Peoples taste in music can be a very controversial topic. People discus in depth all aspects of taste even to the point of tribalism. Tribalism is when a person’s lifestyle is reflected upon the type of music they listen to. They may dress in the style of that music or live in certain areas where that music is popular. A good example of this is the punk music genre, many people who listen to punk typically dress like a punk and the things they do in free time tends to be orientated around this idea of tribalism. However this is a arguable point because not necessarily everyone who listens to that type of music well necessarily follow theses fashion or trends. Musical taste has a big influence n the way you dress speak and sometimes act. It can often signify a person’s personality or their lifestyle. All expert that have considered the matter agree that music and the trends that follow it – sits at the epicenter of popular culture, it is neither high or low culture and sits in between the two – the direct focus. This has such a huge impact on the global community, not only does it lead the individual to derive a sense of identity but to the extent that the global community can be changed and influenced so easily but Musical Trends and tastes.
There is always the on going underlying question – is popular music an art or an industry? Some critics believe that music and industry are in many ways incompatible terms. This is an on going debatable that has been going on for many years. Between the two, art and commercialism, there is this ‘dynamic tension’. Dynamic Tension is the tension between organic and synthetic. Synthetic music is people and bands that are set up and purposely put together because of their appearance, height or background. Music companies can put them together or they can be formed on popular television programs such as x-factor and Britain’s got talent where they are then voted through by the public and the public opinion is what makes them. A good example of a synthetic band is the spice girls. The spice girls were formed in June 1993 after individually auditioning for a ad in the newspaper for Stageworks. The advert placed in the stage newspaper asked for girls 18-23 with the ability to dance or sing? There was no other things asked for on the audition, this goes to show that they are not interested in anything their appearance and talent. The spiced girls were originally formed as a band called ‘Touched” one of the band members was asked to leave because she didn’t ‘fit in’ and she was replaced by Emma Bunton. This again highlights that they are put together to be aesthetically pleasing and not necessarily performing the music that they want to or that best represents them as a band, they are doing what the music industry tells them to, thus making The Spice girls a synthetic band. On the other hand, Organic bands are a band that are completely individual, they are not influenced by anyone they sing the songs they sing because they want to and it’s their style of music. A good example of an organic band are ‘Mumford and Sons’, they formed in college and wrote folk style songs that were influenced on the work of Shakespeare they have recently managed to get signed and their album is in the charts at the moment. It just goes to show that it is not only synthetically produced bands and music that can be popular and make debus albums and tracks.
Within the Music industry there are many competing companies, however the music industry is dominates by four trans national corporate companies:
• Universal
• Sony music
• Warner bros
• EMI
Theses four corporate companies are known as the majors. They have big bands and big budgets allowing them to spend huge amounts on creating music videos. Most majors to own a string of smaller subsidiary companies – theses are commonly known as Independents. The reason for majors owning or licensing independents is so that they can reach different audiences who are perhaps interested in different kinds of genres of music. Smaller than Independents, there are also smaller companies known as mini independents. They have little or no financial connection to the majors.
In the music industry there are many different aims and objectives. Not only do you have to try and create then sell your song to your target audience but your also have to establish your brand. There are many different marketing campaigns that can help establish a band, you can create merchandise, clothing and books or you can attempt to get recognition from showings and interviews on radio, television, newspapers and magazines. The industry has a very complex relationship with different media so his can sometime be quiet a challenging process. Creating a pop video is just one of the many ways to aid as a marketing strategy. The reason for a band do produce a music video would be, not only to promote the band but also to promote a certain album or single, to create or adapt to their star image, to entertain as a product of its own right and to reinforce meaning or undermines the meanings of a song.
Now more than ever, there is a great threat to music videos becoming irrelevant. The reason for this is because it is so much easier to illegally get hold of material online and download it. Once it has been downloaded it is even easier for a person to share it with his friends and this is where the chain begins. I think it is safe to say that soon enough there will be no real point of charging to download or view a pop video. Some artist have already come to this conclusion and they instead make their revenue and profit from live tours or concerts, it is here that they are also given the opportunity to sell other products such as merchandise, clothing and books. It is because of this treat that it has created an opportunity for me to now create my own pop video.
