Sounds Complicated? Music, Film, and Media Synergies

Much has been written in International Relations/International Political Economy and in Communications Studies about the dominant economic trends in transnational media production and distribution. The multiple dimensions of social and political change that have contributed to the evolving global media environment have also been widely addressed (see Anderson and Strate 2000; Doyle 2002; Hesmondhalgh 2002; McChesney 2004). It is now generally acknowledged that policy change, technological developments, and conglomeration of industries serve to increase the size and reduce the number of media organizations. This chapter positions these changes as a backdrop to its analysis of media synergies.1 The focus here is upon film music, an area still under-explored in analysis of the politics of global media distribution. The chapter examines the role of film music as a media industry commodity, a role that affects film both as text and as product. In particular, it focuses on the ways film music is applied in the aesthetics and economics of film, linking it with other aspects of the production and promotion process by way of contribution to the package that is the movie consumption experience. Four key areas are identified as central to discussions on the role of music in film today: the historical context of the use of music in film; the policy directions that have contributed to the growth of global media industries; the benefits of film music for the industry as it is currently constituted; and the apparent threat of Internet piracy to the industry.