As a part of our summer pack of holiday work we were instructed to cipher through a collection of notes and articles and pick out key theories and ideas about the music industry. This was massively informative and will surly prove to be useful when it comes to making my music video and having to construct a imaginary music artist from nothing that wouldn't look out of place in the real industry.
GENRE
Of all different media, pop music is the most dependent on genre. Genres in music are constantly being invented, crossed and revisited, and the process of categorisation is important for the producers and fans alike. Retailers and customers heavily rely on genre to make their buying choices. Music services such as iTunes and Spotify also depend on genre to define the music you are listening to and continue to provide you with music of a similar vein for you to buy or stream. However, many artists resent being pigeonholed in such a way.
All the different genres of music can be easily characterised by definable conventions that we as an audience can notify in them. These are;
1. MUSICAL STYLE - Rhythm, instruments used for melody, lyric and vocal style (Although, these features are constantly intertwining between genres to create a 'hybrid' sound.)
2. LOOK AND LIFESTYLE - Similar visual reference points can often be made in certain genres with things such as attire and hair, with an artists look usually categorising them before they get the chance to start sining or playing. Can also be outlined by the artists projected lifestyle and ethos, most notably with common circulating rumours about the behaviour of classic Rock bands.
3. INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT - Genre can often be represented through the institutional support and distribution that an act receives e.g. performance spaces, radio stations, record shops, magazines and festivals.
This depth of knowledge on genre will prove useful in allocating my future artist in the chosen area and knowing what sort of supplementary details to associate with them regarding aesthetics and awareness.
WHAT MAKES 'STARS' SUCCESSFUL IN POPULAR CULTURE?
As media theorist Richard Dyer cleverly identifies, the terms "pop performer" and "pop star" have become different on a broader scale. In media terms, they are not the same thing. Pop performers are known simply for performing pop music where as pop stars do the same, yet this comes with an additional, 'constructed' persona which is not restricted solely to their musicianship. Stars are artificial images, even if that artificial image is that the artist is a 'real person'. If an audience is thinking in this way about a star, then that is only because they have been subconsciously stewarded into thinking this by the team behind the star in order to make them more appealing.
Pop starts often retain common characteristics. The songs change but the singers remain the same. They embody a small collection from the same list of workable values that contribute to their public interest such as;
.Youthfulness
. Rebellion
. Sexual Magnetism
. An anti-authoritarian attitude
. Originality
. Creativity/Talent
. Agression/Anger
. A disregard for social values
. Conspicuous consumption, of sex, drugs and material goods
. Success against the odds
Obtaining a number of these traits and combing them with the correct publicity is likely to produce a successful cocktail in the music industry and always has done. However, no one of these traits is enough singularly. Even if an artist is successful and consequently becomes a 'star', the battle for retention becomes the new issue. The longer the star remains successful on the world stage, the more difficult it is to embody these values. Even these 'stars' become a victim of nature as creativity burns out, looks fade and consequently interest wains. This is why prematurely dead artists make perfect pop stars. They don't become old and unattractive, nor do they loose their iconic musical abilities. This gives us the answer to why in such a youth-obsessed medium, the dead are so venerated. Without doubt pop stars have a sell-by date. Those who leave the industry early go with most of their dignity and appeal still intact and therefore live on afterwards as we cans see with Elvis Presley. In some cases, it can often even act as a significant commercial boost like with Michael Jackson. However, if this fails to happen we are left with cases such as Paul McCartney who is left in a position where nobody in any way doubts his talent and contribution to the industry, but are essentially wishing he would stop singing now! "Dead rock stars appeal to people because their death allows something nebulous to become a story with a beginning, a middle and an end." - Pat Gilbert, editor of Mojo.
These articles not only offered me insight into the ageing process in the music industry which I found incredibly interesting, but also reminded me of Dyer's 'star image' concept which proves to be perpetually relevant in the industry and must likewise be when I create my own artist. They must too have definable features that, along with the song, could equate to commercial success in the real world.
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