Genre Analysis

Genre Analysis

I will begin to analyse and underline some of the most known music genres, as there are a lot of varied music types out there; and each of them target particular demographics and social groups in society. This will also help me determine, which genre direction I will take when I begin to produce my own media product; as I will be targeting a younger demographic aging from 18 to 30 years of age. But I will not be restricting an older demographic from consuming the media product, so that is why I will mainly be looking at more relevant music genres but a few older genres so I have a varied idea of what is the ideal product I want to be producing.

R&B (Rhythm and Blues)

R&B or rhythm and blues when not abbreviated first originated in the 1940’s, and has evolved through the decades, its orientation is African American but now it has expanded hugely through popular culture. The music genre R&B sprang into life in the 1950’s where rock & roll was changing and it the term was used to begin to establish gospel, electric blues and soul music. R&B was hugely dominated and targeted towards more urban subcultures ‘prodemently African Americans’.  R&B is still hugely produced and targeted by these social groups, but now has a wider consumption and a slightly more varied demographic.

INDIE MUSIC

Indie music is a popular music genre and has a modern consumption and popularity in and from consumers.  It is also thought of as an alternative rock, and had initially originated in England and targeted small subcultures in England. What gave this genre such an wide appeal, was the freedom the and unrestricted power the genre had, from not having a record label; as a lot of indie music especially in the early 90’s, was released independently. However over time indie music became more americanised and with the force of technological convergence, from popular media sources such as: YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and many more… a lot of popular indie groups where signed by large labels.

COUNTRY/FOLK MUSIC

Country music has been around for decades and is hugely popular in America as it is where the genre was first originated.  It was in the 1920’s southern of the states where the music became so popular it took inspiration from synth rock, western music as well as folk music, which originated in the 19^th century and has slowly become modernised in the 21 century. Country music has been hugely dominated and targeted towards Americans, especially social groups in the southern regions of the United States.

The music usually is formed using instruments such as banjos, guitars, fiddles as well as harmonicas. However this genre of music has been globalised, by more modern folk/country groups such as Mumford and Sons, who have a huge multi-media music platform where they can produce music to satisfy a large demographic.

RAP MUSIC

Rap music is an increasingly popular culture and has a multicultural consumption in audiences. It is described as ‘rhyming, spitting bar’s talking fast with the beat’, rapping was thought to have originated from reggae and hip-hop. Rapping became globalised by urban sub-cultures in America such as African Americans.

This form of music was also target towards urban groups who would relate to the bars the rappers would spit, as a lot of the rappers grow up in a poor location; the majority are young ageing from 18 to 26 years of age. If you delve into their psychographics, their home lives tend to be bad, which affects them mentally, and to cope they rap, which would become relatable to others in similar situations. However rap music has become more globalised and usually degrades women enabling Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze, of how women are seen as objects to be looked at by men, also money became a huge boast in rap, and how you need it to take drugs, spend it on women, and buy nice cars and cloths.

HEAVY METAL

Heavy metal music is an alternative form of rock it was established between the 1960’s and 1970’s, it was originated in America, its roots steams from ‘psychedelic rock’ as well as blues/rock. It targets more alternative social groups, who are not interested in mainstream pop music and want something like rock but more enhanced. John Kay was the first to take heavy metal into the spotlight with the song ‘Born to be Wild’. This style of music is identified by the extra long guitar solos, distortion and amplification of the beat and being very loud and lyrics are not sung but loudly shouted to extract excitement from the audiences. The genre is usually associated with more masculine and aggressive styles of musical performance, and targets a more niche demographic then genres such as pop or rap do.

POP MUSIC

Pop music has hugely dominated the media and has a massive global consumption, it is known as ‘popular music’ when not abbreviated.

It really began to hit its true polarity in the 1950’s; it orientated from rock music and became more of a soft rock.

The music is usually technically formed using software, it is mainly contracted by taking other music genres and combining them; to form pop such as dance music, rap, rock and even Latin music artists such as Jenifer Lopez are a good example for Latino pop.

These songs do not tend to have a long instrumental verse, but are easy to remember and have repetitive beats, choruses and hooks that are very catchy. Pop music has a reputation for being made, to hit sales and numbers, and not for being about the art of music but the global hits it attains, as well as the endorsements and the revenue the songs can accumulate.  It usually tends to be that it’s not the artist with the control in fact it the executive producers around the artists, that control their successes.