Negotiating needletime: the Musicians' Union, the BBC and the record companies, c. 1920-1990

This article examines an important, but hitherto largely overlooked, licensing system which operated in the UK between the late 1920s and late 1980s and limited the amount of recorded music that broadcasters could use in radio progammes. Known as ‘needletime’ the system was formalized in the 1930s when the BBC reached a collective agreement with the UK’s record companies – here acting via the copyright licensing society Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) – about the amount of records that it could play. Drawing on previously unused materials, the article provides a revisionist account of the development of needletime, focusing on the actions of a third party, the Musicians’ Union (MU). As is shown, the MU was able to exercise influence on both camps and thus to have a profound impact on the development of music radio and the wider music industries in the UK. Previous accounts of needletime are critiqued and it is suggested that, while it was accused of operating ‘restrictive practices’, the MU’s role can be seen more as an attempt to ensure that the suitably remunerated employment of musicians was as widespread as possible. Needletime emerges as perhaps the key agreement thus far within the UK’s music industries’ industrial relations

Musicians as Workers: Putting the UK Musicians' Union into Context

This article reports initial findings of research into the history of the British Musicians' Union (MU), which traces its roots back to 1893. It argues that, as the only organization that has been involved in all the major agreements within the UK's music industries, the MU is uniquely placed to provide a prism through which to view the professional lives of musicians—and the industries they work in—over a period of 120 years. It is further argued that understanding musicians as particular sorts of workers can shed further light on the complex relationships within those industries.Cet article expose les premiers résultats d'une recherche sur l'histoire du Syndicat des musiciens britanniques (British Musicians Union, MU), qui existait dès 1893. Il avance que, en tant qu'unique organisme ayant été impliqué dans tous les principaux contrats au sein de l'industrie de la musique en Grande-Bretagne, le MU est idéalement placé pour servir de prisme à travers lequel examiner la vie professionnelle des musiciens—et l'industrie dans laquelle ils travaillent—sur une période de 120 ans. Il argument également le fait que concevoir les musiciens comme une catégorie particulière de travailleurs peut permettre d'apporter un meilleur éclairage sur les relations complexes qui se nouent dans cette industrie

Music, Digitalization, and Democracy

Peer reviewe

Songs to learn and sing: Laulamisen merkitys Liverpool FC:n jalkapallo-otteluissa

Artikkeli tarkastelee lauluja ja laulamista jalkapallo-otteluissa ja niiden ympärillä pohjautuen kirjoittajan yli 50-vuotiseen kokemukseen Liverpool FC -jalkapallojoukkueen (LFC) otteluiden seuraajana. Ilmiö paikantuu artikkelissa osaksi laajempia keskusteluja laulun ja musiikin käytöstä jalkapallo-otteluissa.Artikkeli tarkastelee modernin median kehityksen suhdetta jalkapalloon kolmella alueella, jotka ovat television merkitys modernilla aikakaudella, laulujen saatavuus internetissä ja äänentoistojärjestelmien käyttö kannattajajoukkojen ohjailemiseen otteluissa. Artikkeli tarjoaa näkökulmia yhteen jalkapallofanikulttuurin tärkeimmistä – joskin usein sivuutetuista – ulottuvuuksista. Näitä näkökulmia etsitään tarkastelemalla Liverpool FC -joukkuetta suhteessa kaupunkiin, jalkapalloon ja mediaan, faniuteen ja jalkapallo-otteluissa laulamiseen sekä pohtimalla Liverpool-laulujen erityispiirteitä. Johtopäätöksenä on, että jalkapallofaniuden todellinen ydin on nimenomaan lauluissa ja laulamisessa.Avainsanat: laulaminen jalkapallo-ottelussa, Liverpool FC, populaarimusiikki, jalkapallofanius, Spion Ko

Songs to learn and sing: Understanding the use of singing at Liverpool FC football matches

Based on over 50 years of the author watching Liverpool FC (LFC) football matches, this article examines the use of songs in and around such matches, locating it within wider debates about the use of song at football matches.The development of modern media’s relationship to football will be considered in three main areas – the importance of television in the modern age, the availability of songs on the internet and the use of the sound systems to control fan behaviour at matches. The article aims to provide some insights in to one of the most important – but often neglected – aspects of football fandom. It does so by examining the place of Liverpool Football Club (LFC) within the city, football and the media, fandom, singing at football matches and the particular nature of LFC songs. The article concludes by suggesting that it is in the singing of songs that true football fandom is found.Keywords: singing at football matches, Liverpool FC, popular music, football fandom, Spion Ko

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