SOUND IS WHERE IT’S AT AT THE NATIONAL FLIM AND SOUND ARCHIVE!
PIRACY, SEX AND REVOLUTION - SOUND IS WHERE IT'S AT!
28 September, 2011 | Sydney
Chris Winter says sound is where it’s at! Imagine watching a TV commercial with the sound turned down – it looses all its impact. So, if it came to the crunch, Chris would choose to be blind rather than deaf!
ABC Innovation’s Chris Winter this week delivered the 4th annual Thomas Rome Lecture at the National Film and Sound Archive. Listen to the lecture at www.nfsa.gov.au
Chris has enjoyed a career that spans decades of the evolution of broadcasting in Australia, immersed in the developments of new media, digital TV, new broadcast technologies and radio.
So what did he say?
Quoting evolutionary biologist Rob Brookes, Chris said music is largely a primeval tool to gain the favour of mates. Musicians, according to Chris, have exposure to a large number of the opposite sex as well as the ability to seduce through their music.
Chris provided some interesting figures on music and the intranet – 60% of people who listen to music viewed songs on their PCs; 50% of those still aren’t paying for the download; 18% of those who listened to music on their PCs paid for the music.
The internet has revolutionised opportunities for artists, and empowered them.
Musicians can now take responsibility for their own marketing and distribution. YouTube is allowing musicians to connect with a wide audience, and Chris referred to artists Gotye and Adele who have had 7 million and 128 million views respectively of recent songs they released on YouTube.
In the Q&A session directly following his presentation, Chris said that people are very much doing their own thing in terms of consuming music. There is a fragmentation of taste due to such a diverse range of material now available – no longer does the Top 40 reign!
The NFSA’s Thomas Rome Lecture provides a platform for leading figures in the Australian sound recording industry to generate ideas, debate and discussion about the state of the sound industries, relevant public policy issues and the role of sound in society.