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

The common Marxist view held by people such as Theordore Adorno is that popular music is simply a commodity and is standardised. Some say that popular music has become homogenised as big record companies make music that they know will be successful as there is a lot at stake and they don’t want to take a risk therefore copying what is already out there. On the other hand there is still a wide variety of music being created today and it can be argued that this homogenisation has created  a higher level of diversity . Certain bands like Radiohead can get away with giving their music away and charging their fans as much as the fans think it is worth as they are already well established and are making a very good living from music but newer bands need recording companies to get their sound to the public and make a living. 

Uncut Magazine Review

Uncut magazine has the essence of pure rock and role. It offers in depth, extensive reviews on new, breakthrough artists as well as a nostalgic look at the bands and legends that made rock great. Not only does it look at music, but it also reviews films and TV shows as well. It speaks to its readers as though they are well educated which is evident in its articles are well written and occupy most of the page compared to its pictures. Their audience are financially comfortable and passionate about their music if the advertising is anything to go by as most the adverts are for concerts, new CD releases or other music related technology. The May 2011 issue is accompanied by a free CD, featuring great tracks, exclusively compiled by Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes. 

Are Blackness and Whiteness useful concepts in the study of popular music?

Some people may use black and white to describe the origin of a genre but essentially the birth of rock and roll came from the combination of many different music styles , some that could be considered white and some black. As music evolves, different styles of music combine all the time. 


The main difference in styles of music comes from class not race. Elvis and Eminem were both white yet they produced what many consider to be ‘black’ music. This was predominantly due to their upbringing  and coming from a working class background. A lot of ’black’ music such as the blues and rap essentially comes from suffering.        


In conclusion I believe that  black and white music are not useful terms for describing music as they do not give enough information and do not take account the rest of the world such as Asia 

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

Lawrence Lessig suggests four types of digital downloading: a substitute for purchasing, a way of acquiring old music that is copyrighted but is no longer in circulation, to sample and then later purchase or to access material that has not been copyrighted. Record companies would have us assume that only the first type of downloading occurs and this is the only type where record companies would loose money.  


The illegal sharing of music can benefit artists such, for example Metallica, who gained fame through the illegal copying and sharing of their early material on cassette tapes. Now with growing technology such as you tube and myspace this is a lot more common and easy today. 


People will always find ways of copying music and getting it for free and digital downloading doesn‘t change that.  Real artists should perform their music for artistic reasons rather than financial gain and hope that if they are good enough, people will pay to see them in concert. 

Can popular music achieve genuine political change?

Music is essentially a way of getting a message across. Even though a lot of songs do not appear to be political and may not even contain lyrics, Brian Longhurst argues that any piece of music is political. It is common for protestors to accompany their marching with a repetitive, unanimous chant and the effects of messages in music can even be seen in hymns sung in church.  Many songs have been seen to have a political impact such as Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday which may have had something to do with the beginning of the civil rights movement and was named Song of the Century by Time magazine. There have also been  music that has failed in its attempts to impact politics such as Red Wedge.


In conclusion I think that music alone can deliver a message and raise awareness but cannot have a political impact. Changes come from a combination of music and the context in which it was produced. 

What is world music?

To first understand world music, the ideas of local and global music must be explored . Local usually refers to indigenous music and global refers to music that is available world wide. However these terms are not so distinguishable as what may be considered to be indigenous can be owned by a worldwide corporation and many western artists can adopt the sounds of indigenous music. Music of certain nations can be influenced in a process known as cultural imperialism. Cultural imperialism is the idea of a nation, i.e. American and the UK, taking over other nations, ie France and Canada, in terms of culture, therefore Anglo American popular music becomes the template for foreign artists.  However, it is argued that in our growing multicultural society, the idea of a nation state has become redundant. In conclusion I believe that world music is simply a category for record companies to take indigenous music does not have an Anglo American sound and market it to a global audience. 

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

A theorist that would argue that popular music is a mass produced commodity is Theodore Adorno. Being a Marxist, Adorno was very anti capitalism and believed that the way popular music is produced and distributed is part of the capitalist machine and distracts the public from real problems. He believed that the whole structure of popular music is standardised.  His two main reasons behind this was part interchangeably ,many resources used to produce popular music coming from the same source, and pseudo individualism, the idea that record companies provide an illusion that they are always releasing new products when they are actually recycling and repackaging old material. A prime example of pseudo individualism is the television show The X Factor. A theorist that would disagree with Adorno is Bernard Gendron who argues that music is consumed differently to other mass produced commodities and that even if something is copied its context can still change for example the two versions of My Way by Frank Sinatra and The Sex Pistols.