Does the music industry create the market?

It is important to understand that major record labels are not only music businesses, but divisions of media and entertainment corporations that are firstly and foremost out there to make money. An artist for them is like an action figure on a monopoly board. Majors’ intention is not to make someone famous so that their amazing music could be heard, but to bring back gold to the magnates.
Breaking the industry is hard and many upcoming artists see signing for a major label like hitting a gold vein. It guarantees extensive marketing and a safe entry to millions of household radios and TVs. Due to this, the industry has a very influential role in shaping the market products. There is a vicious circle of artists pleasing the industry and the industry offering limited production for the consumers.
On the other hand, majors have always been slow to react to changing trends. More often, it is the independents and underground movements that first introduce a new sound. This contradicts the argument that it is the industry that creates the market.
It will be interesting to see if digitization will see an end to this, as more and more artists are leaving major labels and moving the digital distribution.

NME Review

Boy, I can feel that masculine vibe that flows trough the articles of NME. I would put money on it, that the editorial staff of NME are predominatly young virile 'indie-rocker-lads' who aren't totally ignoring the presence of women but who are systematically excluding them from most of its context. This gotta be fellas selling 'quality' for their mates. It's not only the sexy pair of legs on the first page that welcome me to world of shaving creams and boyish gadgets, but the general style its male journos write. As I said, most of the ads clearly indicate that this isn't a mag for me, unless of course, I'm a true Coldplay fan, who would pay over two quid for the sake of the free record that I could have downloaded anyway. All in all, I suppose it's a decent read if you're keen on new rock and wear tighter jeans than I do.

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

Throughout history people have felt the need to classify themselves and divide each other into subordinated groups. In music this is no different, and it has led to difficulties in defining genres.

It can be argued, that today's rock is predominantly white, but what defines a black and white genre? Is it the artist, producer or the audience? Elvis may have been a white artist and rock n'roll may be seen as a white musical revolution, but on the other hand, Elvis' voice sounds black and the origins of the musical style were actually in black rhythm and blues. Public enemy later declared that Elvis was a racist but in the end the so-called ‘black music’, hip-hop has now got many successful white artists. Is Eminem the new Elvis? Or Amy Winehouse the new Diana Ross?

In my opinion it is more important to look at the origins of the musical style rather than divide genres on the grounds of skin colour. Ethnicity, class, gender and socio economic atmosphere all influence on produced music. A person’s identity contributes to the music they listen to and people identify with something familiar to them.

Can Popular Music produce a genuine force for political change?

Popular music can be used as a vehicle to express identity and music genres may be seen as something that divides people into subcultures sharing a same social meaning. Music is an excellent source of information; songs are listened to over and over again where as print text is seldom read more than once. For years, artists have raised opinions and highlighted socio-economic issues with provocative lyrics. Singers and bands may be seen as icons or even leaders of political movements. It is undeniable that a public figure has more power to address issues than an ordinary person. Live Aid may not have cleared Third World debt but it definitely succeeded in promoting awareness and inspiration. By getting 'stars' involved, an audience is guaranteed. The whole music business is a capitalist system so charity events such as Live Aid can be seen as self serving. So far, there is no evidence of long term impact but the power that a pop act can have on politics should not be underestimated.

Is DRM the best way to save music industry?

Digital rights management was set up to protect copyrights and to prevent illegal copying of music, film and publishing. Its main purpose was to prevent companies from loosing profits; also to save music industry from intellectual fraud and to save artists from loosing money from their records. DRM has tried to make piracy impossible by adding security but ended up causing a lot of trouble for average listeners by creating incompatibility in audio CDs. In my opinion, it has been beneficial for record labels but in the longer run, I don't think it can save music industry from illegal file distribution. Although iTunes has proven to be a great success, competing sites like Napster and Limewire are almost just as popular. Internet is full of sites where people can remove DRM protection. With more and more music listeners using iPods and other mp3 players it has been inevitable for people to change into downloading music instead of buying CDs and vinyls. By making people pay for their files, music industry has managed to make some profit of digital music but at the same time they have tried to stop the greatest purpose of internet; free information. It -pirates will always be one step ahead of the industry, DRM can only slow down the process.

What is world music and why does it exist?

World music is often associated with something from minority cultures or with music from the third world countries. In the Western countries it is often recognized as ‘the other’. It is produced locally but outside the Anglo-American countries. Music can be performed with their native language and unusual instruments (to the Westerns) and styles can be applied. However, not in all cases is world music produced locally. Major Western record labels have signed indigenous artists and discovered their unique sound as a money making machine. In these cases the original sound may be altered to sound more like Western music. Sometimes this hybridity in music has led to a change in their own local environment. Great examples of this are the popularity of Hip Hop in Asia and Western bubble gum Pop in Japan. Guilbault brought up the idea of transnationalism in music that has emerged as a result of post colonialism. Cultural Imperialism has ensured that Anglo-American music has become the standard form of pop having its’ main language English. Funnily enough, in many cases that is enough to have a CD categorized in the ‘world music section’ in HMV.

Is Popular Music a Commodity or is it Art?

Popular music is a business, out of which people make a living. A record may have been produced and then again reproduced a number of times. Some might argue that the artist’s expression may have got lost in the process. Adorno branded pop a standardized commodity and wasn’t open to the evolvement of the music culture. He appreciated classical music and drew a distinctive line between the styles. Can a song be produced to give it a new meaning? Electronic music uses sampling and mixing as it’s main element in making new tracks. A DJ or producer can give a piece their personal touch, a unique new sound. That could be considered an expression of an artist. In my opinion, Adorno’s view is too dry and negative. There’s Art -Modern (Pop-!) Art -Classical Music -Modern Music... Music changes! With time it takes influences but that doesn’t make it any less valuable. Pop can be a particular, but it is not consumed like other commodities are.