Is the audience for popular music created by the industry?

The audience for popular music is created by the music industry; the creativity of an artist or band is overlooked in order to make money. Shuker says "popular music is an economic product invested with ideological significance by many of its consumers." The fact of the matter is that record labels will not change a formula if it is working (making money). So if a certain type of song by an artist has made a big revenue, they will ensure the same style of record is made again to repeat the affect.  This would point towards many theorists opinion that the music industry simply creates its own audience and not the artist or the band performing the song. Adorno refers to "standardization" in reference to the audience and popular music; this is all very true, as the industry set the guidelines (song) for the listeners in mass to conform to. 

NME review

For those of you who are not aware, NME magazine was first published in the fine but indistinguishable year of nineteen fifty two. It acts as music tabloid, somewhat giving life to the newer more quirkier of bands and artists by reviewing the work they have so tirelessly assembled. In many respects NME takes on the role of some form of secret society, feeding knowledge to those people who are already knowledgeable to understand information put before them. You may not have noticed but the vocabulary used also moves to almost distance the uneducated reader with what seem to be in house phrases. It is the analyzing of the relatively unknown band, the far fetched festival or the new sub genre which could scare off the average personality. Maybe it is this it reaches and strives for in an attempt to almost appear cool; or at least show that you must be cool to read it.

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

Whiteness and blackness maybe seen as useful concepts in the study of popular music when in fact they somewhat complicate it. David Hatch states that "pop music has relied on the merging of both black and white traditions" in order to be where it is. An example of this is pointed out by Barry Shank, "Rock and Roll came about from white peoples fascination with black music." The most recognized person to demonstrate such a blur in the lines of color would be Elvis Presley; he was brought up in a deprived area around the black culture and his style of music reflected this. Sam Phillips famously said "if I could find a white man with the negro sound and the negro feel I could make a billion;" he found Elvis. Recent examples could be the new asian style of Bhangra where traditional asian instruments are fused with western pop in oder to make a new sound. Pop music can not simply be seen as either black or white; history shows us how intwined these two are within the genre.

Can Popular music achieve political change.

Popular music will find it exceptionally hard to achieve genuine political change due to the capitalist grasp on society. David Harker argues that it is the record industries drive to make money which forces them to manipulate society into a certain type of music. They have the power to set the markets agenda to decide what people listen to. George Melly points towards the Beatles as an example of this; they were transformed in to "happy rockers" and a very scoially respectable act. Angela McRobbie describes how artists  are geared towards writing lyrics which indicate sexual stereotypes if they wish to make money. This was evident during the rock period of the sixties where men were "big, bad and boastful" and women were just themselves.  Stratton says its a "political and economic ploy to emotionally capture the listener with something they can relate to;" they will therefore feel it is worth investing in. 

Does the emergency of digital download signal the end of the music industry?

The emergence of digital download does not necessarily mean the end of the music industry. The argument is that if music is free then nobody will pay for it. Well this is not technically true; bottled water for example shows us that people will still buy even if they can have something for free. A lot of this comes down to guilt and the culture we live in where stealing is frowned upon. File sharing is partially proven by a student from Havard Business School to almost no effect on record sales; other factors tend to be the reason sales fall, such as the amount of CD's released. Lawrence Lessige states that it is illegal but can also help get artists recognized. The relatively unknown band,  RadioHead had their first album, Kid A, shoot to number 1 on the billboard chart after it was shared through Napster. It hereby gained recognition and fans went out to purchase it. 

What is world music?

World music may be defined as something which is listened to and renowned globally. This could mean that it is music which is signed by major record labels and sold transnationally. This music could be indigenous to the country it comes from yet still signed and marketed worldwide; this therefore could classify as world music. The grasp that Anglo American music has on the planet and its link to cultural imperialism acts as a good case study for explaining what world music is. Being a dominant market, America supplies to the needy markets with its fashions and styles etc; these dependent nations therefore adopt part of the dominant origins culture. This ultimately sees a lot of music sounding the same; even indigenous sound fusing with Anglo American sound says Robinson. In the light of these facts world music can be seen as something produced for commercial purposes in the mainstream music market.

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

Popular music can in many respects be seen as a mass produced commodity instead of a genuine art form. It is argued that it accentuates similarity, simply selling records that are very similar to one another just because it is guaranteed high revenue. This is unlike european classical music for example which prides itself on having a harmony, melody and on top of this, diversity. Classical music was theorist Theodor Adornos' favorite genre; his opinion of popular music was that it was "standardized, even when when it attempts to circumvent standardization." It was not art to Adorno, merely  "symptomatic of the destructive nature of capitalization." Popular music is mass produced however you can always argue that somebody at some point is being artistic in order to write a song, even if this is not the person performing it; therefore an art form.

How useful is the production of culture perspective in understanding the birth of rock and roll.

The production of cultural perspective was created by Richard Peterson in nineteen ninety five; he made it in order to destroy the myths surrounding the birth of Rock and Roll by analyzing five different aspects behind it. These five different aspects included: Law, technology, industry structure, occupational careers and market. Through 'Law' its understood that due to radios' fallout with ASCAP in nineteen forty more black music was given air play. Not only this but RCA introduced 7 inch 33rpm vinyl records meaning music could be posted and therefore reach more people. 'Technology' Brought around the transistor and television in the late nineteen forty's; people could now watch and listen to music a lot easier. The weakness behind this is that Peterson doesn't care for the music itself, he only seems to be worried about the facts behind sound; the fact he is not interested in the music would suggest he cannot appreciate what maybe considered rock a roll which is significant .

Should Rock be considered male?

Is it reasonable to consider Rock music as gendered male?

Rock music in many respects, centers around the main instrument; the electric guitar. In a recent poll of the 50 greatest guitarists of all time it emerged that not a single woman was voted amongst them. This then raises the question as to why? A lot of the reason behind it is to do with the electric guitar, often seen as a phallic object in reference to the guitarists' body. Frith and McRobbie mention the idea of 'cock rock' in relation to the aggressive expression of male sexuality through their instrument. Other reasons to acknowledge are also the social roles both men and women have been brought up with. Boyton says girls learn how to be feminine where as boys learn to be masculine through environment; this transpires to the instruments they play. It may now seem awkward for girls to enter a guitar shop due to stereotype, this therefore sees rock remain in the hands of the male.

Popular Music unplugged

Can popular music every really be unplugged?

Popular music of the twenty first century is that bands and artists who heavily rely on technology to produce their sound. It could be argued that the acoustic genre breaks the 'plugged in' trend that now surrounds popular music. However this in many respects is wrong; is acoustic really with out electrical intervention or is that a microphone your' holding? The microphone, invented by charles Wheatstone has been within the music industry since the 1920's. Other pieces of equipment include the amplifier, invented by Lee Defrost (1904) and the ability to record; brought to us by Valdemar Poulson 1898. There is hardly a gig or concert on the planet which fails to use at least one form of technology. Popular music is simply plugged in; iconic instruments such as the Electric guitar invented by Adolph Rickenbacker symbolize its' dependence and the audience's dependence on technology as a whole.   

What is Popular Music?

The understanding of the word 'popular' has changed many times over the last few hundred years. Raymond Williams notes that in the "16th century it originally stood for something which belonged to the common people and was pronounced, popularis." It was also seen as base and vulgar. This meaning however soon developed, the 18th century saw 'popular' as something which was widely favored, and the 19th as an adjective for something thats good. Anahid Kassabian noted that "popular stood for a homemade product which as not always the art and culture of the people." Our understanding today on the other hand, as Robert Burnett states is that popular is commercially orientated with profit as its primary aim. Music could in many respects represent this through examples such as Simon Cowell; developing a something which is "seen as being good," "liked by a lot of people" and therefore invested in.