TEDxSMU
José Bowen: Beethoven the businessman
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The revolution that made music more marketable, more personal and easier to pirate began ... at the dawn of the 19th century. José Bowen outlines how new printing technology and an improved piano gave rise to the first music industry.
José Bowen - Professor of music
José Bowen is an accomplished musician and teacher who explores how technology has shaped the history of music. Full bio
José Bowen is an accomplished musician and teacher who explores how technology has shaped the history of music. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:34
This was the first title
I thought of for this talk,
I thought of for this talk,
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"Beethoven as Bill Gates."
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Does that make sense?
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Maybe not. OK, so think about that.
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Being an educator,
I am going to tell you the story,
I am going to tell you the story,
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and then you'll figure it out
for yourselves.
for yourselves.
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So the second thought I had
was that I would tell the story
was that I would tell the story
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of the history of music delivery,
literally from the beginning,
literally from the beginning,
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from pounding rocks to pounding rock.
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The good news about this is
the first 10,000 years just sailed by.
the first 10,000 years just sailed by.
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So for 10,000 years,
if you want to make music,
if you want to make music,
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you literally pick up rocks, later
instruments, those sorts of things.
instruments, those sorts of things.
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And this goes on for a very long time.
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Gradually in the West, mostly
we start to get a performing class,
we start to get a performing class,
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people who were experts,
who were really good at pounding rocks.
who were really good at pounding rocks.
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So, by the 18th century,
we're still basically doing this.
we're still basically doing this.
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We have a class of experts, professionals,
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who play very expensive instruments,
for the most part,
for the most part,
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things like the organ,
complicated instruments,
complicated instruments,
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and if you wanted to hear music
in the 18th century,
in the 18th century,
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it was live.
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You had to go to a concert.
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You had to go to church,
you had to go to a civic event,
you had to go to a civic event,
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you had to go hear somebody
making music live.
making music live.
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So, music always involved
social interaction.
social interaction.
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There were no headphones you could put on,
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there was no iPhone,
there was no record player.
there was no record player.
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If you wanted to hear music,
you had to get out of the house.
you had to get out of the house.
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There's really, basically,
no music in your house.
no music in your house.
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This goes on through the 18th century
from the beginning,
from the beginning,
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and then we have ...
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our first disruption.
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These two things actually happened
together, these two disruptions.
together, these two disruptions.
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We get the piano, right?
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The piano was a new technology
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that really starts to happen
in the 18th century,
in the 18th century,
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and then it becomes something
that you could mass-produce cheaply.
that you could mass-produce cheaply.
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So you can now have an instrument
that's not too expensive,
that's not too expensive,
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that everyone can have one,
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that you can have at home.
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So this allows for a kind of disruption,
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but it wouldn't have happened
if the second disruption hadn't happened
if the second disruption hadn't happened
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at the same time,
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which is that somebody figured out
how to do cheap music printing.
how to do cheap music printing.
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Remember Gutenberg
and the other kind of printing?
and the other kind of printing?
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Music is a little more complicated.
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It took a little longer to figure out:
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How do I create a cheap way
to distribute sheet music?
to distribute sheet music?
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In London, at the time
of the American Revolution,
of the American Revolution,
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there are 12 music shops.
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By 1800, there are 30.
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By 1820, there are 150.
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So the internet wasn't
the first time this happened,
the first time this happened,
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because think about what happens
when, all of a sudden,
when, all of a sudden,
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you go from "If I want to hear music,
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I've got to go hear Bach,
I've got to go hear Mozart."
I've got to go hear Mozart."
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That meant you had
to actually go hear Mozart.
to actually go hear Mozart.
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You didn't by a CD of Mozart,
you didn't download Mozart.
you didn't download Mozart.
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You couldn't even buy Mozart sheet music,
at least not easily or cheaply.
at least not easily or cheaply.
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But if you wanted to hear Mozart or Bach,
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you had to go to Germany and go hear them.
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But that's not true for Beethoven.
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And Beethoven figures out that,
in fact, there's a new market.
in fact, there's a new market.
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Beethoven is an entrepreneur,
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not unlike our other friend, Bill Gates.
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He's an entrepreneur that figures out,
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"Hey, I don't have
to actually go to London.
to actually go to London.
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I can actually just sell sheet music.
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And it can be printed
and mass-distributed,
and mass-distributed,
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and I will be famous everywhere,
and everybody else will play my music."
and everybody else will play my music."
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So that changes the experience
of music for everybody.
of music for everybody.
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It changes the variety, it
changes the global pyramid,
changes the global pyramid,
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it changes all sorts of things.
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It creates a new class of musicians,
of composers and performers --
of composers and performers --
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there's a division of labor.
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If you hire Bach to play for your wedding,
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guess who shows up?
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Bach!
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(Laughter)
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That's what he does for a living, right?
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He has no way to expand his business.
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But Beethoven does.
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Then this happens again.
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It happens 100 years later, so
you're starting to see a theme.
you're starting to see a theme.
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By the turn of the century,
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it's an interesting time
for music delivery;
for music delivery;
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100 years later, we get the record
player, the gramophone, the player piano.
player, the gramophone, the player piano.
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Now you could buy
Rachmaninoff sheet music,
Rachmaninoff sheet music,
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but if you wanted to hear Rachmaninoff,
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you had to actually go
to the concert hall.
to the concert hall.
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Not anymore.
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Now you can buy a record of Rachmaninoff,
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or you can buy a player piano
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and a roll that fits into another kind
of recording device.
of recording device.
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And later, the radio.
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So think about this:
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you're a band in Texas;
you're Doc Ross in Texas,
you're Doc Ross in Texas,
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and you've got the Texas big band
market, you've got it nailed.
market, you've got it nailed.
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And all of a sudden,
there's this new thing called "radio."
there's this new thing called "radio."
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And now everybody can hear Count Basie
and Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman.
and Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman.
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Man, the competition just sucks now.
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All of a sudden, the competition
has gone global,
has gone global,
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just like it does a hundred years later,
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with the iPod, the internet
and digital files and Garage Band,
and digital files and Garage Band,
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that do all of these things
all over again.
all over again.
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So now, maybe we can talk
about these two guys.
about these two guys.
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First of all, both of these guys
are entrepreneurs.
are entrepreneurs.
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But second of all, both of these guys
are software designers.
are software designers.
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That's what Beethoven does.
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He writes software that runs
on that piece of hardware over there.
on that piece of hardware over there.
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(Laughter)
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That's a piece of hardware.
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That's a device that you can use
if you have my piece of paper.
if you have my piece of paper.
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If you have sheet music,
does it sound good?
does it sound good?
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No, it's a piece of paper.
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It's like those floppy disks;
they weren't very useful.
they weren't very useful.
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You can use them as coasters, I guess.
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But they're not very useful on their own.
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So both Beethoven and Bill Gates
are software designers.
are software designers.
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What's interesting is that
they also both live at a time
they also both live at a time
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where the hardware
is changing very quickly.
is changing very quickly.
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06:01
Those of you who are
old enough to remember,
old enough to remember,
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go back to the '90s, go
back to Windows whatever,
back to Windows whatever,
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and remember your joy
and your love of Bill Gates,
and your love of Bill Gates,
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as every time a new
software package came out,
software package came out,
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you had to get a new computer.
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So, guess what?
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When Beethoven started writing music,
he had this instrument up on top,
he had this instrument up on top,
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with five octaves.
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This one's bigger, it's got more pedals,
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it's louder, it can do more stuff.
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When Beethoven starts off,
he doesn't have a piano that can do this.
he doesn't have a piano that can do this.
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He actually just cannot do this.
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He can't go -- (Musical chords)
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Can't do that.
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So in 1803, a French piano maker --
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alright, think about how smart this is:
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If you're a piano maker,
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into whose hands
do you want to get that piano?
do you want to get that piano?
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Composers.
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Artists who will use the technology
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and make everybody else
have to adopt your technology.
have to adopt your technology.
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It's like sending Bill Gates
your fastest, latest computer,
your fastest, latest computer,
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because you know he'll use up
all the memory.
all the memory.
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(Laughter)
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So in 1803, Érard sends
Beethoven a new piano.
Beethoven a new piano.
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And it has more notes.
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And it can do that.
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So the first thing Beethoven does is,
he writes a piece that can do that.
he writes a piece that can do that.
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If you've got a German or a Viennese piano
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or a British piano,
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it can't do that.
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So what do you do?
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You've gone to the music store.
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And you've bought the latest
Beethoven piano sonata,
Beethoven piano sonata,
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and you take it home,
and you've got a five-octave piano
and you've got a five-octave piano
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that was the brand-spanking-new,
latest technology last year.
latest technology last year.
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You start playing that new Beethoven
piano sonata, and what happens?
piano sonata, and what happens?
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Not enough notes!
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You run out of room.
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So, in fact, Beethoven has
the same relationship with his audience
the same relationship with his audience
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that Bill Gates does.
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He's a software producer,
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and he has to deal with the hardware.
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And what's interesting about this
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is that Beethoven was actually
smarter than Bill Gates.
smarter than Bill Gates.
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So when Beethoven gets
his new Érard piano,
his new Érard piano,
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he's writing his third piano concerto,
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he goes and he gives a concert,
and he and uses all those extra notes.
and he and uses all those extra notes.
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But what does he do when he goes
and gives the concert?
and gives the concert?
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He has to take the piano with him,
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because it's the only piano
he has in Vienna
he has in Vienna
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that has those extra notes.
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So he plays the concerto
on the piano. It's great.
on the piano. It's great.
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But he realizes, "Oh, wait. Not everybody
has one of these latest things.
has one of these latest things.
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So he publishes piano sonatas --
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He waits; he delays:
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for the next 10 years, he still
publishes piano sonatas
publishes piano sonatas
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that don't use the extra notes.
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He actually waits, because --
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This idea of Beethoven?
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Everything you know
about Beethoven -- basically wrong.
about Beethoven -- basically wrong.
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Beethoven was a very clever entrepreneur.
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So the music he wrote
for the popular market --
for the popular market --
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not the pieces he was going to play
himself, but the piano sonatas --
himself, but the piano sonatas --
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he limits himself to the amount of keys
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that you have at home
in some part of Southern Italy,
in some part of Southern Italy,
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where you have last year's piano.
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So what are the effects of these
disruptions in music technology?
disruptions in music technology?
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How do composers, how do people respond?
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We've had three of these things,
and they really all worked the same way.
and they really all worked the same way.
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We started off with printing
and the piano.
and the piano.
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The very first thing that happens
is: it redefines the product.
is: it redefines the product.
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So the product becomes sheet music,
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becomes a piece of paper
that you can then take home.
that you can then take home.
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In the 20th century, it becomes a record,
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something that you then take home.
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In the 21st century,
it becomes a digital file.
it becomes a digital file.
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The nature of the product changes.
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Second, there's a division of labor.
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If you want to listen to Bach,
you've got to go listen to Bach;
you've got to go listen to Bach;
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there's no other way to do this.
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In the 19th century, we've got performers,
and we've got composers,
and we've got composers,
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people who do different things.
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We have listeners who can now
manipulate music like you just saw.
manipulate music like you just saw.
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It changes expectations of quality.
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Once everybody's heard
Count Basie and Benny Goodman,
Count Basie and Benny Goodman,
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maybe you're not quite so happy
with your local band as much anymore.
with your local band as much anymore.
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You've now heard ... -- "I want to go
listen to Benny Goodman some more."
listen to Benny Goodman some more."
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You have now a global market.
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You can hear things
that you didn't use to hear.
that you didn't use to hear.
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Every time this happens,
we take away some social interaction.
we take away some social interaction.
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With Beethoven, you can now
play Beethoven at home.
play Beethoven at home.
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You can't play Mozart at home.
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But with Beethoven, you can buy
the sheet music, you can go home,
the sheet music, you can go home,
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you can close the door and play the piano.
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And only you are there.
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Now you have headphones
that do the same thing.
that do the same thing.
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With each of these disruptions,
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it changes the amount
of social interaction.
of social interaction.
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It's a new personalized
experience each time.
experience each time.
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I can play Beethoven the way I want to.
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I can play it faster,
I can play it slower.
I can play it slower.
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I can actually personalize
the experience now.
the experience now.
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There's more consumer choice,
the marketplace gets bigger.
the marketplace gets bigger.
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The number of titles on sale
in those music stores goes up.
in those music stores goes up.
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But there's also less choice,
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because in a global pyramid,
you can't always tell what you want.
you can't always tell what you want.
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There's so much choice out there.
How do you pick?
How do you pick?
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And so marketing starts to come in,
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and "Who is the flavor of the month?"
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There's one more thing
that's not on the list:
that's not on the list:
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piracy.
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One of Haydn and Chopin's biggest worries
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is that people were going
to write fake Chopin
to write fake Chopin
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and put "Chopin" on it.
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Do you think Chopin would have been
comforted by the fact,
comforted by the fact,
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"Hey, 20 percent of the people
who buy fake Chopin
who buy fake Chopin
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are more likely to go buy real Chopin"?
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I mean -- I don't know.
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(Laughter)
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But Chopin, another clever entrepreneur --
you know what he does?
you know what he does?
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He publishes his music in Italy,
France, Germany and England
France, Germany and England
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on the same day,
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because there's no
international copyright,
international copyright,
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so he's got to have everything
published on the same day.
published on the same day.
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And he puts differences in every country.
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So if you're playing Chopin,
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the additions from different countries
are different on purpose,
are different on purpose,
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because he wanted to be able
to track who was a pirate.
to track who was a pirate.
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So, this wasn't something
that Sony thought of.
that Sony thought of.
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So, the question is ...
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This new technology,
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it makes more choice for more people,
it makes it more global,
it makes it more global,
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but it also allows more piracy.
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It also allows for people
to have a marketing filter.
to have a marketing filter.
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They have some way to interact
that's not always direct.
that's not always direct.
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So the next time somebody says, you know,
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"Nothing like the internet ever happened."
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Well, it's true, but these kinds
of disruptions in music technology
of disruptions in music technology
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have happened before.
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And the model for these disruptions
is the same as we see
is the same as we see
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in other kinds of businesses.
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It changes the nature of the product.
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So if you're in book publishing,
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you thought you were in book publishing
because of these things called books.
because of these things called books.
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Well, you can still sell
novels without books.
novels without books.
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You can still be in the music business
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even though you're not
in the record business.
in the record business.
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You were selling records
only because that was the technology
only because that was the technology
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that you inherited.
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Newspaper business: dead.
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But journalism isn't dead.
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And finally, schools.
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School is the next big horizon,
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because what were we in the business of?
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Schools used to be like buying
gas or buying food;
gas or buying food;
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they had to have local entry
points all over the place.
points all over the place.
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But now, with the internet, we have
a different distribution system.
a different distribution system.
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And so schools have got to think
about what we're selling.
about what we're selling.
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But I think that the face-to-face
interaction is not going to go away.
interaction is not going to go away.
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There's still something of value
here, as we've demonstrated today,
here, as we've demonstrated today,
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because we're at this thing called TED,
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where we still want to get
to know each other.
to know each other.
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Thank you very much.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
José Bowen - Professor of musicJosé Bowen is an accomplished musician and teacher who explores how technology has shaped the history of music.
Why you should listen
In his over thirty-year career in music, José Bowen has appeared internationally with artists like Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bobby McFerrin, written over one hundred scholarly articles, and composed a Pulitzer Prize nominated symphony. He began teaching at Stanford University in 1982 before moving on to University of Southampton, Georgetown University, Miami University, and Southern Methodist University -- where he now resides as Dean of the Meadows School of the Arts, and Algur H. Meadows Chair and Professor of Music.
José Bowen | Speaker | TED.com