Is the audience for popular music created by the music industry?

It is generally thought that the music industry is literally made up of recording companies. It is, in fact, made up smaller, often forgotten elements such as music press, music technology, retail, merchandising and licensing (just to name a few). 

It is said that the audience for popular music are created by the music industry. This, to some extend is true. Once an artist becomes popular and profit is made, recording companies then continue to play it safe by using that artist’s style to continue and increase profits. This is then fed through to the other parts of the music industry (such as advertising and press), which is then read/seen/absorbed by the public. The public like the music is masses, making the music popular and the cycle begins again.

This process supports Shuker’s quote: ‘recordings generally sound the same, with some variation due to the handicraft nature of music production’. 

Kerrang! Magazine - A review

According to Kerrang! Magazine, they are the 'world's biggest selling weekly rock magazine'. Now, that's quite a brag.

The magazine is full of pictures of rock artists and bands, mainly of moody men with eyeliner, piercings and tattoos. The magazine is aimed at older teens, both girls who fancy the male artists, as well as the boys who inspire to be like their idols. The image of 'Rock' is very apparent and the magazine seem to play with the stereotype of 'Rockers' by using fowl language and being written in an informal, almost slang style.

I could imagine the market audience who buy Kerrang! Magazine to be hardcore fans of the Rock culture, collecting the free posters provided in the middle pages to stick on the walls. Give it a few years and they'll grow out of it!

Are blackness and whiteness useful concepts in the study of popular music?

'Blackness' and 'whiteness' are useful concepts when looking at the origins of the now fusioned culture of music such as RnB, Rock n Roll, Bhangra etc.

However, this concept of 'blackness' and 'whiteness' is not useful in society now. This concept is more relevant with the society and environment you're associated with. The concept of 'blackness' and 'whiteness' were more relevant in the early 1900s when society had very strong racial opinions. An example of this in the music industry are music created by black artists who only when covered by white artists did they become successful. However, in the society we live in today, blackness and whiteness concepts are quite irrelevant. As races have fusioned and different cultures have immigrated out of their origins, popular music has more relevance with society and environment rather than race.

Does the emergence of the digital download signal the end for the music industry?

As early as the 1970’s, the threat of piracy of copyrighted material occurred to the music industry with the invention of the cassette player. Today, the RIAA are concerned with ‘the culture of piracy’ through file sharing. Lessig suggests 4 types of file sharing, two of which have very interesting viewpoints. He suggests that file sharing is used ‘as a substitute for purchasing’, which is ‘clearly harmful’. The other is that file sharing is used to ‘sample music before purchasing’, which he explains is ‘illegal but plainly beneficial’. An example to prove this method of file sharing works in favour for the music industry is Radiohead’s ‘pay what you like’ experiment with their album ‘In Rainbows’. The experiment proved that fans were willing to pay the average price for the album and not just download songs for free because they could. 

Therefore, I don’t think the emergence of digital downloading will result in the end of the music industry. It could instead be beneficial for them. 

Can popular music achieve genuine political change?

Music is typically a way of expressing one’s feelings and views on different subject matters. Some of which may be on society or political views. Popular music can also be used in a way to raise awareness and send out a message to the masses. This can then lead to protests. An example of this was Billie Holiday’s ‘Strange Fruit’, 1939. The song/poem was about racism in America, particularly about the killing of African American’s without a legal trial. The song became a protest song in America and promoted a political response. 

In this case, popular music helped achieve political change by raising awareness. However, I wouldn’t say that the music was the sole purpose of change. There are always other factors and reasons which come together to really make a political change. 

What is World Music?

World music is usually described as traditional, cultural and indigenous music which doesn’t fit into the popular Anglo-American category. The songs included do not contain the key points which Anglo American music have, in order to become popular and sell records. Unlike the popular music we have come to know, World music generally contains traditional (maybe even folk) music which reflect the culture where the music origins from. This would mean that the lyrics would not be in English and traditional instruments would be used such as the sitar in India. 

This kind of music is categorized as ‘World Music’ as it is a difficult to define as a genre. It is harder to sell as it is not the popular music of Western culture. Therefore, categorizing it in this way would help promote world music, making a profit. 

Is popular music a mass produced commodity or a genuine art form?

Art can be defined as a human creation made with skill and technique. A mass produced commodity are goods created for the sole purpose of sales and profit. 

So, is popular music a mass produced commodity or a genuine art form? I would say the answer could be both. There are many talented musicians who simply write and create music as a reflection of their passion, which eventually become popular and are appreciated as a genuine art form. 

However, the majority of popular music heard on the radio, tv, etc, are created for the purpose of making a profit; which lack in creativity and skill. A great example of this is the TV programme X Factor, which claims its objective is to find unique, talented singers/musicians. However, the programme clearly copies other artists music and makes a large profit off it. 

How useful is the production of culture perspective in understanding the birth of Rock 'n' Roll?

Peterson explores the birth of rock ‘n’ roll and explains that some statements are myths, such as: the emergence of a group of creative artists in the 1950s are responsible for Rock ‘n’ Roll. Instead, Peterson suggests there were 6 significant factors which are responsible for the birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll. These are: law, technology, industry, organisation, career and market. 

This article is useful as a production of culture perspective in understanding the birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll, as his suggestion makes sense and is more likely to be an accurate review. It is more likely that the 6 factors, contributed to the birth of rock ‘n’ roll rather than a random occurrence of the revolution of Rock ‘n’ Roll. 

However, there is a flaw in Peterson’s article as he doesn’t actually mention Rock ‘n’ Roll, and why the 6 factors made Rock ‘n’ Roll and not another genre. 

Is it reasonable to consider that rock music is gendered male?

It is undeniable that the majority of rock musicians are male. According to Rolling Stone’s magazine, the top 100 guitarists are full with male musicians, without a mention of any female guitarists within the first 50. But why is this when women are just as able?

Mavis Bayton states that in rock music: ‘The reasons for women’s absence are entirely social’. For generations, traditionally, boys tend to choose to learn the guitar whilst the girls choose the piano. The guitar is a symbol of masculinity and power. Whilst there are legendary female guitarists, these days to be a successful musician, she would have to show her femininity and sex appeal. In which case, it would be more suitable for a woman to play an acoustic instrument or to be a lead vocalist.

So yes, I would say it is reasonable to consider Rock music to be gendered male. 

Can popular music ever really be unplugged?

Unplugged music is an expression given to music which uses instruments in their natural forms for eg. Without amplifiers, microphones or even a device for recording what is being played.

So, can popular music ever really be unplugged?

Let's say your idea of popular music is folk music or opera music, which you go and listen to live in a very intimate space. In this case, it is possible for popular music to truley be "unplugged". However, generally speaking, popular music is music heard by a great amount of people and therefor in order to reach the mass public, the music would have had to be recorded. This is not achievable without some sort of microphone. And finally, in order to achieve the right balance of sound by each instrument, amplifiers would also be used.

Seeing as devices such as the microphone, the amplifier and a recording device needs to be used so that music can reach the masses, popular music cannot ever really be unplugged. This is the same for acoustic music.

What is popular music?

Over the last few centuries the definition of the word 'popular' has changed and today's definition has been reversed from that of the 16th century. According to Raymond Williams, 'Keywords'(1976), in the 16th century the word 'popular' meant : ' low or base, vulgar, of the common people'. However, these days the word 'popular' stands for something good and 'widely favoured'.

The question, what is popular music is difficult to answer as it has no single response. What can be considered to be 'popular music' us unique and different to the individual. Music, like most things, have genres, whether it be folk, hip hop, indie, classical or rock. These genres have their own audiences ad fans which therefore would alter what is considered to be popular.