Mass Media and Society

Chapter 6: Music

Feb. 3, 2014

Chapter 6:Music

• Popular music’s evolution• Reciprocal nature of

music and culture• Current trends in the

music industry• Influence of new

technology

Evolution ofpopular music

• Phonograph and gramophone

• Tin Pan Alley and vaudeville

• Electrical recording and the rise of radio

Jazz, blues, country/folk, rock and roll• Jazz emerges in 1930s

New Orleans• Country/Western arises

from folk traditions in ’20s• Blues spreads north in

late 1930s and 1940s• Rock and roll rises in ’50s

Rock and roll

• Early pioneers: Little Richard, Chuck Berry

• Elvis Presley combines R&B of blues artists with country-western tradition

• Elvis is “the first true rock and roll icon”

The Beatles arrive

• 1964 “Ed Sullivan Show”: one in three Americans (74 million) tuned in

• British Invasion: Rolling Stones, other artists

• Beatles’ melodic pop sound contrasts with bluesy Stones

Other musical genres emerge

• Folk, soul (Motown), surf, folk, folk rock, glam rock, disco, punk, and on to rap, alternative, grunge

• Protest music in 1960s is closely linked with hippie culture

Hip-hop

• Emerges in 1970s and 1980s

• Urban culture includes graffiti art, breakdancing, rap music (MC and DJ, sampling, scratching, sampling)

Hip-hop’s rise• From underground to

mainstream• Starts as voice of

disaffected• Spreads among cultures

and influences/is influenced by culture

• Its rise mirrors that of other genres

Music and culture

• Great Migration: Between 1915 and 1920, as many as 1 million African Americans moved north

• Migrant blues artists brought music to Chicago, other cities

Music and culture

• Following World War II, youth culture coheres

• Between 1950 and 1959, music sales rocket from $189 million to nearly $600 million

• Morality debates seen in every generation

Music and culture

• Civil Rights Movement: Segregation starts to crumble; African American artists gain mainstream popularity: Motown’s Supremes, Temptations, Four Tops, Vandellas

Ethnicity and themusic business

• White artists “hijack” hits, recording cover versions that gained popularity

• African-American artists lost out on royalties

• Long history of tension and exploitation

Current music industry trends

• Record sales plunge in late 1990s amid file-sharing

• A few big firms continue to dominate: Sony, EMI, Universal, Warner

• Digital sales, streaming replace illegal file-sharing

Technology andthe music industry

• File sharing: RIAA cracks down, sues violators

• MP3 players replace CDs• Digital music sales grow

from 20% in 2007 to more than 50% in 2012

Total full albumsales breakdown• Digital (iTunes, Amazon,

etc.): 37 percent• Mass merchants

(Walmart, etc.): 29%• Best Buy-type chains:

15%• Mail order, venue: 10%• Independent stories: 7%