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

The music industry almost creates a hype around popular music by its retail and merchandising of the product. For example The Rolling Stones earned up about 10-million for their advert with Microsoft. Utilizing the media as another way to ‘hype’ popular music and its stars.

Theodor Adorno states that An alternative approach that is widely used in many mass market histories and biographies suggest that specific artists

are able to create genuinely innovative and culturally significant music in spite of an exploitative, controlling music industry .

“This approach...assumes that certain artists can transcend the otherwise materialistic music industry to create moments or careers of innovative, powerful and often politically significant music.”

A lot of starts relay on the industry structure in order to make it,some can make it with out the industry however even these artists rely on the structures put in place by this industry to reach their audience

Are blackness and Whiteness useful in the concepts in the study if popular music?

I believe that they are unimportant for several reasons;

In the 1920’s ‘The crazy’s blues’ sold 1 million copies and it was openly promoted by the fact it was a black artist. This was so unexpected and as a result of its success big record labels started to create subsidiary labels called ‘Race Records’ This shows that music was not considered just black or just white, A.Russel states that “It was undeniable that black musical forms had given birth to the biggest sales boom in the history of commercial recording, ... with images that evoked a world divided by stereotypes.”

Music is an un-pure form, has has inspiration from other types for genres, for example, Rock and Roll, got its inspiration form the Blues. Therefor we cannot class music is simply back or white. “ Pop music has always deepened upon the interaction between white and black tradition” (David Hatch).

can popular music genuine ach9ieve political change?

I believe popular music can inspire political change; but music is only an inspiration, and requires its audience to make the change.
The singer Sammy Davis JR who when performing in Las Vegas was told he was unwelcome to stay inside any hotel; instead he had to stay in the shantytown just outside the city. When Frank Sinatra heard of this he said ‘if Sammy was unwelcome in Las Vegas then he wouldn’t perform there either’ Sammy was allowed to stay; an example of inspiration! Although Sinatra’ music isn’t political it gave him power.
Some argue that singers are ‘hypocrites’ because they are helping an organization that they condemn. Bob Marley’s ‘Get up stand up’ is a song against capitalism, but, it creates an income for caplitists. So he’s indirectly helping the organizations he is condemning. I would argue that it is a small sacrifice in order to inspire people to action.

Does the emergence of the digital downloading signal the end for the music industry

Lawrence Lessig states 4 types of file sharing.

one download rather then buy

two sample music before buying

three obtain music that you cant buy anymore

four share non copyrighted material.

The music industry has always been worried about new mediums. When Cassettes were launched in the 60’s the industry launched an anti piracy campaign in the 80”s.

Does the emergence of the digital downloading signal the end for the music industry

The idea that digital downloading will be the end for the music industry is absurd, July 2000 saw Radio-Head's album leak to Napster 3 months before release, it was downloaded by millions. When it was released the music industry expect it to be a flop, however it went straight to number one. The Apple store sold its 10-billionth track earlier this year proving that people do pay for their downloads. As a consumer nation the vast majority of us download for 3 of the 4 reason Lawrence suggests.

What is world music?

World music is something that can be argued as two completely different types of sound.

Some argue that world music must be popular music as it has to be heard all over the world. The majority of popular music is in English; it has to break the USA and England as the two biggest dominant nations and then its fed to dependent market's. Anglo-American music essentially becomes established as the standard global template.

World music could also be interpreted as everything except the Anglo American music. Music that has other linguistic lyrics that do not conform to the ‘popular’. World Music can be seen as anything that has a different or unique style from other cultures.

World music can mean simply music from around the world, music that is not simply just Anglo-American churn outs but just something as simple as sounds from other countries like the didgeridoo.

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

Adorno states ‘the popular music industry as an all consuming production line that churns out mass produced inferior commodities’. Some genres of music are part interchangeable and part pseudo individualization; the structure of the music is the same but the details change. Adorno’s theory is right here, but, standardization is not just limited to popular music. Other genres of music also adopt this, folk and country music all have similarities commodities but retain their individuality.

Bernerd Gendron theory is that there is a universal and a particular, in music the universal would be the song and the particular would be the vinyl or C.D. This argues that all music is an art form, and it is the record that is the mass produced commodity. You can’t mass produce a song but you can mass produce a C.D of a song. This therefor retains the artist reverence of music.

How useful is a production of cultural perspective in understanding the birth of R Richard A Peterson “production of cultural perspective” ock and Ro

Richard A Peterson “production of cultural perspective” has a number of strengths when it comes to talking about Rock and Roll, it shows clearly the social cultural and historical context of the era and the development of a new form of music. It sets out six things that he believes effected music in order for something new to be born; “law, Technology,Industry Structure,Organisation Structure, occupational careers and market”.

He clearly lays out these and shows how each effect each other. His perspective i agree with, however, there is one fundamental weakness and that is he doesn’t talk about the music. Peterson address the social ambiance of the time, but doesn’t look into why it was Rock and Roll that emerged.

At these times there were other minorities having their music payed to; such as hillbilly and spanish. Peterson doesn’t directly answer why Rock and Roll became most desirable.

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

The Rolling Stones top 50 guitarists contain no women; Rock music has been gendered masculine through society. As girls grow up they are taught “to be feminine and not to engage in masculine activities.” (Bayton) The guitar is designed for the male anatomy; the female body makes it awkward to hold a guitar. “Rock Guitarists typically hold their instruments low down in front of there genitals..The only reason for this is the silent encoded phallocentric message” (ibid p.43)

Amanda Sloat states ‘heavy metal lyrics often refer to women in a way that suggests sexual subversion.’ Society was giving women more of a social voice so lyrics enabled men to take control.

The symbolic domination of women through lyrics continues to make rock male. “For women rockers to become hard aggressive performers it was necessary for them, as Jerry Garciac commented on janis Joplin to become one of the boys”

Can popular music ever really be unplugged?

Paul Theberge states in ‘The Cambridge Companion To Pop and Rock’; “without electronic technology, popular music in the twenty first century is unthinkable.” In 1828 Sir charles Wheatstone constructed a rudimentary devise for amplification of sound called a ‘microphone’. Emile Berlner in 1876 developed a ‘loose contact transmitter’ to increase volume in the Microphone; allowing the development of ‘String Bass’ before this the tuba was what gave the ‘bass effect’.

Amplification developed in 1904 by Lee De Forest, meant that singers such as Elvis had ability to be influential. ‘1950’s amplification becomes a necessary part of the establishment of Rock ‘n’ Roll.’ (Straw & Street, 2001) Amplification makes music more accessible.

Popular music can be unplugged, however, it couldn’t be defined as “popular” “enjoyed by a large number of people” as it wouldn’t be reached by a large audience, it could be considered popular within a smaller community.

What is popular music?

'Popular' is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as "liked or enjoyed by a large number of people". The term ‘popular’ has changed through out the century’s; ‘Key words’ by Raymond Williams explains the term ‘popular’ was something for the “common people”, until the 18 century when the meaning became “widely favored”.

Popular music is something that is well loved at a specific time; an example of this is when the BBC had ‘Nessun Dorma’ by Luciano Pavarotti playing during the coverage of the Wold cup. This ‘higher class music’ was distributed to a contrasting audience who would normally have not listen to it. The resulted in an overwhelming increases in the circulation of the song. This shows that ‘popular music’ is something that can’t be defined as a genre, in fact Popular music is something that almost has no definitive definition.