Week 11 - Does The Music Industry Create The Market?

In my opinion, the music industry definitely does create the market. If there was no music industry there wouldn’t be a market, end of, fact. However, it can be argued that if it wasn’t for the market, there would be no music industry. However, I would argue with this, as I would say that there could still be a music industry without a market. Although it could be argued nobody would have heard music so wouldn’t know what it was, it could still be possible for people to play instruments, however, it literally is impossible to have a market without an industry. It would be absurd to suggest there could be a market to something that doesn’t exist. So overally, I would definitely say that the music industry does create its market.

week 10 - mix mag review

The magazine is very picture orientated, although it does also consist of a vast amount of text. It is clearly made to appeal to its own specific audience, dance music fans, and no one else really. I dont believe anyone else would enjoy reading about dance music and seeing pictures of dance acts if they werent interested in that. Another notable thing about this magazine is that it consists of a large amount of advertisments. Theodore Petersons belief was that the modern day magazine has rose to a big level because of the growth of advertising, and in this magazine they go with this theory. They use absolutely loads of adverts to fill their pages, and to also make money. Overall i would say the magazine is well presented and written, but only really for people who are interested in the subject area it covers, and it doesnt appeal to anyone else in the slightest.

week 9 - are blackness and whiteness useful concepts in the study of popular music?

I think that using blackness and whiteness as a concept when studying popular music is wrong, as certain types of music shouldn’t be associated just with one type of person. It is true that a lot of rap music and R & B music is associated with black people, and pop and indie is generally associated with caucasians, but this doesn’t have to necessarily be the way. There are many examples of people who have broken this mould, Eminem and Kele Okereke of bloc party naming two of many. They prove that certain music doesn’t have to be associated with the colour of people, and associating a colour with a certain type of music is purely generalizing, because people assume that because they do indie music, they will be white, or because the are an R & B artist they are automatically going to be black. To conclude, I would say that blackness and whiteness are useful concepts in the study of popular music, although the proof is in the pudding that types of music don’t have to involve people of certain skin colour in order to have success.

week 8 - Are subcultures a sign of revolt or an expression of style?

Sub-cultures consist of many different people from different backgrounds, all with unique personalities, so I think it is unfair to generalise that one whole subculture is purely a sign of revolt or an expression of style. However, I think some people join in with certain subcultures because of these reasons. For example, the chav phase that has recently come about is a prime example of a number of people who are involved because it is a way to revolt. A lot of people look down on chavs as violant thugs, and so this spurs some people on to be part of this sub-culture in a bid to revolt. However, I think it is unfair to look at a whole sub-culture as everyone joining it to revolt or as an expression of style. To conclude, I think some people do join subcultures in a bid to revolt or as an expression of style, like many mods, however, I believe it is wrong to tar a whole culture with the same brush.

week 7 - can popular music be a genuine force for political change?

There are several examples over the years of how music and people involved in music have tried to use music to change world politics. Band aid and live aid are two of the most famous examples of music being involved in an attempt to change world politics. However, it still didnt change the world, and the way it ran, and people are still starving in the third world. However, it helped the third worlds cause, and helped bring attention to what is going on in poorer countries. This for me magnifys the fact that music cannot be a genuine force for political change. Live aid got one of the highest viewing figures for television in history, and billions watched it worldwide, yet it didnt fix the problem. I think this is evidence enough that yes, music can have a say in politics, but it cant actually change politics.

week 6 - Is DRM (data rights management) the best way to save the music industry?

In 1999 Shawn Fanning and two friends created download website Napster. This meant that people could access and own music for free without having to go out and buy a single. It was suggested it was going to be the death of the music industry as nobody would buy music from now on. DRM was introduced in an attempt to minimize illegal downloading and boost record sales. However, figures show that downlloads havent actually affected record sales, and in some cases have even helped them out because it has allowed audiences to preview the music, as in the case of radiohead in America. Despite DRM, dozens of download sites still exist, and almost any song is freely available to anyone. Therefor, I would confidently say that DRM reduces illegal downloading, but doesnt stop it completely. It cant save the industry, as there are loads of ways around it, but I dont think the industry is in need of saving anway.

week 5 - Can popular music ever really be unplugged?

In this day and age, it is extremely rare, and virtually unheard of to hear music that isn’t effectively ‘plugged in’. All kinds of music is now plugged in, even when you see a concert or an album advertised as ‘unplugged’. This is because it would be virtually impossible to play any kind of music to a crowd much bigger than 100 without some sort of amplification. However, amplification and electronic technology isn’t a bad thing, and is probably the reason why music is so popular these days. Paul Therberge agrees with this by stating that, in his opinion, ‘without electronic technology, pop music in the 21st century is unthinkable’. From the invention from Lee Deforest of the audion in 1904 to the Stratocaster in 1954 by Leo fender, this has all meant that in this day and age, we simply couldn’t live with music that is not plugged in in any way, so in my opinion, popular music cannot ever really be unplugged.

week 4 - what is world music and why does it exist?

Obviously there is a large number of interpretations about what world music is and why it exists because it is such a broad subject area. In my opinion, world music is music that is listened to on a worldwide stage. For example, I would I would class U2 as world music, because it is music that is listened to on a large scale across the globe. George Guilbault says world music is institutionalized, and is associated with music of the first and third worlds. I believe that any kind of music, from tribal African music to gospel music can be considered world music, as long as it is being transmitted across the world and consumed by these people. Id say that you could’nt describe one type of music as world music, as all music is interpreted differently by different people in different places. World music simply exists to entertain and to inform people of other music that is available and being produced in different parts of the world.

week 3 - Is popular music a commodity or an art?

Adorno claims that the popular music industry is an 'all consuming production line that churns out mass produced inferior commodities'. He hints that no music is original and that it is a 'commodity', all the same kind of thing sold in different packaging. He looks at part interchangability, used to streamline production costs and pseudo individualization which he says is used to provide the illusion of uniquesness necessary to market a commodity that is essentially the same as a host of others. However, I believe popular music is an art, and would argue against Adornos point. I dont believe that what the likes of Oasis and Westlife produce is just the same thing in a different form, and i dont believe that just anyone can pick up a pen and write songs of that quality. I believe you are born with the talent to be a musician, and what musicians write and produce is an art, because an art is something that people do that is unique, and that not a lot of people can produce.

week 2 - What are strengths and weaknesses of Peterson’s production of culture perspective on the birth of Rock and Roll?

In Petersons production of culture perspective, he looks at how rock and roll came about, and why it became such a huge phenomenon, through making 6 key points as to why he thinks it took off. He makes clear and coherent points about artists such as Elvis and Buddy Holly being a big reason for that type of music taking off, as well as the role technology played, like the introduction of records and the radio, and he also looks at the impact that the world war had on the music industry. These are all very well thought out points, and argue well as to why rock and roll took off like it did. However, his argument is also quite weak in places. For example, he fails to look at how rock and roll music came about and how its made, and he also fails to look at how this type of music was used as a way of rebellion by young people in that day and age.

what is popular music?

Popular music is a very wide area of music, and really could describe any type of music that is listened to by people. Popular music literally means that the music is popular. However, its given a different meaning when shortened to pop music. Pop music is seen as a genre of cheesy music listened to by a lot of people. Hence why it is called popular music. However, other types of music, like indie, rock, dance and hip hop etc can also be described as pop music, simply because all of these types of music are popular. Basically, popular music is the majority of music. Most music is listened to by a large number of people and is therefore popular, making it pop music. It is a very broad area, and one that is very often mistaken as simply cheesy bands like westlife and girls aloud, yet it is not, and people like snoop dogg, who you wouldn’t associate with pop music normally, actually do fall under that category.