Sounds, Screens, Speakers provides a broadly comprehensive survey of the emerging field of music and media. Music has been present at the advent of nearly every new media form since the turn of the 20th century. Whether we look at the start of sound recording, film, television or the Internet, music has been a crucial participant in the social changes brought about by these new tools for making and listening to music. This book examines such changes starting in the late 19th century to the present. From the introduction of the microphone all the way through to music in reality television, the purpose of each section is not simply to move chronologically towards the present, but to focus especially on the tangible social relationships created through specific forms of mediation. With readings at the end of most chapters, key questions to facilitate additional discovery and research, and direction to additional readings and resources on popular websites and news sources, this text serves as the ideal introduction to popular music and media.

Overview: All Media Are Social Media: Concepts, Materials, MethodsKey Reading: "From Music Publishing to MP3: Music and Industry in the 20th Century" Reebee Garofalo Part 1: The Early Recording Industry, 1875 to 1940.Key Reading: A collection of gramophone and phonograph ads from the early 20th century.1. Mediated Music, Fidelity, and Social AnxietyFocus: Selling the Phonograph2. Sound Recordings and Radio in the 'Jazz Age'Focus: The Devil's Music3. 'Microphone Singing' and the Short Musical FilmFocus: Crooners and 'Real' Singers4. The Global GramophoneFocus: The Recorded Music of the 'Black Atlantic' Part 2: Bigger, Better, Louder, Longer, 1930 to 1970.Key Reading: Introduction to Rock 'N' Film David James5. The Triumph of the Film MusicalFocus: Two Films with Frank Sinatra6. The 'Youth' Movie and the 45Focus: Marlon, Jimmy, and Elvis on FilmKey Reading: Chasing Sound: The Culture and Technology of Recording Studios in Postwar AmericaSusan Horning7. FM Radio and the Long Playing RecordFocus: Freeform Radio8. Magnetic Tape and the Recording StudioFocus: The Producer: Tom Dowd of Atlantic Records Part 3: New Forms of Media, New Kinds of Fame, 1960 to 2000Key Reading: Music, Image, Labor: Television's PrehistoryMurray Forman9. Music on Television in the 1960s and 70sFocus: "Our World" and "Elvis"10. MTV and the Evolution of the Short Musical FilmFocus: From Playing Music Videos to Branding Musical Fame11. The Popular Music DocumentaryFocus: "Don't Look Back" and the 'Great Art' of Bob Dylan12. Rock Film at the End of the 20th CenturyFocus: "Meeting People Is Easy" and the 'Great Art' of Radiohead Part Four: Clouds, Crowds, and Idols, 1980 to 2015Key Reading: The Heavenly JukeboxCharles Mann13. New Ways to ConnectFocus: The Invention and Spread of the MP314. The Catastrophe of Napster, the Opportunities of DigitalFocus: Napster v. The Music Industry15. Music-Based Reality TVFocus: The Idol Journey16. Streaming, Clouds, and the Dematerialization of MusicFocus: Curating Music in the Playlist EconomyIndex