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Juliet McCann

Communication Research Methods

Professor Witte

October 25, 2018

Background Noise: A Textual Analysis of the Historical and Cultural Context of MP3 in the

Digital Era

Participation contrives estrangement. Communication is typically received through a

series of symbols, whether they be linguistic, visual, or auditory. They are then further encoded

and decoded to hopefully serve a purpose to the recipient. Just in the way that languages have

developed over centuries of use, the means and uses by which they are transmitted have seen a

similar evolutionary growth. Communication scholars have evaluated how the varying channels

of communication became integrated into everyday societal functions. The concept of MP3 as a

format and music sharing have forged many educated discussions, most of them criticizing how

the subjective experience of music has been tainted by the implications placed upon media users

and sharers. This literature review will discuss how scholars have theorized the loss of consumer

control and the push towards objectivity from corporate framing found within the interface of the

MP3 as an entity.

The commencement of any discussion regarding critical scholarship of the history behind

MP3 must acknowledge the roots dug up by Jonathan Sterne in his book MP3: The Meaning of a

Format. Sterne allows readers to investigate the historical, cultural, and technological context

that the MP3 emerged from. His research aids two differing yet similar fields; first is his insight

upon the field of “sound studies” that come along with his genealogical timeline as to ‘how’ the

MP3 evolved technologically from sound compression. The second focus that struck a chord
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with communication scholars is Sterne’s theoretical take on media theory, and how he argues

this relates to the actual format the medium. His methodological approach utilizes both colorful

and critical language that emphasizes his argument being not about the content of the media, but

how it is presented to its consumers.

Sterne is effective in the presentation of his arguments; they are fairly theoretical still

with both archival and contemporary academia to back himself up. He remains meticulous in

attempting not to contradict any of his interpretations by utilizing close reading techniques of the

“perceptual codes” that are used to construct MP3s; yet, his writing, particularly in his sixth

chapter, “Is Music a Thing?” seemed to take a postmodern turn as he decoded the concept of

“thingness” with regards to MP3s. Sterne begins to argue that the “thing” being the MP3

mediated by corporate policies, holds much of the power in the user relationship, disregarding

phenomenological aspects and the conscious agency that consumers chose not to use as a form of

resistance. In short, he finds that the subjective relationship between the music and the individual

listener has become politicized due to the ubiquitous power that this minuscule “thing,” or rather

its corporate mediators, have over their formation of a cultural experience.

The way in which Sterne ends his examination by bringing cultural significance to the

entity of the MP3 allows for a broader conversation regarding the actual amount of tangible

control that individuals have in their auditory media experiences. A similar critical piece that

focused on the corporate role in media subjectivity entitled Evil Media by Matthew Fuller and

Andrew Goffey expands on similar ideas seen in Sterne’s book. Evil Media reviews a more

elliptical understanding regarding the more individualized micro-mediation that the

infrastructure of corporate capitalism plays in media such as the MP3. They categorize many of

their critiques as “grey media,” which is argued to be they ways in which industries affect the
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habits of societal aspects such as government, business, and culture that are intertextually

“disguised” as media; which is ultimately heavily monitored.

The debated topic as to whether or not individuals have control over their chosen media

is further explored in Johnny Ryan’s A History of the Internet and the Digital Future, which is

something that both Sterne, Fuller, and Goffey conclude their findings with a look into the future

of this power struggle. A factor that Ryan brings up that the other texts seem to have disregarded

is the control that corporations have had starting with other auditory technologies. Whether it

was communication within the armed forces during the Cold War, or user-driven online content

that ‘appears’ to be just that, though is essentially correlated with the scholarly arguments around

the development of things like the MP3. He utilizes similar genealogical methodologies as Sterne

did in evaluating how the “intrinsic” characteristics of the internet as an entity have given it the

amount of dominance that it has in modern societies.

Alternate compositions that are slightly less critical and more empirical though still

remain a part of the colloquy of corporate control include Alec Foege’s Right of the Dial: The

Rise of Clear Channel and the Fall of Commercial Radio. Foege delves into the formation of

Clear Channel, one of the main corporations holding power over radio networks, which the MP3

has been critique to have “killed”. Clear Channel’s tangible ownership provides as a strong

contrast to the reality of the MP3’s entity, as he provides readers with what he dubs to be

“nefarious” empirical generalizations regarding the ‘evil’ side of media-user relations. His

insight as to the lack of communication that is done between general audience receivers and the

corporations whom now have the control of the media themselves aids readers in gaining a more

well-rounded understanding of the ins and outs of the relationship; though, Foege’s almost
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defensive nature in the side of Clear Channel can simultaneously demonstrate the critical

Marxist-like perspective that scholars like Sterne take on the willingness of individuals to resist

against this cultural consumption.

The argumentative outlook that these texts take is attempting to outline why something as

seemingly “not a big deal” as the MP3 format can foretell future critical issues can be further

seen in McCourt and Burkhart’s work “When Creators, Corporations and Consumers Collide:

Napster and the Development of on-Line Music Distribution.” They remind readers that due to

the fact that the “Big Five” and other media corporations did not play a role in the creation of the

MP3’s entity. For example, the authors state: “MP3s therefore threatened the music industry by

holding out the ‘possibility of a business model that links artists directly to consumers, bypassing

the record companies completely” (336). The MP3 format began with little to no corporate

financial influx; yet, the “fear,” or as these communication scholars the argue, the ‘actuality’ of

corporate control in this realm is how the progression of the loss of power can be seen.

While there are additional studies, such as Bruce Harring’s book Beyond the Charts:

MP3 and the Digital Music Revolution, that examine how the MP3 format can be viewed and

critiqued from a more interpretive side that considers the role of artists in the power struggle;

even then, the argument still finds itself carrying into the corporations that control the artists as

‘entities’. Through his use of interviews, intertextual comparisons, and a short genealogical

review of the music industry, Harring comes to a conclusion similar to that of many of the other

texts; that the royalties of the artists and the economic success is truly what the industry comes

down to. This “success” is becoming increasingly more significant in the technological and
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digital sense, due to the help of the MP3; or rather, the transition that corporations have made to

now control how subjective even the attempted “conscious” consumers are able to remain.
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Works Cited

Foege, Alec. Right of the Dial: The Rise of Clear Channel and The Fall of Commercial Radio.

Faber and Faber, 2009.

Fuller, Matthew, and Andrew Goffey. Evil Media. MIT Press, 2012.

Haring, Bruce. Beyond the Charts: MP3 and the Digital Music Revolution. JM Northern Media

LLC, 2000.

Mccourt, Tom, and Patrick J Burkhart. “When Creators, Corporations and Consumers Collide:

Napster and the Development of on-Line Music Distribution.” Media, Culture & Society,

vol. 25, no. 3, Jan. 2003, pp. 333–350., doi:10.1177/0163443703025003475.

Ryan, Johnny. A History of the Internet and The Digital Future. Reaktion, 2010.

Sterne, Jonathan. MP3: The Meaning of a Format. Access and Diversity, Crane Library,

University of British Columbia, 2013.