Money for Nothing: Behind the Business of Pop Music (Media Education Foundation, 2002) analyzes four gatekeepers that control the flow of music to consumers: radio, MTV, touring, and retail.
- Thinking back to 2002 (when this film was made), who were your favorite musicians? Were your choices influenced by the four gatekeepers identified in the film?
- Now think of your current musical choices. Who are the gatekeepers today? Do radio, MTV, touring, and retail still matter?
For more background on the music industry, check out the website for the PBS-Frontline documentary The Way the Music Died.
Ten years ago, when this film was made, I was still fading off my 'Nsync and Brittney Spears phase. I listened to them because everyone else was listening to them. I was young enough that I was still easily swayed by others to listen to particular kinds of music. Since the music industry put so much emphasis on pop with all the boy-bands and stars like Mandy Moore and Christina Aguilera, I'm not surprised that they were the ones I listened to the most. The radio was my biggest influence then. In Richmond, we all listened to Q94 for the good music, aka Top 40s. MTV was never on at my house, we only ever went to outdoor public concerts, and I didn't exactly have disposable income at the age of 11. The radio was my gatekeeper, and as long as the tunes were upbeat I didn't mind.
ReplyDeleteThese days I have had a lot more time to have preferences. I choose to like certain genres, and there are several that I don't. While pop has morphed into a quasi-hiphop/dubstep/dance-mix, the idea is still the same. There is an overarching "quality" to the "popular" music I hear in the Top 40s on the radio. And it often seems like the artists are slave to the current music theme if they want to stay popular. I've started measuring talent by the artist who can maneuver between the changing genres and continue to create songs I like, in addition to raw talent. The radio doesn't drive my music choice as much anymore though. iTunes and Pandora/Spotify have a lot more affect on me now. I choose a song that I know I like, but then their "radio" picks other songs like it. Who's to say there isn't someone behind that, driving me toward particular songs/artists? Sometimes I will hear the same song five times in an hour, but not hear the song I like more than once every three hours. Could that be the same as corporations paying media owners to play certain songs on public radio waves? I had not thought of that before.
- Ame Wood
I definitely agree with Ane with the fact that we did not have much control at the age of 11 over what we listened to- it was pretty much the radio, so I took what I could get, or the most recent NSYNC of Aaron Carter CD if I was lucky enough to convince my mom to buy it for me. Sometimes, when I got home from the babysitter's house early and my parents were running late, I would cut on MTV. I remember watching TRL with Sway and all of the other DJs that were popular at the time. Unfortunately, I never saw many concerts- my mom would always say, "I can't swing that," meaning the tickets were way too expensive for her to afford. When I was 10 I saw my first concert, NSYNC; we sat in the nose-bleed section, but hey, it's all we could afford because they were the hottest boy band around at the time. Ticket prices have only seemed to sky-rocket as the years have gone by.
ReplyDeleteRadio, MTV, touring and retail are no longer the main gatekeepers. With all of the technological innovations that are available today, we do not need the radio or to take a trip to the store in order to get the music we want. We can download it almost instantly to our smartphones or laptops. I get all of my music from iTunes, and when I cannot afford to purchase a song (which is almost always), I head to Pandora and find a playlist that fits my mood. It's a free tool, and if I don't like the song, I can press the thumbs down button and it will change the song instantly. The same goes for YouTube- free music videos right at my fingertips. The internet/music apps for smart phones have pretty much knocked out the gatekeepers of radio, retail, and MTV. Touring, however, still has a strong hold as a gatekeeper. There is virtually nothing that can replace seeing an artist perform live. As we saw in the video, it is rather impossible to have a successful tour unless you use one of the major ticketing companies, such as Ticketmaster. There is practically a monopoly on this resource, and it does not seem like the gate keeping powers of touring with fade any time soon.
Melissa "Mel" Peale
After viewing the film and thinking back to 2002 I decided to look up the Billboards Top 100 list of 2002. Granted after watching the film I couldn't help but think of how costly it must be to artists and music companies now to put their songs on the Billboard's list. It's probably very similar to what the film said on how everything is a business deal in getting your music out there. I would think Billboard Top 100 might be one of the biggest music deals of the year to be able to place your song at the top of that list. However I wasn't thinking about any of this as a 12 year old in 2002, so I know I probably just enjoyed the music at the top of the Billboard list and was happy about it. Well after looking at the list the top 3 songs of 2002 were by Nickelback, Nelly, and Ashanti. All three are definitely big pop and hip hop names. All three I most definitely liked because they were all over MTV and VH1 type channels and played on the radio endlessly. It was funny to me the Nickelback was number one on this list, because nowadays there is a huge anti-fan base of Nickelback saying all their songs are so generic and sound the exact same just with different words. This could definitely be an effect of the gatekeepers and now being 2012 and not having such a strong influence of gatekeeprs then listeners are starting to develop their own beliefs on the band. People are able to look past the business side.
ReplyDeleteWith that said my musical choice is definitely different today. I have become very wrapped up in the world of country music. Like pop music back in 2002, country music can definitely have its big time country artists with their big followings. However what I like most about country artists is there are still plenty out there that aren't big names, play in small little bars, and can have a couple of big hits here and there that is good music to listen too. Also say you were to go somewhere like Nashville you could probably hear plenty of artists that write all their own stuff and try to make it the old fashioned way by playing in small bars. However you do have to search for these less known country artists, because like independent artists they are very hard to find unless they hit it big. Nashville might very well be the gatekeeper of the whole country music world. If you sign a deal with a big time record label in Nashville, then you hit it big. That's when your songs will hit all over country radio. And yes country radio is definitely the same and repetitive no matter what town you are in. The same songs play over and over again just like pop radio. MTV of course does nothing for country artists, but CMT sure does. And those two TV stations are owned by the same company. As far as touring and retail those are not as big and over the top as other genres of music. Depending on the artist some concerts are very affordable (although tickets still come from ticketmaster) and retail is not huge because country appeals to a specific group of people. It's not like pop music which can hit big nationwide. I do believe gatekeepers still exist even in the country music world, but like I said you can find some alternative stuff. You can go out and listen to local bars music. For instance back in my hometown a girl named Bria Kelly won a music singing radio contest. For the past year she has been able to open for artists at all kinds of concerts. Now she just made her way onto America's Got Talent. She is slowly pushing forward into the gatekeeper world to get her music out there, but I can say I knew her before she even got into all that. It's all about sticking to your roots in country music and trying to stick with the local artists even if all those same gatekeeper still matter.
Katherine Harper
Wow, I was in 6th or 7th grade in 2002? Like the others have said, I didn't have a lot of control over what I listened to. In a way, my parents were my biggest gatekeepers; I listened to their cd's and the radio stations they picked. Certainly what they listened to was influenced by radio, esp. country radio. We never went to concerts unless they were free, so I did get to hear some more "indie" acts who would play at public concerts. We never had cable, so I never watched MTV or VH1, so TV did not have much influence on my music choices either. I think the most common way I learned about music was through recommendations or radio.
ReplyDeleteNow, however, is a completely different story. Almost all my new music comes, in the end, through the internet. I learn about music through ads, TV shows, and movies, and then look them up on the internet. I also get recommendations through people I follow through social media, both people I know (on Facebook) and those I don't know personally (on places like Tumblr). Media still plays a large role as a gatekeeper in my life today, deciding what I hear during the shows I watch and the ads I'm forced to endure. Retail also still puts things in the forefront of my vision, esp. on iTunes, but it doesn't stop me in a way it might have once. For example, when I found a piano CD that I couldn't purchase in the U.S., I just ordered from overseas through Amazon. However, the gatekeeper role in general I think has been greatly diminished by the internet, which as they mentioned briefly in the video, gives everyone a chance to participate.
Marisa Seitz
I am a much older student, so in 2002 I was living on my own and attending college part-time. The music I listened to most at that time was Nine Inch Nails. Trent Reznor, the lead singer, had by this time created his own record company. Fed up with his Interscope for many reasons, including those that we saw in the film, he just began his own. Because I appreciate his style so much, I actually bought albums by other bands who recorded with his company. My friends and I all seem to be non-mainstream followers, which partly keeps some of the gatekeepers at bay. However, we certainly attended many concerts and were price gouged by Ticketmaster. I also didn't have cable and never watched much TV, so I instead bought videos released by my favorite bands. As far as retail goes, it was devastating when a local music store closed in Harrisonburg, because I was left with having to drive to Staunton to get music or buy it at Walmart. Walmart did not (and I assume still doesn't) carry most of the bands I listen to. The local record store promoted rock music and had midnight releases of albums, which was a great way to run into people from high school and socialize. In this sense, retail did act as a gatekeeper. At that time, we had even fewer radio stations in this area than we currently have now, so I always had a CD player in my car and home. Radio definitely acted as a gatekeeper because I have discovered many band from the Alternative genre that I had never heard before and are very talented.
ReplyDeleteMTV is definitely no longer a gatekeeper for most people because they rarely play music. I think radio has lost some of its power as a gatekeeper because of satellite radio and the portability of music on phones, ipods, etc.....Pandora seems to introduce many people, myself included, to musicians they would have otherwise never heard of. Since you can set Pandora to play a certain genre, I've found myself interested in many artists that I otherwise never would have known of. I feel that touring is still extremely popular and the touring industry is definitely a gatekeeper. The venues seem to all be owned by some major corporation with their name all over everything and the price of parking is outrageous, sometimes almost half the cost of the actual ticket. Retail is definitely holds less power than ever before with music. With almost everyone having access to the internet, most people just buy from there. I personally still like to buy CDs because I like the artwork and having a whole discography. Where I can buy music is extremely limited in Harrisonburg and there is no longer local stores from which to buy from. Instead, I am forced to buy from chains. The internet has shifted the gatekeepers into different positions, but they are still powerful.
I won’t talk about 2002 as I think most of us are on the same boat about how radio and MTV were a big influence on which artists we knew about, listened to and liked, simply because our age and accessibility. Today is a different game all together, especially for our generation. With the wonderful gift of the internet a whole new process of hearing, finding, and purchasing music has come about. Our generation, from what I’ve seen and heard, has been labeled with the characteristic of not going to default mainstream, and I think this was definitely pushed by the fact that we have so much more access and exposure to alternative and independent music thanks to the web. And music is just one area of this. (Not to say that a lot of people, of all ages, are not using the web to find music, but I think we definitely run the show in terms of blogs, mp3 sites, and online playlists.) Now we are not limited to what we hear on the radio, or see on MTV, or what entertainment magazines are talking about, or what albums big chain stores are selling, though those do still have a big push. You can now hear a song you like in a store, or on a commercial, and search the lyrics, find out the artist, listen to more of their songs, look up “related bands”, see what their fans like, etc. etc. It’s a bottomless pit, in a good way.
ReplyDeleteI think with the internet, the fans can have a say in who makes it big. On one hand the artists that are being played the most on the radio, are also the ones with the most views on youtube. You can’t dent radio’s influence, especially on the tweenies. But, it is clear that someone with no label, singing in their bedroom, who has a great voice, and thoughtful music can become a sensation, a talented sensation, through a lot of people liking and sharing the video. The internet has given a little bit more control back to listeners, and also another route for bands to possibly take.
All of this however, brings up something no one has mentioned: the fact that many people now get their music online, illegally for free. This issue might be off topic, but I do think it’s a recent and important one. I personally don’t feel bad for the multimillionaire artists, but it can be unfortunate for those up and coming bands who need the profit.
-Jordan Krug
Well back in 2002, I was just a kid. Most of what I listened to was what I could get my hands. I preformed a backstreet boys song at a talent show because I won a backstreet boys cd at a contest. I listened to the beatles a lot because people kept giving me cds. I grew out of the boy band-diva stuff pretty quick.
ReplyDeleteToday the major gatekeepers are tv and the internet. Most of the music I purchase I usually get from pandora or I hear them in Tv commercials. One of my most recent songs I purchased was a song I never heard of called "Short Change Hero." I got the song because it was played in the background for the Arkham City trailer.
I believe touring and retailing does matter, it is just who the people are. I think touring and retail are important to the younger crowd. That is why Justin Beiber is so popular. I don't think touring and retail has much of an effect on anyone older than 16.
__Ethan Hughes
Watching the "Money for Nothing" film, I was struck by how closely the commentators seemed to be talking about my own childhood. I was an avid pop music fan, rushing home to watch TRL everyday and begging my mom to take me to the mall so that I could purchase the artists' cds with my small allowance. The scenario is very similar for many of us, growing up in the new millennium, we were products of consumption. What I found most interesting in watching the film, however, relates less to my obvious musical tastes, but more to my hidden favorites from the time.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up with an older brother, I was introduced to much more than the standard Britney Spears, including NWA, Dr. Dre, Jay Z and many of the rap artists that still fill my playlists today. After months of debating the appropriateness of the music for an adolescent with my mom, she decided to let me buy some of my own rap cds, and I quickly learned the tricks of Walmart, the same ploys that were exposed in "Money for Nothing." In fact, after purchasing only a few cds from the large chain, I began only going to the record store downtown (which sold both independent and major label artists) to get my music. It was not the need to hear profanity that drew me to the other retailer, but the outright silliness of some of the edits that I noticed on the Walmart records. With such a large pull among musicians, the store was able to make them actually produce edited versions of every song on an album simply to be sold at the retail giant. Seeing this very point brought up in the film had a interestingly nostalgic effect for me, reminding me of my own silent protests of big corporations at a young age.
Today, my personal exploration of music has continued, as I seek out new artists on underground sites and through social media. I believe that even though there is still a huge business in music, this onslaught of internet file sharing has actually reduced many of the gatekeepers in popular music. An artist like Childish Gambino, Adele or even early Justin Bieber is now able to carve out their own fan base before they ever need to seek a record label, sweetening the deal for both artist and consumer. With increased popularity already, the artist is able to make a better living and the consumer is able to have greater access to unknown music.
Call me an optimist, but I think that music is changing for the better. Today, consumers are much more easily able to dictate what they want from the record labels through YouTube video views and ITunes access and big business simply has to follow suit. The A&R guys have been replaced with teenagers' computers from New York to Oklahoma, and music accessibility is only continuing to grow.
-Molly Haas
Like most of the other students who commented, I was listening to the famous pop-artists of the time in 2002; mainly Britney Spears, N*sync, and Christina Aguilera. The main gatekeeper for me at the time were definitely the radio and the television. Even though MTV no longer plays music videos on their channel anymore, they were constantly playing back in 2002. I also went to some concerts with my family when I was younger so I was able to see my favorite artists on their tours as well. My very first concerts were Britney Spears and N*sync, but that was before 2002. I was in middle school in 2002 and two music related memories I have from that time are going to the Michelle Branch concert with my dad and a couple of my friends (where the tickets were of course bought on Ticketmaster) and getting the brand new Backstreet Boys CD from my dad. I remember how excited I was on both of these occasions because going to a concert & getting a CD was a big deal back then.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how times change. I can't remember the last time I received or purchased a hard CD in order to listen to music. My current music choices today are still some of the pop songs that are #1 hits and also other artists such as John Mayer, Dave Matthews, and almost all country singers. These days, in order to listen to music I either buy it off iTunes, play in on Pandora, or listen to it on the radio when I am in the car. The fact that MTV does not play music videos anymore has made that gatekeeper almost entirely disappear. I also have attended dozens of concerts in the last 10 years because hearing music being played live is my favorite! In today's world there are so many different ways to retrieve music that the top gatekeepers of 2002 are no longer the same. I think the web is the biggest gatekeeper of music today because most people listen to music on different websites such as Pandora, or use different programs like iTunes or Spotify, and many people also take unfortunate advantage of the web and download music illegaly.
- Kristen Hotz
When I think back to 2002, Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys pop into my mind. I did look up Top 40’s music in 2002 and the list included artists such as Shakira, Pink, Avril Lavigne, who I also listened to. My choices in music were definitely influenced by the gatekeepers. Like Ame, I’m also from the Richmond area, so Q94 was the dominant radio station for popular music and Top 40’s hits. However, my mother acted as my fifth gatekeeper and would change the station if a rap song or “explicit” song came on. The words “Can you change it to Q94?” were uttered more than once every car ride. I can’t remember if I was allowed to watch MTV, but if I was, I didn’t watch much of it. My first concert wasn’t until a few years later, so touring didn’t affect me. Retail, I think had the biggest influence. My sister and I had a bunch of CD’s including ones of all the artists I previously mentioned. We would listen to them over and over again, memorizing the lyrics to every song. Birthday money or giftcards went to getting a new CD. Even though we didn’t listen to Top 40‘s often, we knew what was popular and wanted to listen to what everyone else was. I never tried to branch out with my music taste, because I was content with the music I was listening to. So when it comes to retail and radio, I’d say the gatekeepers had an influence on my music choices.
ReplyDeleteMy music choices today are definitely more broad. That said, there are some Top 40’s artists that I love. I think age has a lot to do with music taste. As children, we like catchy beats and lyrics that are easy to understand and memorize so we can sing along. As we get older, we realize there is more than just pop music out there and our taste in music shifts. We are the ones behind the wheel of the car, so we pick the station, not our parents. We pick and choose the concerts we want to go to. Our parents don’t have to approve the music we choose to buy, or illegally download. Now that MTV rarely plays music, I don’t think it has much influence on our music taste. I really don’t listen to much of the radio anymore, unless someone else is playing it. I get into new artists because my friends tell me about them, or make me a mixed CD. Sometimes I’ll be watching TV or a movie and if I really like a song, I’ll shazam it (Shazam is an iPhone app, when you press the button, it listens to the current song and tells you the name and artist) and then download it later. I agree with Mel, when she says that there is virtually nothing that can replace seeing an artist perform live. Even if it’s an artist you’re not familiar with, the rush of adrenaline is still there. It’s an experience like no other, not even a concert movie can replace it. Some people will pay upwards of $1,000 to see their favorite artist from the floor seats or “meet and greet” them before the show. As long as fans are still putting up money like this, the touring industry will stay alive.
Kelsey Fisher
In 2002, I had just started to develop a real "music taste." I listened to bands such as Linkin Park, Three Days Grace, and other "angst" type music. Considering I had grown up listening to whatever my parents listened to it was a real chance for me to start to define myself. I really started to develop this music sense when I started watching television channels such as MTV and Fuse. I suppose I was influenced by the four gatekeepers in the sense that these channels influenced my music choice.
ReplyDeleteToday my music taste has developed more and I've become much more critical in what I listen to and have left my angsty days in the past. I still listen to some punk music but essentially I've moved on to a more easy-going and laid-back style. I would say that MTV has gone the way of the 8-track and is essentially irrelevant in the music industry. Yes, I understand it still appeals to some, but as for selling and marketing music it has almost completely cut out that part of their channel. Radio still matters, but in a different sense than it used to. Internet radio, I feel, outweighs traditional radio in almost every aspect. Touring is very important for artists still because it's one of the main ways for them to get their name out there still. People still go see big name artists all the time and if a group opens for said big name artist then they are potentially dipping into the fan base of the big name artist. I know retail is also one of the most important things for an artist, not so much in the sense of having their music on shelves in stores but other things such as t-shirts, hats, etc. Music is definitely more digital now than it was 10 years ago.
Thinking about music in the year 2002, the first genres that come to mind were pop music and punk rock. A couple of my favorite artists were Michelle Branch and Avril Lavigne. My choices were definitely influenced by the gatekeepers, but in an indirect manner. I was in middle school, and since I remember being really out of the loop with a lot of popular culture figures, I relied on my friends and whatever anyone else claimed was popular at the time to help me make my decisions on who to listen to. I know their choices were heavily influenced by the selection of artists on the radio and MTV because those were some of the primary sources of access to music. I was also still into buying CD's because I did not own an MP3 player, so seeing some of the new popular artist cd's in the store, (as well as hearsay from advertisements on tv), had a larger impact on my decision to buy what was new and cool.
ReplyDeleteToday, my sense of music has changed dramatically. Some of my favorite music is international. To give an example, one of my favorite labels is SM Entertainment, a K-Pop record label based in Seoul. While the Korean Pop music genre is not very popular in the U.S., there is evidence that it is gaining prestige through the growing number of concerts I've seen pop up in the L.A. area and New York over the past year. I think a lot of the influence for its growing popularity comes from the internet. People can access music videos from SM Entertainment's youtube account or facebook news feed updates for free, making it extremely easy to listen to new songs and see what they enjoy. It's a way to "try out" a music artist before spending money to see an expensive concert or buy music either through digital retailers like itunes or phycial cd's. In my example, it allows people from across the world to connect with artists that may not have prestige in their own country, but still provide a source of entertainment with value. I hang out with a lot of people from diverse backgrounds, so they recommend an artist to me, I look it up online, I see similar bands, I keep searching and listening to songs, and that's how I start to find my interests.
As many others have mentioned, no, I don't think the radio, MTV, Touring, and Retail have nearly the same amount of influence due to the presence of the internet. My personal example shows how the internet makes it possible to find artists that are outside our reach, but can still be a possibility in music choices.
Kristin Silver
Back in 2002, I basically listened to any of the “hot artists” of the time: Michelle Branch, Avril Lavigne, Pink, and so many others. I was a huge fan of pop music, but I honestly listened to any song with a cute and/or catchy beat. I definitely remember Pink’s “Get the Party Started” being a huge hit at any kind of get-together, Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles” constantly playing on the radio (and continues to haunt me from its placement in “White Chicks”), Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated” and “Sk8ter Boi” being the popular choice among my peers, and Nelly’s “Hot in Herre” causing everyone to start busting out the catchy chorus (despite not really understanding the lyrics at the time). My choices in music back then were definitely influenced by gatekeepers, specifically the radio. I always listened to the radio in car rides to school every day, and would be constantly exposed to the top songs on the charts…so I inevitably fell in love with any catchy songs that were popular among society. I also remember seeing many of my favorite artists being promoted on TV through commercials for new CDs, especially the “NOW” CDs, which contained the “best hits” from only the hottest artists. This influenced my choices whenever I would visit the nearest CD shop or Bestbuy because I would make a dash for the artist I already knew and desired (and had practically been conditioned to enjoy) instead of just browsing around for a new artist which probably wouldn’t have satisfied my listening needs (while destroying my wallet in a wasteful manner). My peers were a huge influence as well, and, being a young child that wanted to “fit in” with the crowd, I was subjected to listening to music that my peers enjoyed so I wouldn’t feel like an outcast. At the time, it would have been a sin to dislike the rebellious punk/pop style of Avril Lavigne since she created such a “cool” trend for us to follow.
ReplyDeleteToday, I find and listen to artists that truly appeal to me without the influence of others. I still like catchy lyrics and beats, but I no longer rely on statistics and general “popularity” to fuel my interests. I listen to a lot of international music (primarily artists/groups from Korea and Japan, such as SHINee, Girls’ Generation, and Perfume) that isn’t even advertised in this country (but many of these artists are starting to gain massive popularity all around the world, including the United States). If I want to listen to my favorite artists, I have to rely on Youtube for official music videos, and if I’m really lucky, then I may be able to buy their songs on iTunes if the artist has gained enough worldwide popularity (many of which actually have). I am no longer influenced by the gatekeepers of 2002 (as I have outgrown the “peer pressure” phase of my life long ago), and many of these gatekeepers are no longer successful in the technologically advanced society of today’s generation. MTV contains no musical influence and is now geared towards reality TV, touring is not the only way to view concerts/follow artists since people can now watch their favorite bands whenever they want on the internet (like Youtube), retail is suffering from the impact of iTunes and the ability to stream music online from legal music players, and radio can now be programmed to suit the listeners tastes, instead of the DJ’s, through subscription services. The internet has truly become a haven for music lovers because it has allowed people the ability to find new music easier, preview it before investing in it (whether through iTunes or physical CDs), and connect fans with their favorite artists for free through Youtube and Facebook.
-Kaitlin Silver
2002 was around the time I started to listen to music outside of what my parents liked or played on the radio. I was mostly listening to bands like Sum 41, New Found Glory, Linkin Park, Blink 182, and Avril Lavigne. At the time, I was convinced that these bands were outside the mainstream, and that is a main reason why they appealed to me. In truth, all of these bands were a segment of pop music probably intended to scoop up the segment of the young market that did not want to listen to boy bands and Britney Spears. It is a bit funny to think back on, because while I thought I was being independent or even rebellious by listening to this music, it was all on MTV's TRL right next to that new Britney Spears song that I couldn't stand. In addition to the television, radio had a huge impact on what I was exposed to musically. For example, Linkin Park alone probably covered about a quarter of the airtime on my favorite radio station. At the time, I was in seventh grade, and I thought of the internet only as a place to play games and Google search when I had a question, so it never crossed my mind that there were thousands of bands that I had never heard of right in front of me.
ReplyDeleteToday I listen to a much wider variety of music, mostly hip hop, indie rock, and electronic. I never bother to look for music on TV, considering the Music Television network itself only played music videos at three in the morning. I also never listen to the radio in the car, instead opting for an iPod with music I know. Television's influence on music has fallen off to such an extent that I don't expect any substantial segment of the populationto watch TV for music with the exception of award shows. Also, while radio has become much less influential, it probably has a marginal amount of control over what people hear. The internet has changed music in a great way, because talented artists who previously would never have been seen outside their hometown can now get a following without the support of a major record label. I see this the most in hip hop, where the radio continues to mostly play laughably bad music, but many talented artists choose to release free mixtapes until they gain enough support to convince a record label to sign them. And some of them can even create their own record label. Because I never went to concerts until high school, I don't know how the touring industry has changed, but in my personal experience even the bands I like who are not very popular come around my area every few years, so I cannot complain. In fact, I have heard that touring is the main avenue for bands to make money, since the record label gets such a large chunk of everything else. I would assume that the retail industry has taken a step back since 2002, but I cannot say from personal experience. I am sure, though, that retail's influence on what people has dropped off because, while a T-shirt advertisement might have some value to the band, it doesn't change the fact that almost all music is a quick search away. I believe that the changes in the music industry have been for the better, but I just hope that quality musicians can continue to make enough money that there is an incentive to continue making music and touring.
-Braden Tanner
ReplyDeleteIn 2002, I was 11 years old and seasoned with the musical influences of my siblings, which made for a very eclectic and random musical background. I really loved Guns’n’ Roses, Nirvana, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac and Neil Young just to name a few. There were more poppy influences in my life at that time, but I’ll save the space. I really don’t think the gatekeepers were a huge influence at the time. A lot of my taste was a result of my parents playing older songs around the house and I just sort of used that as a jumping off point. Sure, I went to a Limp Bizkit concert once, as well as Kid Rock, so i guess some gatekeeping effect went on but not on a large scale.
Today, my musical choices are based on a pretty solid core of old favorites, but I really focus on smaller bands, the lesser known on a wider scale type of artists. However, that is not to say that bands that have made it big aren’t important to me; i.e. The Killers, Modest Mouse, The White Stripes and the Chili Peppers. I think its important to seek out music in a variety of different ways. If you just listen to what is on the radio, well that isn’t going to make your musical prowess very impressive. However, if you snap your fingers to a catchy pop tune, well I can’t judge that either because music is so personal and you can’t say what it does for another person. However, I think its important to keep the smaller, struggling bands in mind. They’re working like hell to resist that robber barrons of the music industry. I respect them for it. Retail and MTV don’t matter at all to me anymore, but touring really does. It is so important to be a good live band, that’s where the talent really bleeds through and ties people to a group/artist.
-Maddie Wigle
I think one of the things that is interesting about the documentary as a time capsule is just how much the people that served as talking heads benefited from the changes that faced the music industry in the following years.
ReplyDeleteI mean, a majority of the commentators were already successful on a minor level and certainly were critically, but as music purchasing is now more specific and niche oriented rather than the effect of some sort of omnipresent wave of popularity, these acts are in many cases more popular than they were when they originally released their music.
Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore served as one of the main points of reference in the documentary and is really emblematic of this. Though it was released when I was -3, their album "Daydream Nation" has provided them a boost in sales as people discover its legacy through the increased power of critical acclaim, and it has allowed them to tour specifically on performing that album in its entirety. This specific curation and spotlighting is why services like Pandora or Last.fm have any sort of traction and why there are still a few independent record stores out there when the Tower Records of the world are long gone.
Of course there is still a weird concentration of power and clout here as well as the established critically hierarchy, especially arbiters of cool like online music magazine Pitchfork.com and other music blogs tend to be targeted at a desirable white 18-30 demographic. Which results in things like this Public Enemy benefit from critical clout for albums like "It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" and "Fear of a Black Planet" to the same young white youth.
But would I rather have them at a Linkin Park concert? Probably not.
-Jeff Wade
Thanks to everyone who commented on the music industry. You all seemed to agree that traditional gatekeepers have less influence today--with the possible exception of touring. Of course, today's biggest gatekeeper is the Internet. It was barely mentioned in "Money for Nothing," however, because it was new on the music scene when the film was made. So I especially appreciated comments that examined Internet music sources. For example, Jordan mentioned that many people still download music illegally. What are the ethics and economics of this? Ame raised another interesting question: how do Internet radio stations pick the songs that you hear? Is there perhaps a modern-day payola system at work?
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