CFP: The Business of Entertainment (Collection)
Deadline: July 31, 2007
We are seeking additional contributions for the articles that will ultimately make-up the chapters of The Business of Entertainment (Movies, Music, & Television), a 3 volume series under contract with Praeger Press. We will accept abstracts and/or papers for all volumes but we are especially interested in articles for Volumes 2 & 3. Please pass this call on to any colleagues you think might be interested.
Accepted articles will be between 5,000 to 10,000 words, including works cited, and will adhere to the Chicago style. We welcome contributions from professors, grad students and non-academic experts as well. Please e-mail completed articles or abstracts of no more than 300 words to sickelrc@whitman.edu by July 31, 2007. Also, please e-mail with any questions or requests for further information.
This series will detail the ways in which the media conglomerates that control the contemporary entertainment industry exploit the synergies between their companies. What does all this mean to us, the consumers, the end users who just want to be entertained and want to have a wide selection of options from which to choose? How and why are choices affected and for the sake of what or whom? In investigating the answers to these questions and many more, these texts will collectively illuminate the business of contemporary entertainment in a way that will appeal not only to academics and students, but to general readers as well. While each of the books will be about a specific industry, there will be great analytical overlap, which is by design as the industries themselves desire as much overlap as possible so as to maximize control and profitability.
The following are prompts for the kind of things we’re looking for. Please be advised that we’re not wedded to any one topic and are quite open to suggestions.
Volume 1: The Business of Entertainment—The Movies
Chapter may topics include:
• Labor relations (salaries, contracts, etc.)
• Runaway production
• Piracy
• Digital production and delivery
• The contemporary Studio System
• Independent production within the contemporary system
• Festival culture and the marketplace
• The rise of Withoutabox
• Tom Cruise’s move from Paramount to Wall Street (and other big money hedge fund production deals)
• Genre films
• TV Series and other “franchise” sources
• Globalization
• Government oversight of the movies
• Collusion between the majors
• The contemporary star system
• Contemporary movie reviews
• Advertising in the digital age, especially to create internet buzz (via myspace.com etc.)
• Ancillary products and product placement
• Media manipulation (Oscar campaigns, etc)
Volume 2: The Business of Entertainment—The Music Industry
Chapter topics might include:
• Labor-management relations in music (salaries, unions, etc.)
• Globalization
• Radio (traditional, satellite, internet, etc)
• Major labels
• Advertising
• Music featured in movies and on TV shows
• Home production and independents (labels and individuals)
• Sampling and copyright issues
• “Created music” (boy & girl bands, American Idol, etc.)
• Media coverage of music
• Alt music (No Depression, etc)
• Underground music (DJ Danger Mouse’s The Gray Album, etc)
• iTunes and other digital downloading services
• The mainstreaming suburbanization of hip hop
Volume 3: The Business of Entertainment—Television
Chapter topics might include:
• Labor-management relations in TV (salaries, unions, etc., etc.)
• Globalization
• The coming of HD
• Digital product placement
• Tivo/On-Demand
• Subscription networks
• Cable vs. satellite
• The dynamics of broadcast and advertising revenue
• Advertising and multi-media promotion
• Reality TV
• Teen Networks (WB, CW, Disney, Noggin)
• Children’s Networks (Nick, Noggin, Etc)
• The Major Networks
• Genres
• Sports on TV (ESPN, NFL Network, etc.)
• DVDs and series TV (new and old)
• Developing and retaining fan loyalty (series zealots—Veronica Mars, Buffy, etc.)
Robert Sickels
Whitman College
345 Boyer Avenue
Walla Walla, WA 99362
Email: sickelrc@whitman.edu
