Does The Music Industry Create The Market?

It is my belief that the answer to this question is unclear. The general public dictate what they like and what they dont, by quite simply not investing their cash in the artsists they have no interest in. The music industry need to cater to the audience, because at the end of they day, if they fail to do so, they effectively have a product which they cannot sell. And to any business, this is useless. However, the music industry can control and dictate what music in released and to what extent. Therefore, I believe that the market is dictated by the general public and the industry, becuase the general public invest in the undergroud and local scenes (such as LostProphets and Bullet For My Valentine), and then the big record labels latch onto this and each get themselves a band from the respective genre which happens to be the fashion at the time. Whilst my opinion is its a mix of both, looking back a couple years, the music industry have had an almost delayed reaction to what was hot at the time.

MixMag Magazine Review

MixMag is a fresh and exciting mag, looking at tunes from the techno, house and dance genres. Aimed at a young and hip audience of 18- 30, this mag offers info on banging gigs and festivals, as well as offering a wacky insight into the hottest gadgets and advances in musical technology. Sex also isnt an issue as this mag includes something for eveyone if you get what I mean. Colourful and cool, the magazines appearance is sure to be a hit, and the text is informative without mouthing on about unnecessary tit tats of info. The contributors often seem to relate to its audience using smaller paragraphs, making it more interesting for its crew. Finally, their features with the freshest artists and DJ's the scene has to offer are bling. Mix keeps the layout consistently cool and simple, being sure to tell the reader the shizzle they really need to know.

Are Blackness And Whiteness Useful Concepts In The Study Of Music?

The terms 'Blackness' and 'Whiteness' are used in the study of music often to define the origin of the many various styles. Whilst these terms aren't always true, especially in modern times when music is more liberal, many still use them as starting points when trying to seperate music into different categories. The terms and the music that they are connotative to can vary from person to person, depending on people's perception, but rely on the music listening audience to draw similar conclusions. This said, they can offer a brief idea of origin and the type of artists who started defining the genres, as well as the varying styles, tempos and rhythms of the music itself. I do therefore believe that these terms are useful, but like alot of things, there are certain drawbacks. One being that these terms are not as readily applicable in todays society, as we see many artists breaking these boundaries, similarly to Elvis back in the 60's, who managed to merge the two together, and in doing so, become one of the most famous artists to have ever walked the earth.

Are Subcultures a Sign of Revolt or an Expression of Style?

As someone who used to be part of one, I can first handedly say that subcultures are a combination of revolt, as well as an expression of style. During my time as a punk (or so I believed I was, aged 15), the music and clothing was what meant the most to me, and this made it more of an expression of style. The bands I liked touched on some of the more obscure, overlooked problems in society, which although we didnt touch on at school, I experienced at home. Bands such as Rancid, Sex Pistols, and Green Day made me question everything from my upbringing, through to my existence. With this is mind, anything which I found I didnt agree with or like, made me revolt. When I did revolt though, it wasnt like some other people I knew, in the sense it was all verbal, and not physical. I liked to express my views in a constructive manner. Although my punk days are over, I can honestly say they were some of the best times Ive had. Whilst general perception is it is bad, I disagree. Like anything in life, there is no such thing as a bad group, only bad people.

Can Popular Music Ever Really Be Unplugged?

In this day and age, I feel it is impossible for music to expand and fulfil its full potential without the aid of electroic technology. Sure, both gospel music and folk can exist without electronics, but when you still consider like other genres they rely on CD's in order to reach large audiences and expand, then this seems useless. Without amplification you would not have concerts, CD's, computers that can play music. The music industry as we know it would fall to pieces and die. Artists rely on technology to make them, whether it is setting up a simple Myspace page or releasing an album for the masses to download. Either way, technology plays a major role in todays industry. Especially in the world we live in, when every one wants what they want when they want it. Dont get me wrong, popular music would still exist to some degree but it would be unrecognisable.

What Is 'World Music' and Why Does It Exist?

No matter whom you ask, generally, people will respond with varied definitions for the term 'World Music'. However, one description which seems to re-occur, and part of my definition, is that world music is music typical of the place from which it originates. I shall explain what I mean by this. Take Ireland for example as they have what they call 'Irish Folk' music. Because this style and genre is what I see as exclusive to that part of the world, I would determine this as one of the many different types of World Music. I do however, have another theory. This being, that the modern day term is simply used by music chain stores, such as HMV, to condense music which they can't fit into any other genres, and therefore capitalise through sales, records bought which often don't belong in this category. And why does it exist? Well, on the surface, to educate people in the styles of music native to certain areas. But beneath the surface and for reasons I have already stated, you may find the term simply meaningless, nothing more than a get out term.

What Are The Strengths And Weaknesses of Peterson's Production of Culture Approach to The Birth of Rock n Roll

As with any theory, Richard A. Peterson's 'Production of Culture Approach...' has strengths and weaknesses. Peterson states Elvis Presley and a number of others were a 'growning legion of rockers'. Whilst this can be helpful to those wanting a starting point for rock n roll, many believe you have to look further back to find the real creators, and believe that these artists are cited mainly because of the fact they were the first artists to become successful with rock n roll. His overall idea is that rock n roll broke into the market because the music industry tried to cover it up, and continue to back big band crooner style artists, therefore making rock n roll more rebellious and exciting. Combined with the introduction of 45 rpm records, and making music couldnt have been easier or cheaper. He also states that 'baby-boomers' were partly to be held responsible, and gives six well detailed constraints which provide a starting point for understanding the dynamic of rock n roll. Peterson gives a great in depth overview of rock n roll, but its main problem for some maybe it is too broad.

What Is Popular Music?

What Is Popular Music? Thats a good question. To me, popular music is exactly what it says. In my opinion, it doesnt matter how popular the music is, its the fact that someone likes it that makes it so. It isnt genre specific, so it could be Jazz, Metal, Rock, Pop, whatever. My old exaplanation would have been music that was in the charts, commercial, and generally music that involved the singers having everything done for them, except the vocals which they would record and then use pro-tools to polish up on. Whilst I believe this to still be generally true, I have come to realise that it doesnt have to be any of the above, but these are, to me, general conventions of what makes popular music, but are specifically associated with the genre of pop music, rather than the term. Its important listeners can distinguish between the two.