Week 11 - Does the music industry create the market?

If there was no music industry there would be noone to create the market as there wouldn't be any music, but if the consumer did not exist then there would be no reason to have music. Both the industry and the market need each other to exist and survive. Yet, one can argue that consumers create the market more, rather than the music industry as, if the music does not sell, then the industry changes and adapts to the demand. For example, when the industry created boybands the market wanted more, so the industry grew to meet demand. But as boybands became less popular the industry again adapted to this suggesting that it is in fact the consumers that dominate and create the market, moreso than the industry.

Week 9 -Week 9~Are Blackness and Whiteness useful concepts in the study of popular music?

‘Blackness’ and ‘Whiteness’ are concepts used in order to define the origin for different types of music’s. One can argue that it is possible to split genres between these two concepts due to the ‘expected’ musical sounds and rhythms, yet it can also be seen to be almost impossible due to its constant changing nature. This may seem like a useful concept of defining music as either Black or White, however, today it is very difficult to define musical styles between these two concepts, unlike years before where the sounds of Black and White music were so different they were easily distinguishable. Today’s music brings with it countless racial combinations, of whom borrow other regional styles, so in this respect, it can be said that this concept in the study of popular music is not a useful one.