MUSIC IN YOUR LIFE
What rhythms and ideas do you find in music?
As you read The Media in Your Life chapter on music and the recording industry, think about the many ways music pervades American life, and how there have been many changes in musical tastes. Think about how you use the different kinds of music you hear to tell stories or for entertainment or to relax in different settings. Also try to relate some issues to the commercialization of music and the impact of corporate music makers on popular content.
Music can be listened to merely for entertainment, but it often acts as an educator as well. Think about how music has affected your life. Why do you listen to it? What does it do for you? Does it help you identify with your own culture and lives that could be like yours? Does it introduce you to new ideas, or help put you in touch with emotions? Does it give you a view of lives different from yours?
- What kinds of music do you listen to most?
- Rock music--if you listen, how do you hear it?
- Country or folk music--if you listen, how do you hear it?
- Rap or Blues-- if you listen, how do you hear it?
- Classical or jazz music-- if you listen, how do you hear it?
- Religious music--if you listen, how do you hear it?
Changes in musical taste can be sudden and dramatic. The rapid growth in the demand for rock 'n' roll during the 1950s caught many music companies off guard. But a decade later, the music system adjusted. Then between 1988 and 1992, the percentage of music buyers money spent on rock music dropped from 47.5 percent to 33.2 percent. But the growth in country music offset this decline, as the percentage spent on country grew from 6.8 to 16.5 percent. During the same period, urban contemporary saw a 5 percentage point increase in sales as rap music moved toward the mainstream and rhythm and blues sales grew. Pop music also experienced a slight decline in sales during this period.
Changes in demand for music often reflect changes in the music itself. The demand for country music changed as country adopted a rock beat and new superstars emerged. Change also occurs with societal change and with pop trends. (For more information, see pages 298-299 of The Media in Your Life.) Return to introduction. Music to Affirm Your Own CulturePeople demand music for entertainment and for affirmation of cultural values. Music can divert people from the boring tasks at hand. Listening to a song while mowing grass or cleaning a room makes those jobs easier to finish. But music also plays an important social role, fostering rebellion, blending forms to make new cultural statements, and solidifying cultural styles through commercialization. It contributes to ceremonies and rituals that define social groups. (For more information, see page 298 of The Media in Your Life.)