The rise of digital technologies in the 1990s threw the record industry into crisis. Artists and entrepreneurs were forced to think creatively in order to survive. Among these was the London Symphony Orchestra, a century-old organisation used to recording weekly for the best-known labels. When recording commissions started to dry up, the orchestra set up its own label, LSO Live.
Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork with the orchestra, this study reflected on the aesthetic, economic and legal implications of moving from studio to in-house live recording. Whilst business and rights management models were fashioned from scratch, one of its greatest challenges was to sell this new idea to an aging audience.
This study illustrates how the philosophical artwork concept continues to mediate, sanction and perpetuate the ways in which classical music is produced and sold. Findings were published in a peer-reviewed article in Music & Letters, discussing the aesthetic considerations related to the two recording models, and a book chapter (Oxford University Press) with a greater focus on the organisational and marketing strategies of the label. Throughout this study I gave numerous talks at academic conferences across the UK. The study was conducted at Royal Holloway, University of London and funded by Colfuturo and the prestigious ORSAS Award, amongst others.