The Structural Functions of Stardom in the Recording Industry

AbstractStars are central to the experience of popular music, a focal point for individual and collective desire and a site for the interpretation of authorial intent. However, the social structure of stardom is also central to the industrial organization of popular music. Beginning with a discussion of approaches to stardom more generally, this paper outlines the key functions played by popular music stardom in the structure of the contemporary recording industry. It considers both the economic functions of stardom (the transferral of financial risk from the record label to the artist and the stabilization of markets) and its ideological significance (submerging the process of commodification inherent within popular music and acting as the primary means through which the popular music commodity attains its commercial value). In the final section, the paper considers the contemporary music industry and the changing power balance between record labels and stars, concluding that, if the major labels become significantly less powerful, then this will have major implications for the nature of popular music stardom per se. Notes[1] It has also mainly focused on film stars, an industry in which the link between (super)stardom and sales figures is seemingly more pronounced.[2] I say historically because the "standard recording contract" is becoming less standard in the digital age. Labels have reacted to changing circumstances by developing new types of contract, such as multi-rights contracts (the "360 deal") that enable labels to share in the profits artists derive from sources other than recordings (Karubian). However, although the standard recording contract may be becoming less prevalent, the broad principles being outlined here remain relevant.[3] Although I would not posit Twitter following as conclusive evidence of affective attachment, it is notable that the six people with most followers are all popular music stars (as of 15 May 2012).[4] Although the quote implies a certain taking for granted of the audience, this approach does not rely on a culture-industry-style understanding of fans as indiscrimate dupes who will buy whatever they are offered. As CitationMatt Hills argues, fans are both discriminating creators of meaning and excessive consumers (28).[5] Note that the right in the sound recording is different from the right in the underlying musical work. The latter is normally owned by the songwriter(s) of the work and lasts until seventy years after their death. The former is normally owned by the record label and is for a fixed period (95 years in the US and, up until the circumstances described here, 50 years in the EU).[6] Media reports also suggested that French singer Johnny Hallyday had been influential in getting the French government to pursue the extension during their EU presidency.[7] In this instance, I am treating the star as an individual agent rather than a cultural object. It is possible to conceive of the star as an object being purchased, which would imply more of a direct, though alienated, connection between star and fan.[8] The album was subsequently released on independent label XL and went to number one in both the United Kingdom and the United States.Additional informationNotes on contributorsLee MarshallLee Marshall is a senior lecturer in sociology at the University of Bristol. His research interests centre on issues concerning authorship, stardom, and intellectual property. His first book, Bootlegging: Romanticism and Copyright in the Music Industry (Sage, 2005) won the Socio-Legal Study Association's early career book prize. His second book, Bob Dylan: The Never EndingStar was published by Polity Press in 2007.