Charlotte Dale MUB

Harry styles in relation to Political Economy Theories from CharlDale Adorno argued that popular music is standardised. It follows the cash trap sequence, where labels replicate and mass-manufacture artists in order to make the most capital. Slide 1:  This aspect of Adorno’s ideas relates more to the One Direction era of Harry Styles career.  One Direction was a manufactured boyband with the intention of becoming ‘big stars’  This is opposed to what some may argue is an ‘authentic’ band who comes together in a garage and gig locally because they just want to make music.  This makes them standardised as they were created and molded to fit the needs of the market in order to be able to sell and consequently make money … this also links to Marx ideas about capitalism. Once formed on X Factor by Simon Cowell, their early career followed the same format as previously popular boybands, even mirroring them musically, in outfit choice and in photo sh...

Examples of theories discussed:  Standardisation is a key term put forth by Adorno comparing how the process of mass-production of goods (particularly through the development of Fordism in the early twentieth century) relates to the production of cultural pieces such as music. Comparing annual chart positions throughout years or even decades illustrates Adorno's theory as you can visually see trends in the artists that are dominating the charts. This is because when labels see the audience (the public) accepting, consuming, and enjoying an artist or group they begin to replicate and churn out similar music - the cash cow theory. For example, the official top 40 singles of 2014 (accessed at http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-official-top-40-biggest-selling-singles-of-2014__7580/ ) displays songs such as 'Happy' by Pharrell Williams, 'Timber' by Ke$ha ft. Pitbull and 'All About That Bass' by Meghan Trainor. which may be classified as tradition...

The Value of Music: Research Paper. The value of music is ambiguous. How people value music can be branched into a million different directions but it can also be compressed into the single statement from Jacques Attali ‘Music is more than an object of study: it is a way of perceiving the world.’ Historically, music was used as a method of communication; Minstrels being evidence of this. Minstrels were wanderers acting as a form of entertainment as they passed through towns performing ballads and tales to the townspeople. Linking this to Attali’s statement, for such folk, minstrels were their only source of news and thus the words they were conveying were perceived as absolute truth; shaping how people perceived the world. Therefore, while music did act as a spectacle because of its sheer rarity, its role as the primary news source in medieval Britain meant it held such high value. In comparison to the role music holds in the modern world, there are similarities and differ...