In order to encourage other acts to work with CD-Roms, and to demystify the format in general, Ellard both included information about CD-Rom production on the disk and wrote an account of the production of Metapus, entitled 'Authoring for CD-ROM', in the magazine Australian Digital. Despite Ellard's detailed account, his long-term interest in the form and his commitment to independent production; his article assumes that the raw material for music CD-Roms will be essentially that used by Steve Nelson on his original 1993 Gabriel demo - that is (previously produced) music videos; pages of informational text (ie expanded liner notes) and still images (cover designs, video stills and/or promotional photos). In this manner, the music CD-Rom is presented as essentially a package of standard material, rather than a form-in-itself. Reflecting this, his written account of the production process ends with the modest contention that "no matter where you are placed in the music industry, this new format will breath that extra bit of life into your productions" (Ellard: 48); rather than any more radical or optimistic claims for the potential of the form.
Despite the warm reaction to the 'Creative Nation' policy statement from many non-industry bodies 23, Ellard has also been sceptical about the outcome of the Multimedia funding initiatives for cultural producers such as himself, arguing that "anyone who has ever held a paintbrush will now apply for funding to develop a product - it will go from being esoteric to being the next hula hoop" 24. His self production of Metapus does however illustrate the potential for (computer literate) musicians to produce their own CD-Roms (in what might perhaps be seen as a new, high-tech form of the punk DIY aesthetic). In this regard, Icehouse's work on their Big Wheel interactive 'digipack' single (described in section III above) - and its limited-edition predecessor Satellite (sent to fifty journalists as a promotional release) - is also significant. Both were produced by the band's keyboard player, Simon Lloyd, using Macromedia director software. Both interactive discs rely on audio, visual (music video) and text (song lyrics, promotional information) sections and are limited in their interactive possibilities in comparison to bigger budget productions such as Sooner or Later. Though the digipack release of Big Wheel attracted limited publicity it was, like Metapus, a significant example of the potential of self-developed interactive software and of the low-costs of self production.
IV. FROM SHORT-TERM DEVELOPMENT TO MID-TERM OBSOLESCENCE
| The fraud of satisfaction exposes itself by being replaced, by following the change of products and of the general condition of production. That which asserted its definitive excellence with perfect impudence nevertheless changes, both in the diffuse and the concentrated spectacle and it is the system alone which must continue. Debord: 70 25 |
Production costs are (of course) a primary factor in the development of music CD-Roms. At present, music videos are 'freely' provided, separately produced and budgeted items which music CD-Roms incorporate as (effectively) 'found' elements. But this situation is highly unlikely to persist, as record companies begin to introduce CD-Rom (and/or multimedia) divisions and budgets. Economics and infra-organisational structures suggest that music video production will soon become a jointly negotiated, costed and funded operation within companies, with the suitability of a video's use in (prospective) CD-Roms becoming a significant factor in tendering, selection of treatments and production monitoring of video productions. As yet it is too early to speculate on how precisely this might increase or diversify the range of creative options for (audio-) visual material financed by record companies but it is certain to have a noticeable impact. This will be all the more certain if music companies begin to acquire CD-Rom production facilities themselves. Such arrangements are currently being explored by a number of Australian record companies (for instance) who are negotiating licensing deals with PAMS to assemble their own CD-Roms, within basic shells, as an 'in-house' operation.
Another, more ambitious, approach is that which sees music and music marketing as an element which can be utilised in the next phase of the computer games industry's development, that is, the move to CD-Rom as the main games retail medium. This is an important area for the music divisions of entertainment companies to gain access to since the computer games market witnessed a dynamic growth amongst the adolescent male market (usually seen as the music industry's traditional audience) over the last decade, at the same time that music product sales have declined. Although the relation between these two tendencies is more complex than a simple shifting of product alliances and consequent capital expenditure (and likely to be as much due to the conservative nature of music industry product development and media outlets over the last decade) the economic figures are unarguable, with the computer games industry currently worth some (US) $6 billion per annum.26 Perhaps the most significant investment in this regard is the (US) $12 million joint investment by the Bertelsmann Music Group and Sega in the new Californian CD-Rom production company Rocket Science Games (RSG).
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