement were widely acknowledged; there was an emphasis on understanding and responding to vulnerability and risk; discussion of ‘holistic’ and ‘whole systems’ approaches was evident (but these concepts were rarely defined); and the problem of serious violence was viewed as a shared, multi-agency issue that the police could not tackle alone. Various challenges were also evident, most notably around analysis of the drivers and patterns of knife crime and the evaluation of knife crime interventions. The article concludes by discussing the implications of the findings for knife crime prevention and the implementation and advancement of problem-oriented and public health approaches to policing