MUSI 1002 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Pop Art, Homosociality, Masculinity
MUSI 1002
Issues in Popular Music
May 17th, 2018
(from previous lecture)
Musicianship, creativity, and authenticity in the 2000s
- Digital technologies changed the concept of musicianship
o Before digital, guitars/bands were the core of making music
o Technology not only changed the sound of music but also how people organized music
o Culture at a digital level
- Digital music deals in 'data'
- Vocal, instrumental proficiency, musical literacy (theoretical knowledge, reading music, replaced
with new measure of skill/ability)
- Digital musicianship:
o Technological: understanding/creativity
o Transliteracy: skills in a range of software platforms, digital tools and media (not just
traditional musical literacy), requires the knowledge to manipulate music through
multiple digital software
o Interactivity: "human-computer interaction or human-human interaction mediated by
digital technology"
o Reflective Practice: listening, developing, and appraising material, dialogue between the
musician and the material created
The Pop Process: Division of Labour in the (Corporate) Production of Music
- Roles often overlap/are contested
- A&R (Artist and Repertory)
o largely male (often former DJs, music journalists, musicians)
o Activities formerly focussed mostly around live shows
o Increasingly through video, recording, and social media play a large role
o Web/Music 2.0/disintermediation a challenge to traditional A&R
- Marketing and Promotion
o Web/Music 2.0/disintermediation/direct artist relationships do not guarantee audience
o Marketing, promo, and support of labels usually required to reach large audiences
o Frequent 'intrusion' (even at early production stages) upon A&R as visual marketing
became more important
- Producer
o Controls overall recording process (like film director); highly creative (if nebulous)
o Shapes the sound of the recording
o Some are celebrities in their own right for unique sounds/arrangements (Phil Spector,
George Martin, Steve Albini, Rick Rubin, Brian Eno)
- Recording Engineer
o Deals with technical aspects of recording process
o Helps artists realize their sonic vision (along with producer)
o Three modes of collaboration
▪ Craft: early/documentary stages, looking for a pure sound (London
Philharmonics)
▪ Entrepreneurial: emerges 1950s
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