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.

How useful is a production of cultural perspective in understanding the birth of rock and roll?

In his article, ‘Why 1955?’ Richard A Peterson tries to explain the start of Rock and Roll by exploring the social context of the time. He states that Rock and Roll was started by six different factors; law, technology,  industry structure, organisational structure, market and occupational careers. He debunks myths of  Rock and Roll being started by the post war baby boom and the emergence of several talented musicians.  The theory works, as it would make more sense for several factors to be involved instead of just one. One problem with Peterson’s theory is that it is all based around  the idea that Rock and Roll began in 1955. Many singles before that have been widely regarded as being the first  Rock and Roll single including Elvis Presley’s 1954 hit ‘That’s all right’, Bill Haley and the Comets with ’Rock around the Clock’ also in 1954 and even going as far back as The Andrew’s sisters with ‘Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy’ in 1940. 

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

One argument for rock music being gendered male is that fact that in the top 100 best guitar players by Rolling Stone magazine, only two of the list were female and they weren’t in the top 50. Marvis Bayton points out that females in music, usually occupy the role of a vocalist, rather that a musician. She goes on to point out that the reasons behind the lack of female guitarists must be of a social concern as men have no physical advantage over women as far as guitar playing is concerned. Another aspect of rock music, especially heavy metal, that can be considered masculine are the lyrics. They are usually extremely derogatory towards women, demonstrating an aggressive form of masculinity. The guitar, especially the electric guitar, can also be seen as a phallic symbol. It can be argued that this extreme masculinity stems from an underprivileged background.  In conclusion it is clear that the music predominantly considered as ‘Rock’ is gendered male. 

Can popular music ever be unplugged?

This week we learnt about the importance of technology in popular music, in particular the invention and development of the microphone, the amplifier and recording technology. Musicians have used technology to produce new sound and often used technology in the way it wasn’t intended for. This includes Jimi Hendrix using the feedback from standing too close to an amp to produce his trademark wailing guitar sound or Bing Crosby using the microphone to emphasise the bass of his voice to produce a more imitate and warm sound. These technologies have changed the face of live performance as now artists can dance and move around while singing and musicians can be heard in a huge stadium. The development of recording technology has led to artists being able to record multiple tracks to one piece of music at different times, producing a note perfect piece of music. From this I cannot see popular music ever being unplugged. 

What is popular music?

Throughout recent history popular it has meant ’low of base, vulgar or of the common people’, ‘courting favour of the people by undue practices‘, ‘widely favoured‘, a synonym for good and ’from and of the people’.  Anaid Kassabian says that popular means that it’s unmediated yet all forms of music, except pure voice, involved technology in the form of a musical instrument. A main theme of discussion was the difference between popular music and art. Robert Burnett said that popular music is commercially orientated and commercial is defined as being concerned with money over artistic or any other value.  The elitists thought that Nessum Dorma by Pavorotti, what is considered to be the best piece of classical music of all time, was somehow cheapened by the fact that it reached number one in the UK singles chart as a result of it being used for the theme song for the BBCs coverage of the 1990 world cup.