Synthèse

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Document 1 - Individually tailored streaming means we are now all living in our own bubble of sound

- Old ways of listening to music and words are being replaced by apps and streaming services. - This revolution brought about by technology and changing business models has altered the royalty system and put many musicians at a financial disadvantage. - Now you get the music you want. The kind that fits your music profile on platforms. - Traditional providers regret the loss of serendipity. Listeners now no longer have to put up with long radio programmes, but miss out on the songs they might have liked. - Atomisation is also changing our behaviour. We use headphones for a more intimate listening experience. - Music is no longer an experience you want to share with others. The others might not like your musical tastes. - Listening devices, playing music tailored for personal profiles, turn people into individuals cut off from the world.
Audio streaming turns music listeners into prisoners of their own bubble of sound.

Document 2 - How Spotify has changed the way we listen to music

How? By analysing user data thanks to machine learning technology to create playlists where listeners can discover new music that fits their tastes.
The pros : -Independent artists benefit from this curiosity through new live performance opportunities, increased ticket sales and the use of Spotify as a platform to promote their merchandise. - Artists can remain more independent. - Spotify strengthens the link between them and the public. - The financial stability of the music market, once threatened by piracy, is now on the mend. - With Spotify, listeners can get cheap access to millions of songs.
The cons: - The digital streaming services are criticised for a royalties system that greatly disadvantages artists that are not big names in the industry. Successful artists claim that Spotify undervalues creativity. - To get more money, independent artists are under a lot of pressure to remain visible and productive. - To increase the odds of being on a Spotify playlist and getting more streams, artists change the way they make their music (shorter intros, longer albums, and different versions of songs to fit different playlists) For all its successes, Spotify needs now to engage in discussions with artists to promote their creativity and careers to everyone's benefit.

Document 3 - Why streaming is a good thing for the music industry

Why ? - People listen to more music than ever before. 30M+ songs available on Spotify - Independent or less- known artists can be heard and discovered because putting their music on platforms is cheap and easy. - Artists no longer rely on a label to distribute their physical products. In the age of internet, they can start getting streams and making money by putting their music directly on a digital platform. - Music piracy no longer plagues the music industry.Streaming music eliminates the need to pirate music, thus increasing financial gain for the music market.
The downsides : - The way the money flows from the music streaming services to the artists is unfair for lesser- known artists. - Superstars have been very vocal in criticising the way royalties are distributed by Spotify. - Things have changed since the 1990s, the heyday of the music industry, because people spend less money on music. $10 a month gets you almost limitless access to all the music in the world. This impacts royalty revenues.
Are streaming services to be praised rather than criticised?

Document 4 - Music Industry: A closer look at streaming services

Facts and figures about streaming services - The way music is consumed has changed. - Digital music accounted for nearly half of the music industry revenues worldwide in 2015. - Particularly true for the USA. - Spotify, launched in 2008, is the 2nd largest music streaming service. - Its market statement indicates more than 30M songs available in its database. - Top artists have withdrawn from the platform. The transformation of the music industry is backed up by figures.

Propositions de synthèse

Synthèse 1

Le titre doit prendre en compte l'ensemble des documents et être informatif (indiquer le thème principal commun à tous les documents), précis et aussi concis que possible.

Streaming and the music industry

Exemples de bons titres: Streaming : a New Era for The Music World/Solving the Spotify Paradox
Titres mal orientés : Streaming: the new music as a whole
Titres trop vagues : The ups and downs of the digitalization of music/The evolution throughout the years of the music's universe/The impacts of streaming
Titres acceptables : Audio streaming: between danger and savior for the musical industry/The streaming revolution in music
Titres réducteurs : Spotify Streaming King
Titres inappropriés :Streaming platforms a dream for customers, a nightmare for artists

L'introduction doit présenter brièvement le corpus en indiquant uniquement, pour chaque document, la source et la date (on pourra par la suite, pour s'y référer, ne mentionner que Doc.1, Doc.2, etc.), introduire le thème, ainsi que la problématique (le ou les questionnements pouvant émerger du thème commun) et les axes de réflexion permettant de traiter ces questionnements.

Streaming has revolutionized the way music is delivered, consumed and composed. Its current role is scrutinized in four documents ; a 2016 series of graphs from Infographic.lyc, https://telegraph.co.uk which provide data about digital platform leadership worldwide ; the weak points and advantages of streaming, listed in the 2019 in-depth article from www.audioxide.com ; the 2019 paper from University of the Pacific, which continues to advocate its use ; and the 2019 newspaper article from Irish Times which raises concern over streaming systems, questioning the way they promote an egocentric approach to music. All four documents acknowledge the hegemony of streaming models, wondering to what extent audio streaming changes, improves or undermines the music experience.

Exemples de problématiques acceptables : "To what extent has digital streaming impacted the
music industry"/"What revolution has streaming brought to music fans, artists and ultimately the whole music industry?"
Exemples de problématiques mal cernées : "To what extent is this new way of listening beneficial?
Exemples de problématiques dénuées de sens / inappropriées : "These documents documents raise the question of sustainable industry"/"Did the shift to digital bring equity regarding the music industry?"
Exemple de problématique réductrice : "How can streaming be improved to be beneficial to everyone?

Le développement comporte plusieurs parties correspondant aux axes de réflexion répondant à la problématique dégagée. Les éléments clés relevés doivent être présentés non pas sous forme de résumé chronologique (c'est-à-dire comme les résumés consécutifs des divers documents) mais confrontés et croisés suivant la problématique retenue qui doit être la seule ligne directrice. Ces éléments doivent donc être réorganisés de façon cohérente et hiérarchisée. Ils doivent être reformulés : les phrases copiées et les citations trop nombreuses doivent être évitées. Pour tout élément restitué, la référence à sa source dans le corpus doit être clairement précisée (en utilisant des termes tels que Doc 1, 2, 3 etc. ou en citant soit la source soit l'auteur s'il est clairement indiqué dans l'introduction)

With Spotify, YouTube or Pandora (doc 4), people interact differently with music as they now choose exactly what they want (doc 1). Algorithmic recommendations are accelerating the shift towards personalised audio content (doc 2). Platforms are turning music listening into a private activity, as the growing use of headphones exemplifies (doc 1). With streaming, music production is tilting towards shorter songs and longer albums (doc 2).

Streaming offers many advantages, providing users with a wider, richer range of music at a minimum cost of $10 a month (docs 2, 3, 4). Independent music gains greater visibility, and fan engagement gets stronger (docs 2, 3). Platforms represent a unique opportunity for artists, especially emerging ones, to promote live concerts (doc 2) and distribute their music more easily and equitably (docs 2, 3). For the music industry, streaming proves a lucrative business, with highly profitable ticket sales- $40 million in 2017- (doc 2) and Spotify worth £10 billion (doc 4). Audio streaming also helps combat piracy (docs 2, 3).

Yet the user-centric model that audio streaming creates, simultaneously fosters isolation and narcissism, failing to create a sense of community (doc 1). Certain independent musicians platforms for exacerbating rivalry and stress in the race for on-line success (doc 2). Stars like Radiohead - who left Spotify (doc 4) - denounce the digital model, considering its royalty system as unjust. Many regret that streaming services have been unsuccessful in restoring the music industry's former prosperity (docs 1, 2, 3).

Algorithms could even suppress musical variety, as individually-tailored music limits off-the beaten-track musical experiences (doc 1), while artists restrict their creativity by composing songs mainly optimized for the digital age (doc 2). It is likewise significant that mainstream musicians like Drake (doc 4), still dominate the on-line market (docs 2, 4).

Sera gratifiée toute conclusion bilan pertinente réunissant les divers axes de réflexion développés dans le corps de la synthèse. La conclusion ne doit comporter ni opinion personnelle ni ajout d'information

One solution to keep audio streaming a rewarding experience is to give musicians a say and initiate dialogue between artists and platforms.
(417 words)

Synthèse 2

The music industry is undergoing a revolution. What are the stakes?

The idea that the music industry is changing is at the heart of the four documents. While doc 1 (Irish Times, 2019) documents the transformation of the music industry and the impact streaming services have on our behaviour, doc 2 (audioxide.com, 2019) wonders if streaming platforms really benefit artists and listeners. On the contrary, doc 3 (Backstage Pass, 2019) argues that streaming is indeed beneficial for the music industry at large. By way of charts and pies, doc 4 (Infographic.ly, https://Telegraph.co.uk, 2016) provides a detailed insight into streaming services from an economic perspective. So who stands to gain or to lose as this revolution unfolds?

Since their introduction (Spotify started in 2008, doc 4) streaming services have grown to become the main platforms for music listening, particularly in the USA (doc 4). But this transformation of listening habits has sparked controversy. Docs 1 and 2 shed light on the way technologies used by streaming platforms enable listeners to discover new artists and choose the music most suited to their tastes. People also listen to more artists and more music (doc 3) and for a low fee, have access to almost limitless music on Spotify, which boasts 30 million songs in its database (doc 4). Independent artists benefit from a stronger link with their public as it is cheap and easy to put their music on platforms (doc 3). Furthermore, thanks to streaming, the financial stability of the music market, once threatened by piracy, is now on the mend (docs 2 and 3).

Yet for all their success, detractors of these services denounce their negative consequences on the revenues and creativity of artists and their impact on society. Although the main part of the industry's revenue comes from streaming (doc 3), the royalties system places most artists at a great disadvantage (doc 2). A case in point is documented in doc 2 which illustrates the way the money flows from streaming services, leaving most artists next to nothing. Doc 4 shows the growth of digital media and doc 1 laments the consequences of the phenomenon on a society full of individuals isolated and focused on themselves. Music listeners (docs 1 and 2) also stand to lose as artists change the very structure of their songs so as to have a chance of being discovered on Spotify. Famous artists (docs 3 and 4) have been vocal in denouncing the way Spotify undervalues artists and undermines their creativity, and some have withdrawn from the platform.

A revolution in the music world is underway, but some obstacles have to be overcome so that everyone gets what they deserve.
(426 word)