Music and Digital Media is an interdisciplinary course focussing on the business, cultural context and scientific nature of the [inter]relationship between music and media. The course blends theoretical perspectives on digital music formats, production, consumption and dissemination with practical workshops on audio and music editing, sound recording and coding for online music and media platforms. Such is the evolutionary nature of music in the digital age that study topics may vary. Current course content includes: a short history of music and digitisation, intellectual property, copyright and ethics; massively collaborative online music production and distribution; case study analyses of music for gaming, music 'apps' and crowd funding for music projects; digital audio visual curation techniques; and, the 'place' of music in social networks, media players and blogs. Learning and teaching activities include lectures, tutorials, practical lab sessions and workshops. Students are assessed on a portfolio of practical work, to include: an individually constructed e-CV; a music current affairs podcast for public broadcast; and, a written essay on an individually negotiated topic

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

Upon Successful completion of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Understand the ethical implications of music, digitisation and media dissemination via a demonstrated understanding of intellectual property
2. Execute a podcast recording on an appropriate topic suitable for public broadcast
3. Design and construct a digital file integrating multimedia elements
4. Research and debate current issues surrounding music and digital media from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives

 

Research-Led Teaching

This course is spread over 12 weeks in Semester 1. Each week, a key music and digital media topic will be explored in depth via a lecture or seminar, with theoretical elements drawn from recent research and scholarship. Additionally, relevant scholarly readings and viewing/ listening recommendations accompany each session and are used to complement the class content by way of guided independent study. Furthermore, various online activities -­ to include discussion threads and wikis -­ will be used to encourage further engagement with the course.

Recommended Resources

Palfrey, J. and Gasser, U. (2008) Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives. New York: Basic Books. Chapter 6 -­ Pirates [pp. 131-­153]

Kusek, D. and Leonhard, G. (2005) The Future of Music: Manifesto for the Digital Music Revolution. Boston: Berklee Press. Chapter 4 – The Future of Music Marketing and Promotion. [pp. 56-­79]

Knopper, S. (2009) Appetite for Self Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age. London: Simon & Schuster. Chapter 5 – 2002-­2003: How Steve Jobs Built the iPod, Revived his Company and Took Over the Music Business. [pp. 157-­182]

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• Timely completion of formal assessment rubrics tailored to the specific criteria of each assessment task
• Written feedback on email request
• Verbal feedback on individual and group tasks
• Peer feedback in the case of group work (podcast)
• Verbal feedback in class

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Lecture: Introduction & Course Outline – LT3 Tutorial: Assessment briefs - Lab	Assessment 1 - Brief
2	Lecture: Digitisation – LT3 Tutorial: Library visit & subject tutorial - Library
3	Lecture: IP & The Internet Tutorial: Subject tutorial
4	Lecture: Social Networks LT3 Tutorial: Online Identity workshop - Lab	Assessment 2 - Brief
5	Lecture: Online Communities - LT3 Tutorial: Wordpress Workshop - Lab
6	Lecture: Music, Digital Media & Humour – LT3 Tutorial: Wordpress Workshop - Lab	Assessment 1 - Deadline
7	Lecture: Media Players – LT3 Tutorial: Podcasting workshop	Assessment 2 - Deadline Assessment 3 - Brief
8	Lecture: Crowd Funding – LT3 Tutorial: Speech recording/ editing workshop
9	Lecture: Fans & Interactivity – LT3 Tutorial: Podcast – group tutorials
10	Lecture: Podcasting – LT3 Tutorial: Podcast – group tutorials
11	Lecture: Speech Recording & Editing – LT3 Tutorial: Podcast – group tutorials
12	Lecture: Podcast broadcast – LT3/ Lab Tutorial: Round-up tutorial & SELTs	Assessment 3 - Deadline (in class)

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Written Project	20 %	05/04/2019	26/04/2019	1,4
Electronic CV	30 %	19/04/2019	10/05/2019	3
Music Current Affairs Podcast	50 %	28/05/2019	11/06/2019	2,4

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website. Students may choose not to submit assessment items through Turnitin. In this instance you will be required to submit, alongside the assessment item itself, hard copies of all references included in the assessment item.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Assessment Task 1

Written Project

Students will research then complete a short, individually negotiated written project on a chosen music and digital media topic.

Examples of acceptable topics include:

• Digital music formats: artefacts (CD, DVD-­Audio, SACD, DAT) or lossy/ lossless codecs (MP3, ATRAC, AAC, WAV, AIFF, WMA, ALAC)
• Streaming, digital music broadcasting, platforms, revenue and ethics
• Hi-­res audio – Pono, TIDAL, DEEZER
• Mastering for web audio/ music, to include ‘mastering for iTunes’
• Crowdfunding/ Kickstarter/ Patreon case studies
• Music and social networking
• Stem remixing
• Digital music and sound archiving

Word Length: 1500

Weighting: 20%

Deadline: Friday 5th April 2019

Rubric

Criteria	HD [80-­100]	D [70-­79]	CR [60-­69]	P [50-­59]	N [0-­49]
	Work of exceptional quality, which demonstrates comprehensive understanding of the subject matter, mastery of relevant skills, sophisticated or original critical and conceptual analysis, and outstanding quality in clarity, precision and presentation of work.	Work of superior quality, which demonstrates a thorough knowledge and understanding of the subject matter, proficiency in relevant skills, and analytical and conceptual ability of a high order.	Work of good quality, which displays a good understanding of the subject matter and a sound grasp of relevant skills	Work of satisfactory quality, which displays an adequate understanding of most of the subject matter and a sufficient grasp of relevant skills.	Work which is incomplete or displays an inadequate understanding of the subject matter or an inadequate grasp of relevant skills.
Criteria 1 Evidence of an individual investigation, understanding and interpretation of existing scholarly enquiry.
Criteria 2 Application of relevant analytical tools and descriptors specific to the study of the set topic.
Criteria 3 Synthesis of research, both theoretical and analytical, into a structured and coherent body of work.
Criteria 4 Articulation of argument, depth of investigation and level of criticality.

Assessment Task 2

Electronic CV

Students will design and construct an electronic CV utilising Wix, Wordpress, Weebly or other web-­based software.

The e-­CV should include:

• A biography, including music-­related details
• Images
• Video
• Audio clips
• Integrated social network links
• Other links

The design should focus on ‘online identity’ with clear continuity between multimedia elements.

Maximum pages: 4

Weighting: 30%

Deadline: Friday 19th April 2019

Submit web page link in a text file uploaded to Wattle

Rubric

Criteria	HD [80-­100]	D [70-­79]	CR [60-­69]	P [50-­59]	N [0-­49]
	Work of exceptional quality, which demonstrates comprehensive understanding of the subject matter, mastery of relevant skills, sophisticated or original critical and conceptual analysis, and outstanding quality in clarity, precision and presentation of work.	Work of superior quality, which demonstrates a thorough knowledge and understanding of the subject matter, proficiency in relevant skills, and analytical and conceptual ability of a high order.	Work of good quality, which displays a good understanding of the subject matter and a sound grasp of relevant skills.	Work of satisfactory quality, which displays an adequate understanding of most of the subject matter and a sufficient grasp of relevant skills.	Work which is incomplete or displays an inadequate understanding of the subject matter or an inadequate grasp of relevant skills.
Criteria 1 Application of theoretical and experiential knowledge to set tasks.
Criteria 2 Design, planning and execution of project commensurate with professional standards.
Criteria 3 Level of professionalism demonstrated through overall quality of completed project.

Assessment Task 3

Music Current Affairs Podcast

In groups of no more than 5 (dependent on class numbers), students will author, direct, record and produce a 15-­minute current affairs Podcast on a current music issue. Example subjects might be:

• Music, education and funding
• Live music events and ticketing
• Music and copyright
• Technology and consumption
• Digital music distribution
• Music streaming and revenue

The Podcast must contain a group discussion as the main content, featuring clear contributions from all group members. Additionally, the discussion should be ‘book ended’ with a suitably programmed/sampled piece of music and/or jingle.

Group Podcasts will be collated into the ‘ANU School of Music Podcast Series’ for public broadcast.

Podcast Length: 15 minutes

Weighting: 50%

Deadline: Tuesday May 28th 2019 (Final Week)

Rubric

	HD [80-­100]	D [70-­79]	CR [60-­69]	P [50-­59]	N [0-­49]
	Work of exceptional quality, which demonstrates comprehensive understanding of the subject matter, mastery of relevant skills, sophisticated or original critical and conceptual analysis, and outstanding quality in clarity, precision and presentation of work.	Work of superior quality, which demonstrates a thorough knowledge and understanding of the subject matter, proficiency in relevant skills, and analytical and conceptual ability of a high order.	Work of good quality, which displays a good understanding of the subject matter and a sound grasp of relevant skills.	Work of satisfactory quality, which displays an adequate understanding of most of the subject matter and a sufficient grasp of relevant skills.	Work which is incomplete or displays an inadequate understanding of the subject matter or an inadequate grasp of relevant skills.
Criteria 1 Application of theoretical and experiential knowledge to set tasks.
Criteria 2 Design, planning and execution of project commensurate with professional standards.
Criteria 3 Level of professionalism demonstrated through overall quality of completed project.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of our culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically. This means that all members of the community commit to honest and responsible scholarly practice and to upholding these values with respect and fairness. The Australian National University commits to embedding the values of academic integrity in our teaching and learning. We ensure that all members of our community understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with. The University has policies and procedures in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Visit the following Academic honesty & plagiarism website for more information about academic integrity and what the ANU considers academic misconduct. The ANU offers a number of services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. The Academic Skills and Learning Centre offers a number of workshops and seminars that you may find useful for your studies.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) as submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

No submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date will be permitted. If an assessment task is not submitted by the due date, a mark of 0 will be awarded.

OR

Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. The Course Convener may grant extensions for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students