History of Pop Music Essay
Pop music is defined as “modern popular music, usually with a strong beat, which is easy to listen to and remember. The sound is mainly made up of a strong electric lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass and drums. The songs feature major chords, tight vocal harmonies and melodies”
The WW2 years and after were particularly strong early years for pop music with the introduction of radio. This lead to the music which most people were purchasing being played on the radio, therefore leading to the first real growth of ‘popular’ music.
In the late 30’s the jukebox was also introduced, this also stimulated interest in the latest songs.
The late 40’s saw the introduction of the ‘single play’ this then became the basis of the hit parade which mainly featured/s pop music
The 1950’s saw the emergence of the teenager; this new audience provided a new market for music, and one which pop music would target.
The 1960’s were the arrival of the Beatles. This influential band were the pioneers of pop music. They were one of the first bands to write their own music, and experiment with different sounds. They were also the first band with an image to be created for them. Brian Epstien the band’s manager who also masterminded the idea of merchandising them produced this image. The Beatles achieved worldwide success (one of the first pop bands to do so), and the ideas achieved by Brian Epstien are what pop music is based on today.
The characteristics of the genre
Pop music is defined as “modern popular music, usually with a strong beat, which is easy to listen to and remember. The sound is mainly made up of a strong electric lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass and drums. The songs feature major chords, tight vocal harmonies and melodies”
The lyrics featured in pop music songs are usually happy, and upbeat. There is rarely controversial subjects sung about with the format usually adhering to a verse and chorus formula. The lyric subjects tend to be about love and romance.
Generally attractive males and females that are not offensive perform pop music. They perform the song usually accompanied by a dance routine and a backing track.
Some examples of sub-genres of pop music are ‘Cheesy pop’ e.g. S club 7 and ‘power pop’ e.g. Jellyfish and Teenage fanclub
The audience and marketing
A wide variety of people listen to pop music. However, the target market of mainstream pop is young teenagers. However, this is growing increasingly lower with record companies aiming some pop acts at children aged 9-11 e.g. S club 8
Pop music is marketed everywhere. From television programs like ‘CD: UK’ to magazines like ‘Smash Hits’. There is also a lot of merchandising involved in pop music with many artists appearing in adverts e.g. Spice Girls in Pepsi, and on calendars.
At the moment in the pop music industry different media’s are also being used to promote and find new pop talent. These reality-based shows such as ‘Pop Idol’ and ‘Fame Academy’ have proved very popular with the general public.
The WW2 years and after were particularly strong early years for pop music with the introduction of radio. This lead to the music which most people were purchasing being played on the radio, therefore leading to the first real growth of ‘popular’ music.
In the late 30’s the jukebox was also introduced, this also stimulated interest in the latest songs.
The late 40’s saw the introduction of the ‘single play’ this then became the basis of the hit parade which mainly featured/s pop music
The 1950’s saw the emergence of the teenager; this new audience provided a new market for music, and one which pop music would target.
The 1960’s were the arrival of the Beatles. This influential band were the pioneers of pop music. They were one of the first bands to write their own music, and experiment with different sounds. They were also the first band with an image to be created for them. Brian Epstien the band’s manager who also masterminded the idea of merchandising them produced this image. The Beatles achieved worldwide success (one of the first pop bands to do so), and the ideas achieved by Brian Epstien are what pop music is based on today.
The characteristics of the genre
Pop music is defined as “modern popular music, usually with a strong beat, which is easy to listen to and remember. The sound is mainly made up of a strong electric lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass and drums. The songs feature major chords, tight vocal harmonies and melodies”
The lyrics featured in pop music songs are usually happy, and upbeat. There is rarely controversial subjects sung about with the format usually adhering to a verse and chorus formula. The lyric subjects tend to be about love and romance.
Generally attractive males and females that are not offensive perform pop music. They perform the song usually accompanied by a dance routine and a backing track.
Some examples of sub-genres of pop music are ‘Cheesy pop’ e.g. S club 7 and ‘power pop’ e.g. Jellyfish and Teenage fanclub
The audience and marketing
A wide variety of people listen to pop music. However, the target market of mainstream pop is young teenagers. However, this is growing increasingly lower with record companies aiming some pop acts at children aged 9-11 e.g. S club 8
Pop music is marketed everywhere. From television programs like ‘CD: UK’ to magazines like ‘Smash Hits’. There is also a lot of merchandising involved in pop music with many artists appearing in adverts e.g. Spice Girls in Pepsi, and on calendars.
At the moment in the pop music industry different media’s are also being used to promote and find new pop talent. These reality-based shows such as ‘Pop Idol’ and ‘Fame Academy’ have proved very popular with the general public.
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