In

this ar*cle I will be looking at three genres and how they have had a las*ng
impact on modern pop music.
The three genres I have chosen are Hip Hop, Doo Wop and Soul. I feel like these
genres are very dierent from each other however they share certain quali*es
that make them the style that they are. I will also compare a range of prac**oners
of dierent musical genres.
I will then look at the globalisa*on of music, how it has improved and the
advantages and disadvantages of globalisa*on. In addi*on I will be discussing the
development of technology and how it has aected the music industry.

Hip Hop Culture

{1} {2} {3} {4}

Hip Hop is a cultural movement started by African
American youths in the run down streets of New
York City, Bronx.
The seeds of what was later to dene a way of life
could be argued to have started in 1953; two
years later a major freeway called The Cross Bronx
Expressway was constructed and split through
Bronx. The Expressway had a lot of controversy
surrounding it, as many believe it is the reason as
to why South Bronx neighborhoods went downhill
so fast. Middle class ci*zens began to leave and by
1970 Bronx was leU secluded, crime-ridden and

impoverished.
These condi*ons aected the youth of Bronx and how
they spoke, dressed, think and lived; soon enough they
created their own culture.
There are four key elements in Hip Hop:
1. Rap Music (oral)
2. Gra* (visual
3. DJ-ing (aural)
4. Breakdancing (physical)

Rap Music

During the 1970s and 1980s African American

youths, especially, went through hardship, drugs,
gang-related violence and unemployment leaving
them to live in close-to-poverty condi*ons.
Rapping was a way for African Americans to tell their
story of hardship and to tell the truth of their living
situa*ons, the passion and truth behind the lyrics
were so powerful that what started out to be local
soon became global.
In the late 1960s a gang/music group, called
The Ghefo Brothers, introduced Block Par*es this
would happen in dierent neighborhoods where a DJ
would plug their sound system into street lights and
people from the neighborhood would gather round
and party.
Block Party music would normally be percussive
breaks, which were taken from popular soul, funk or
disco songs and then isolated and repeated.
Block Par*es didnt gain popularity un*l the 1970s
this is when rappers started to spit bars in sync with
the beat.

The Hip Hop era can be iden*ed in three sec*ons.
1970-1984 is known as the Old School Hip Hop Era,
this had songs like 1979s King Tim IIIs hit The
Fatback, also the very well known Rappers
Delight (1979) by The Sugarhill Gang.

Rappers Delight, even though its not the rst single to

have rap, it is known to be the rst rap song to be
popularized globally, as well as the United States. The
music used in Rappers Delight is Chics song Good Times.
In 1979 The Sugarhill Gang afended a concert where
Blondie, The Clash and Chic were playing, when Chic
started playing Good Times The Sugarhill Gang jumped
on stage and started free styling.

In the early 80s you had songs like 1984 song Step O by
Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five.
In the mid 1970s the Hip Hop genre was split into two
groups, one group had the percussive beats repeated
from Disco, Funk etc. this was more about the beats more
so than the rapping, it was more focused on genng the
crowd up and dancing. Whilst the other group would use
a complex rhythmic scheme and were passionate and
truthful about their living situa*ons.


The next era of Hip Hop was from 1985-1993 known as
the Golden Age; this era began with 1986 album
Raising Hell by Run-DMC, LL Cool Js Rock The
Bells (1985) and ended with Dr. Dres album Chronic
in 1992.
This era of Hip Hop was iden*ed with a mix of
Funk samples and lyrics that represented the African
culture.
During this era of Hip Hop many sub genres were
introduced like poli*cal rap, alterna*ve Hip Hop,
gangsta rap etc.
Gangsta rap was, and s*ll is, a very relevant
subgenre of Hip Hop. It was popularized in the 1980s
aUer ar*sts such as Ice-T and groups like N.W.A.


Many believe that Gangsta Rap promotes things such
as crime, murder, drug and alcohol abuse, rape, street
gangs etc. N.W.A was targeted mainly for promo*ng
such things along with hatred for the police.
N.W.As 1988 album Straight OuAa Compton was
known to be the rst megahit gangsta rap album, the
album provoked signicant controversy. They even had
contact from the FBI regarding their song F**k The
Police. The lefer expressed the law enforcements
indigna*on about the song. However the group
refused to

censor their song and con*nued to perform it.

Ice-Cube (a member from N.W.A) leU the group in the early
1990s and went solo, s*ll in the gangsta rap genre and
spoke more about poli*cal topics and injus*ce such as the
police bea*ng black people. His 1990 album AmeriKKKas
Most Wanted is arguably one of his most poli*cal albums.
1991, N.W.A was the rst gangsta rap group to reach No.1
on the Billboard charts with their second album El4zaggin.

{5}

Before NWA, Ice-T released his debut album and was the
rst hip hop album to have the Parental Advisory s*cker
on it. The s*cker was rst introduced in 1990, even
though the s*cker can be found on the majority of albums
nowadays and tend to be overlooked, around 25-30 years
ago they were not as common and ignored. In 1985 the
PMRC (Parents Music Resource Centre) formed aUer pop
music started to make explicit, uncensored references
showing a lot of afen*on to Princes song Darling Nikki
that had sexual references. The Parental Advisory s*cker
is to show the buyer that what theyre about to purchase
will have profani*es, sexual and violent references and so
on and to alert parents that it may be unsuitable for
children. Some ar*sts later started to release two albums
one with explicit content and the other with the words
bleeped out, which can be similar to a radio edit now.

The last era is the Modern Hip Hop from 1993 to the
present day. Following the success of Dr. Dres album The
Chronic, Snoop Doggy Dogg (now known as Snoop Dogg)
released his album Doggystyle in 1993.
The album received afen*on, from many music
cri*cs, as one of the most signicant and important album
of the 1990s. The unique sound of the album bought
afen*on to the West Coast Hip Hop scene in the early
90s. The album was number one on the Billboard charts.

{5}

Another inuen*al rapper would be Eminem who afained

mainstream popularity with his LP The Slim Shady in 1999
aUer his 1996 debut album Innte.
Hip Hop ar*sts now such as Jay-Z and Kanye West not only
have rapping careers but branded o of their own name
with clothing lines and shoe lines. For example Kanye West
released trainers with Adidas called Yeezy and Jay-Z has a
clothing line called Rocawear and recently released his own
streaming company called Tidal along with various other
ar*sts, mainly in the Hip Hop genre.

{6}

Hip Hop music, nowadays, uses synths, bass, guitar,

sampler, turntables, sequencers, drum machines and
some*mes horns and strings.
In recordings the bass and drums are known to carry
the songs some*mes using synth bass to double up the
bass lines. The horns or strings on songs are typically
used as treble to add thickness and a higher pitch to
the bass and drums. Its quite common for an
instrument to have an obvious ri that helps the
audience iden*fy a song for example {7}

The produc*on of hip hop tend to range between
85bpm-95bpm tempo and has a consistent solid beat
that is normally pushed, typically a similar drum pafern
to funk and disco songs, however for the hip hop style
the beats could be broken using disc jockey tricks e.g.
scratching.

When performing live hip hop ar*sts tend to use a
backing track, a DJ and/or a hype man. The energy is
normally very high at these concerts, and can be
performed with aggression.
A hype man is someone who accompanies the
main rapper and gets the audience hyped, this could
be crea*ng chants with the crowd. Memphis Bleek was
a hype man for Jay Z and Pu Daddy for Notorious
B.I.G.

{8}
Hip Hop ar*sts arent as limited to certain venues to perform
like some other genres, however it is very rare that youd nd a
Hip Hop ar*st performing in a Jazz caf as there is not enough
space for them to express their ar*stry and create the
atmosphere and high energy level they may want. They will
perform at fes*vals, big open venues, nightclubs etc. however
some dierent types of hip hop which are more poe*cal and
less intense can be found in certain cafs. Although, the
majority of hip hop audiences go to watch a concert expec*ng
the music to be played loudly through subwoofers and for the
performance to be big and energe*c.


The demographic for rap music, when it rst released,
were African American teenagers sharing the same
struggles and living condi*ons as the ar*sts. Radio play at
this *me was very rare, the language was explicit and was
believed to promote illegal ac*ons such as drugs, guns
etc.

Hip Hop musics demographic has now enlarged and
ranges from mid teens to mid thir*es and enjoyed by any
race/skin color etc. and even though the explicit language
and promo*on s*ll occurs in some songs, it can now be
heard on the radio. Hip Hop ar*sts will release an explicit
song and a radio edit of the song. The radio edit will have
censors over anything explicit or deemed inappropriate.

{9}

Gra*

Gra* has been around for a long *me, even before the
Hip Hop scene, when ancient gra*sts would scratch
their pieces into walls before spray paint. However New
York City was the home of modern day Gra*, or as
some knew it, i.e. police, expensive vandalism.
In the 1960s Gangs, MCs, DJs etc. would tag their name
on public property in order to mark their territory.

In 1968, gang member, Julio 204 would tag his name on
buildings around his neighborhood, because Julio kept his
tags within his neighborhood it didnt spread around as
much as some other ar*sts such as Taki 183.
Taki 183s tags gained him more popularity and
recogni*on as he started tagging outside of his
neighborhood.
The way they come up with their tag names are their
nickname and then the street they live on.
For Example Taki is a nickname for Demetaki (Demetrius)
and he lived on 183rd Street in Washington Heights,
therefore his tag name was Taki 183. This name would
then be presented in bubble wri*ng and displayed on the
side of trains/subways. Their name would then follow the
transport around the city with their tag on the side, this
technique was almost like self adver*sement.

{10}
In the 1970s this idea had caught on to ar*sts like Kel, Crash
and Zephyr and the technique of gra* tagging was highly
exposed aUer famous 1983 documentary Style Wars, which
mainly focused on the development of Gra* art and
Breakdancing of the Hip Hop culture.
Gra*sts started having compe**ons between each other,
to see who could form the most visible tag without genng
caught by the police for illegal art.


A popular gra* ar*st would be Banksy, whose art is more
There are two types of gra*; theres gra* art and
poli*cal and can be found on walls, streets, bridges etc.
then there is gang gra*.
Here are some of Banksys art:
Gra* art is all about self-expression, cryp*c colorful
murals, crea*vity etc. and this would be found on
building walls and freight/goods trains. These ar*sts want
to improve their art and the message that they are
sending through it and therefore change it in order for
progress.
On the other hand, gang art was more territorial.
Therefore, their art would stay within their neighborhood
and would rarely leave. Gra* ar*sts prefer to not be
labeled under gang gra*, as many of them believe that
{11}
gang gra* does not use ar*s*c forms.

Gra* has had an aect on what art is now however it
has also had an eect on the adver*sing world.
Just how Taki 183 and Julio 204 adver*sed their name
using gra*, companies have started using the font and
look of gra* on Billboards in order to appeal to the
urban audience. This was known as commercial gra*.

The 2012 London Olympics used a gra* street
Mobile Lovers {12}
design as the logo, the eect of doing this was to afract
{13}
and interest a younger demographic.
In 2005, Sony used gra* in order to promote their
product (PSP) however it ended up being very
controversial as many believed it was encouraging
vandalism to children and teenagers.

DJing

A disk jockey (a.k.a, DJ) uses various techniques, such as

scratching and needle drops, in order to manipulate
music and then performs it to others in various venues
like nightclubs or block par*es.

Block Par*es were important to the uprising of the Hip
Hop culture. The Ghefo Brothers were a gang/music
group that would host Block parNes. The music they
played had the ability to shut the racial barriers by simply
plugging their instruments into amps and speakers and
playing music.

DJ Kool Herc, was referred to as the Father Of Hip Hop.
He was one of the rst Hip Hop DJs who created the
isola*on of breaks from songs.
He would mix samples of already released music and mix
his own chants and shouts, which he would call to the
dancers and the crowd, over it. These isolated breaks
would popularly come from the genres Funk and Rock,
although some other genres such as Soul were used too.
Kool Herc was inuen*al to the evolu*on of Hip Hop as
he created the layout for the genre and culture by
building on his Jamaican heritage and bringing the
technology, techniques etc. of reggae style music to New
York in the 1970s and the tradi*on of impromptu
toas*ng, boassul poetry and speech over music.

Contemporary DJs imitators and Kool Herc created

rhythmic beats by looping the percussive breaks on songs,
on two turntables. This is an example of how the Hip Hop
culture rst emerged.
Those percussive breaks in songs would be accompanied
with raps and beat boxing.
Just like the Ghefo Brothers Block Par*es, DJ Kool
Hercs house par*es became very popular and soon had too
many guests to host house par*es and had to move to
outdoor venues in order to allow a mass amount of
audience in.
DJ Kool Hercs shouts and chants to the dancers would go
into rapping. He called his dancers B boys and B girls (B
stands for break. E.g. B boy means break boys).
Other inuen*al DJs would include Afrika Bambaataa,
Grandmaster Flowers and Grandmaster Caz.

{14} Afrika Bambaataa

Scratching is an example of a DJ trick. It started in 1975

when DJ, Grand Wizard Theodore manually liUed the
record up and the needle was down, he realized doing so
distorted the sound, it soon caught on with other
contemporary disc jockeys.
Another example of a DJ trick is beat juggling, within this
trick it also relies on others such as scratching, breaks,
pauses and delays.
Beat juggling is when a DJ takes two dierent samples
(could be vocals or drum beats) and manipulates them in
order to create an individual composi*on.

Before 1978 the Hip Hop scene was mainly centered on
DJing and block par*es etc. but aUer ar*sts like
Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five made rap music
the highlight DJing started to fade out.
Although there are s*ll well known DJs such as DJ Jazzy
Je, Fatboy Slim, Mix Master Mike and many more.

{15}

{14}

Breakdancing

In the 16th Century, the African slaves that were taken to

Brazil would exercise the Brazilian mar*al art Capoeria.
Capoeria combined acroba*cs, music and dance together
and is known for its dis*nct mobile techniques.
In their dances they would fuse gh*ng movements
found in Capoeria, it would be executed in a circle with
an audience on the outline. Figh*ng was not prohibited;
therefore whenever a guard made an appearance the
aggressive gh*ng movements would turn into dance.
The Capoeria soon became illegal however in the 20th
century it once again became legal. Capoeria is important
to breakdancing because a lot of the moves, such as
punches and spins, were passed from this mar*al art into
B-boying.
Breakdancing uses a mix of dierent cultures such as
Russian Folk Dance and Asian Mar*al Arts. Along with
this, ar*sts such as Michael Jackson and James Brown
also heavily inuenced breakdancing.

In 1972 James Brown released popular song Get On The
Good Foot. This was inuen*al, as people would mimic
how James Brown was dancing and then perform it at
par*es.
DJ Herc no*ced that the B-boys and B-girls (break boys/
girls) would wait to dance to the percussive/instrumental
parts of the song and therefore would isolate those
sec*ons and repeat them.

Not long aUer Get On The Good Foot was released dance
bafles started to take place and there would be
compe**ons and talent shows.

{16}
In 1973, well-known DJ, Afrika Bambaataa, formed Universal
Zulu Na*on, an interna*onal awareness group ini*ally made
for youths in the ghefo. This is where one of the rst
breakdance crews were formed, The Zulu Kings.
The Zulu Kings would contend in compe**ons and talent shows
and oUen win them. They would also perform in clubs for
recogni*on.
Although they were well known for their dancing many
neighborhoods believed that they were just a gang.
The Zulu Kings were then challenged by a rival street gang to
bafle, but not a dance bafle. It was only when Afrika
Bambaataa suggested gh*ng the bafle with dance moves and
not weapons that dance bafles caught on.

Gangs would dance bafle against each other to either

bafle over territory or to gain respect for each other,
the winner would normally be the group with the
fastest and most crea*ve, unique moves.
However this did not end gh*ng in Bronx, in fact it
caused some ghts, some*mes the loser of the dance
bafle would try and start a ght with the winner.

There were many dierent dance moves used in
breaking, two basic moves were the Top Rock and the
6-step.
The Top Rock is very dis*nct and breakers enjoy
having their own style of Top Rock. Here is a video of
what a basic Top Rock looks like {17}
The 6-step is when you keep one hand on the oor at a
*me and spin; the 6-step is what normally sets up the
rest of the dance. Here is a video of what a basic 6-step
is {18}
Soon aUer, in the late 70s, these dance moves evolved
into Power Moves, like the windmill and the head spin.
Windmill {19}
Head spin {20}

AUer 1977, Michael Jackson sang Dancin Machine on
na*onal TV and during his performance he did The
Robot. This set a new trend through the dancers, as
The Robots popularity took over breaking.

In 1983, movies such as Flashdance gave interna*onal
exposure to breaking. The media soon followed and

used breaking for adver*sement (Right Guard and Burger

King), movies and TV shows.
The Olympics in 1984 showcased over 100 B-boys and B-girls
performing in the ending ceremony.

Nowadays, Hip Hop moves tend to be incorporated into
songs or the video for the audience to learn.
In 2007 Crank That by Soulja Boy was released, it was known
to be the biggest dance craze since the 90s.
By late 2007 the YouTube video, which taught you the dance
moves, had over 27 million views. The dance moves were
made up of previous dance trends but the main one was
made up by Soulja Boy and his friends, they then named the
dance move Soulja Boy Dance. Here is the music video{21}

In 2015 new Hip Hop dance craze the Whip/Nae Nae came
out aUer ar*st Silent released his song Watch Me (Whip/
Nae Nae).
The dance moves are a combina*on of other Hip Hop moves
such as The Stanky Leg, The Soulja Boy, The Du etc.
In the video there are dance crews performing, there are
people varying in age and occupa*on. Here is the music
video{22}


Both of these songs have been interna*onal dance trends,
along with Top Rock and The Windmill. Recent Hip Hop
dance trends are The Dab and Hit The Quan.

Fashion
In the late 1970s popular sports brands such as Adidas
joined the arising Hip Hop scene and by the early 1980s
Hip Hop stars were senng trends wearing leather
bomber jackets, sheepskin, brightly colored tracksuits
(Adidas, Nike etc.) and sneakers with oversized laces
(Adidas Superstars, Pumas and Chuck Taylors All Star).
Accessories worn would include bucket hats (from sports
brand Kangol), various amounts of rings and large
glasses.
In the 80s mens Hip Hop jewelry would typically be big
chunky gold chains and womens would be big earrings
(such as hoops or Gold Knocker Earrings).
The more jewelry you wore the more it symbolized
wealth, power and honor.
The early 80s also had hairstyle trends star*ng with Jheri
Curls and by the early 90s had the Hi-Top Fade hyped up
by stars like Will Smith.

Late 1980 fashion changed slightly adding more of the
African culture to the style, like wearing kente cloth hats,
dreadlocks and Africa chains.
Icons such as Queen La*fah wore a lot of Black
Na*onalist colors such as red, black and green. The late
80s also included loose baggy trousers, worn famously by
people such as MC Hammer.
The 1990s started o by ar*sts such as The Fresh
Prince and TLC wearing brightly colored baseball caps and
then ventured into throwback jerseys.

Aaliyah was famously known for her signature Tommy

Hilger look and in the 1990s Hilger became a dominant
brand in the Hip Hop world, aUer Snoop Dogg wore a piece
of Tommy Hilger clothing on TV and the piece sold out in
shops the next day. Hilger used rappers such as Coolio
during runway shows and to promote his line to Hip
Hoppers.

Mid 90s pla*num chains replaced the gold ones and fans
followed the trend, within these chains and jewels would be
diamonds The Hot Boys helped this trend. Grills also
became a craze; these are like jewelry for the teeth and are
usually removable.

2000 Hip Hop fashion trends tend to be tafoos, ar*sts like
Wiz Khalifa and Lil Wayne are examples, however a lot of
people s*ll follow old Hip Hop trends of wearing brands, e.g.
Adidas track jackets and Bomber jackets.

Brands such as Supreme, OBEY, Adidas and Supra are seen
featuring on Chris Brown and other ar*sts on tour
performing and in videos.
Around 2010 Snapbacks came into fashion, which is a Hip
Hop stylis*c, ar*sts notable for that are Tyga and B.I.G Sean,
these ar*sts are supporters of the Snapback spor*ng gear
company called TI$A VI$ION.

Modern day Hip Hop fashion basketball/skateboarding

styles and shoes, spor*ng wear, sleeveless shirts, polo
shirts, sagging trousers, crop tops and t-shirts.

80s Hip Hop Fashion

{23}
90s Hip Hop Fashion

{24}

Hip Hop Discography:

1953; Hip Hop Culture began to emerge, 1955; The Cross Bronx
Expressway built , 1960; The GheAo Brothers introduced Block
ParNes , 1968; Julio 204 started tagging, 1970; DJ Kool Herc
emerged, old school hip hop era starts, 1972; James Brown Get
On The Good Foot released, 1973; Afrika Bambaataa formed
The Zulu NaNon, 1977; Michael Jacksons Dancin Machine
inuences The Robot, 1979; Rappers Delight by The Sugarhill
Gang, 1983; Style Wars released and Flashdance gave
internaNonal breakdance exposure, 1984; Step O by
Grandmaster Melle Mel And The Furious Five, Olympics had
over 100 B-boys and girls and the end of Old School Hip Hop
era, 1985; Golden Age Hip Hop era starts, 1986; Raising Hell by
Run DMC, 1988; Straight OuAa Compton , 1990; Ice Cube
Amerikkkas Most Wanted, 1991; NWA rst Gangsta rap to
reach No.1 on Billboard Charts with EFil4Zaggin, 1992; Chronic
by Dr. Dre, 1993; end of Golden Age hip hop era, 2005; Sony
uses graN to promote PSP, 2007; Crank That by Soulja Boy,
2012; London Olympics use graN design for logo, 2015; Whip/
Nae Nae by Silento

Doo Wop

{25}
Doo Wop started in the 1940s and the years around
World War II and went through to the 50s and 70s. It was
developed by African American communi*es and church
gospel groups in the 1940s before it became popular and
gained more recogni*on in the 50s and 60s.
These groups would be found in places such as New York,
Philadelphia, LA, Chicago etc. Doo Wop music was one of
the most mainstream pop oriented, R&B styles at the
*me.

Bill Kenny (1914-1978) is oUen called the Godfather of
Doo Wop as he introduced the format Top and
Bofom this format featured a high tenor, singing the
lead and a bass singer, reci*ng the lead in the middle of
the song.

{26}

{27}

Characteris*cs found in a Doo Wop song would be things such

as group vocal harmonies, wordless onomatopoeia, light
instrumenta*on and beat and simple lyrics and music.

When You Dance by The Turbans was the rst record to use
the actual syllables Doo-Wop in 1955 however in the 1953 hit
Good Lovin by The Clovers you can hear the term 'Doo Wop
in the backing vocals with the scat and the 1954 song Never
by Carlyle Dundee and The Dundees you can too hear the
phrase 'Doo Wop in the chorus. The rst *me the term
appeared in print was 1961 in the 'Chicago Defender.

Italian American groups became notable in the late 1950s

by joining the Doo Wop scene.
Soul, Pop and Rock groups of the 1960s used techniques
inuenced from Doo Wop and the genre also makes a
comeback numerous *mes in the 1970s, 80s and the 90s.

Rock and Roll groups in the late 20th Century were also
inuenced by the genre along with Jazz and Blues.
Doo Wop also set up a lot of genres such as R&B.

The term Doo Wop slowly caught on and soon became
a category, deni*on and descrip*on for the genre R&B.

Billy Ward & His Dominoes song Sixty Minute Man and
The Five Keys Shouldnt I Know are only two out of
many that placed on the 1951 R&B chart hits.

{28}

The last Doo Wop song to be in the Top 10 U.S. Pop Charts
was a cover of 'The Impressions hit Its Alright by Huey
Lewis and the News in 1963.
In 1939 and 1940 'The Ink Spots became very well known in
both Britain and the United States with songs such as My
Prayer, Bless You, Memories Unknown and
Whispering Grass, following them in 1943 and 1944,
Paper Doll and You Always Hurt The One You Love by
'The Mills Brothers.

All these songs use simple instrumenta*on, four part
harmonies which mimic the style of a Barbershop Quartet
and a swing *me beat which is slow paced.
Things such as Gramaphones, Cinema and Radio helped
incline imita*on in ci*es in the Unites States.

1961 was known the be the peak of Doo Wop, it featured
the return of the nonsense syllable in the early 60s which
would be found in popular records by groups like 'The
Marcels, 'The Rivingtons etc.

A couple of years later songs were released and the lyrical
content was self referen*al to the musicians. For example
Mr Bassman by Johnny Cymbal and also to the
songwriters.

{29}

Doo Wop group names were commonly named aUer

cars (e.g. 'The Fleetwoods, 'The Cadillacs and 'The
Impalas) or birds (e.g. 'The Swallow, 'The Ravens, 'The
Penguins and 'The Flamingos). Groups in the late
1940s and early 1950s that were named aUer birds
soon became grouped in with the term 'bird groups.

The harmonies in a Doo Wop song would either run
underneath the lead vocal or echo aUer the lead vocal.

In the early 50s groups like The 5 Keys pushed vocal
techniques found in RnB vocal blending, such as Blow
Harmonies the result of this would be forcing air out of
the mouth with the shape of 'Ha-oo this allowed a
dierent sound to be available, this then stopped
humming from being the main form of sound in the
background of songs.

A popular introduc*on in Doo Wop songs would be

when the bass begins and then higher harmonies add
on one at a *me un*l a full harmony is created; this is
known as a progressive entrance. A good example of
this would be Danny And The Juniors At The Hop in
this song they use the progressive technique as the
main hook.

The lead singers of Doo Wop groups were usually tenor,

although could be a high tenor. Most song arrangements had
a idiosyncra*c bass role, which would normally be the
introduc*on or would be found in the chorus or assis*ng a
percussive beat within the song.
The soprano part (a.k.a falsefo) would be used nearer the
end of a song. In Doo Wop ballads the soprano vocals can be
found echoing aUer the lead singer (Close Your Eyes by The
Five Keys), runs above the main vocal, part of the harmonies
heard in the background etc.

Vocalists of the Doo Wop genre would sing acapella and use
nonsense syllables in order to mimic instruments.
For example:

The bass would go Bom Bom Bom Bom..etc.
The guitar would go Shang-a-langetc.
The brass would go 'Doo Wop Wop, Doo Wop Wopetc

The Ravens 1950s song Count Every Star shows an example
of the vocals using sounds such as 'doomph, doomph" in
order to sound like a double bass being plucked at.

Doo Wop songs would vary between both slow and fast beats
however they were usually in swing *me providing a light and
happy feel.

Doo Wop songs were simplis*c so the vocalists would

clap their hands or snap their ngers in order to provide a
beat focusing on the 2nd and 4th beat of a Common
Time bar (4/4).

Other instruments found in this genre that would
accompany the vocalists are piano, guitars, saxophones
and drums however it would be rare to have a solo from
any of these instruments as they would remain more in
the background although there would be breaks in the
song where there would only be instruments present.

Doo Wop music and lyrics tended to be quite simple,
repe**ve, dialec*cal and awkwardly-phased. Song lyrics
would be about things such as love and desire etc.

When recording doo wop the produc*on would use a lot
of reverb on the instruments and vocals. However as they
did not have the technology to create the eect using
computer soUware they used echo chambers.
An echo chamber is an empty room, in which, the singers
would sing and record in. The echoes from the room
helped achieve the equivalent to a reverb eect.
This helped the recordings sound thicker, like there was a
large amount of people singing, even though there many
have only been four, ve or possibly less.
When they performed their songs live, it naturally
sounded less thick. Many groups would try and choose
enclosed areas, that echoed, to perform their songs in
hopes it would create the reverb sound live naturally.

{30}
The general chord progression of doo wop is I-VI-IV-V (For
example, in C major: C Am F G) this chord progression was
behind 1930s hits such as Blue Moon by Rodger and Hart
(1934) and also Hoagy Carmichaels Heart and Soul (1938).
However the chord progression became so common, in Doo
Wop music that it was soon referred to as the '50s
progression. This harmonic design was married up with the
AABA format that would typically be found in Tin Pan Alley
Pop.

Doo Wop groups in 1954 assisted the Rock & Roll era; songs
like Gee by The Crows and Sh-Boom by The Chords
which were originally two R&B hits, crossed over onto the
Pop Music Charts and not long aUer the same happened in

1955 where Doo Wop hits such as Earth Angel by The

Penguins also landed in the Pop Charts.
The Plafers song The Great Pretender was number
one on the Pop Charts that same year.

Songs like Earth Angel by The Penguins and Only You
by The Plafers were R&B vocal groups that entered the
pop charts as crossover Doo Wop hits in 1955.

The Monotones song Book Of Love (1958) soon
became the portrait of the style.
Ini*ally African American Doo Wop groups would either
be found performing at churches, urban neighbourhoods,
subways and street corners most likely to be found in
groups varying from three to six.

Italian American Doo Wop groups enlarged in 1958.
Similarly to African Americans, Italian Americans would
also afend church, which is where the majority of them
would would gain their singing experience, they would be
seen singing on street corners in urban ci*es in the late
1950s like New York (Bronx and Brooklyn). Examples of
Italian American groups with Na*onal Chart Hits would
be Dion and the Belmonts with I Wonder Why (1958)
and Randy and the Rainbows hit single Denise which
charted in 1963.

Hispanics are oUen over looked however it wasnt rare to nd

Puerto Ricans singing lead in Doo Wop groups, however they
would normally be in a group with both black and white
members (e.g. The Crests and The Tune Weavers).

Although it was rare at the *me you would nd yourself a
couple of racially integrated groups. For example Come Go
With Me by The Del-Vikings was a hit in 1957.
In the early days female singers for this style was rare however
the lead singer of The Mellows(1953-1958), Lillian Leach,
proved that wasnt an issue and is oUen known to be an
inuence by other performers.

Important groups such as The DriUers, The Midnighters and
The Plafers helped link the genre to the mainstream and the
future sound of Soul Music, for example: Whos Lovin You
this is a Motown Soul song form 1960 wrifen by Smokey
Robinson, although it has been recorded with many dierent
ar*sts the most popular version in the Jackson 5 one.
The Doo Wop inuence stayed with certain genres for example
Soul and Pop groups of the 60s including The Four Seasons and
Surf Groups such as The Beach Boys e.g. Surn and Surfer
Girl.

There have been many modern recrea*ons of Doo Wop songs
over the years. It started with Beach music which was revolved
around Carolina (and surrounding states) Britain soon
contributed in the mid to late 1970s, the group 'Darts who
successfully brought back songs like Daddy Cool and Come
Back My Love keeping the authen*city of the original songs.

Robert Johns 1972 version of The Lion Sleeps Tonight

also showed hints of Doo Wop inuences along with
other musicians belonging to genres such as Rock, Punk
and New Wave. For example The Ramones.
A new style of Doo Wop was released when Soul and
Funk bands like Zapp released songs such as Doo Wah
Dify.

Nowadays ar*sts such as Bruno Mars and Meghan
Trainer incorporate Doo Wop characteris*cs in their
music.
In an interview with Bruno Mars he speaks about how he
has a special place in his heart for old school music.

Technology has now allowed Doo Wop themed ar*sts to
be soloists using things such as Loop Sta*ons. A loop
sta*on allows you to accompany yourself. You are able to
record a sample loop of your instrument (e.g. four
chords) and then once that has been looped you are able
to record/play a melody line or another part.
I think that technology, such as the loop sta*on and
harmoniser, has helped many musicians in layering
sounds and has given them a founda*on to be crea*ve
and experiment with harmonies and vocal tricks. Heres
an example of a young Ariana Grande using a loop sta*on
to create India Aries 'Theres Hope {31}

Doo Wop evolved many genres; for example classic soul/
R&B songs show signs of doo wop characteris*cs, mainly
in their use of harmonies it is no*ceable.

{32}
Doo Wop Discography:
1940s; African American communiNes begin to form the
foundaNon of Doo Wop, 1943; Paper Doll by The Mills Brothers,
1951; Shouldnt I Know by The Five Keys are one of the many to
crossover into the R&B Charts, 1954; Doo Wop assisted the
Rock And Roll era, 1955; Earth Angel by The Penguins crossed
into the pop charts, When You Dance by The Turbans were the
rst record to use the actual syllables Doo Wop, 1958; Italian
American Doo Wop groups increased, 1960; Smokey Robinsons
Whos Lovin You, 1961; The peak of Doo Wop, the term Doo
Wop appeared in print for the rst Nme in the Chicago
Defender, 1972; Lion Sleeps Tonight shows Doo Wop inuence,
mid-late 70s; The Darts brought back songs like Daddy Cool
keeping the authenNcity of the original.

Soul

Soul music combines components of African American

music from Gospel and Jazz to R&B and Hip Hop.
The genre originated from the United States in the late
1950s/early 1960s and soon became popular around the
world, inuencing other genres such as rock music.
In 1865 slavery in the United States ended, however
segrega*on in America was s*ll ongoing un*l 1964.
African Americans were, therefore, not welcome to mix
in White American Churches. This resulted in African
Americans building their own churches. The afendees
would sing Chris*an gospel songs and change it up by
singing them upbeat and joyfully whilst moving, stomping
and clapping to the beat.
Soul songs were rst created when lyrics from a gospel

{33}

song would be rewrifen into non-religious (secular) lyrics.

The changing of the lyrics meant that upbeat gospel songs
became upbeat soul songs and that slow gospel songs
became love song ballads.

{34}
Ray Charles 1954 song
Ive Got A Woman (Way
Across Town) is a good
example of a song changed
from Gospel into soul.
The original is called
Ive Got A Saviour (Way
Across Jordan).

Ray Charles also uses gospel inuence in his song Whatd

I Say where he uses the popular call and response
technique.
Another example of gospel lyrics into secular lyrics is the
song Please, Please, Please. The original lyrics were
about yearning for Gods love; James Browns 1956
version changes the lyrics to yearning for a girls love.

In the 1960s, soul music overtook the United States R&B
Charts along with songs crossing into the pop charts in
US, Britain etc.
However by 1968 the genre had begun to split leaving
some ar*sts to wonder into other genres such as Funk.
By the early 70s soul music inuenced genres such as
psychedelic rock etc.

In the early 1960s the most popular style of soul was
Motown pop soul.
Berry Gordy in 1959 created Motown Records, origina*ng
in Detroit,
Michigan.
Ar*sts in this label would play music that created the
Motown sound, and typically aimed to be crossover
ar*sts, including a collec*on of pop-soul songs, which
had a great appeal in young Americans.

Between 1960 and 1969 there had been over 50 top 10
hits that had crossed over. The Funk Brothers and
Motowns House Band played on the majority of these
songs.

The tambourine would drive the song and following would

be rhythmic guitar typically played on the second and fourth
beats. Singers such as The Supremes Diana Ross and Efa
James would manipulate their vocals to sound more like pop
rather than blues.

These techniques appealed to their audience, as it was easy
to listen to and fun to dance to.
A big inuence in this genre would be the classic Jackson 5
song Ill Be There. Michael Jacksons vocals were so strong
at such a young age it allowed him to sing in almost any
style including classic soul songs such as Whos Loving
You.
In 1956 Cur*s Mayeld and his band The Impressions
started recording music for Vee Jay Records however in the
early 60s Mayeld joined the Civil Rights Movement and
soon began wri*ng songs about the struggles African
Americans are confronted with such as racism, poverty and
overall injus*ce.

{35}

The songs were very powerful and his song People Get
Ready is considered to be one of the greatest songs ever
wrifen. The Impressions performed this aUer its release
in 1965 and peaked at No.3 on the R&B charts and No.14
on the Pop charts.
Cur*s Mayelds song unveiled the social and poli*cal
surroundings of that *me.
Cur*s Mayeld created his own record company Curtom
Records in 1970 and released classic soul albums,
including his own soundtrack album for the lm
Supery.

Motown is only one key sub genre of many. For example;
deep and southern soul, neo soul, Memphis soul, New
Orleans soul etc.
Instrumenta*on used in soul music is normally electric
sounding, for example; electric guitars, electric pianos,
electric organ.
As well as using the acous*c versions of those
instruments they also will have horn sec*ons and a string
ensemble along with female and male backing vocals.
The instrumenta*on used in soul music is: Drum Kit,
Percussion, Bass, Horn sec*on (trumpets, saxophone
etc.), String sec*on, female and male backing vocals and
Piano. Soul music also used a lot of electric instruments
such as: Electric Guitar, Electric Organ, Keyboard and
Electric Piano. Soul music would oUen use large
ensembles and doubled up instruments, a driving drum
beat with percussion accen*ng the second and fourth

beats, bass lines with a heavy ri, guitars and keys playing
rhythmically.
Singers would be very emo*ve on stage, showing a range of
passion for sad and happy songs. The tempo of a typical soul
song would normally be 120bpm or faster unless it is a slow
tempo ballad.
The songs would be short and the structure would be very
simple featuring verses, choruses, and bridges/instrumentals.
They would feature call and response moments between the
soloist and the chorus; the
melodies of these songs would typically be in a pentatonic scale
with blues accidentals.

In addi*on, live recordings of soul music were normally with
the whole band/ensemble in the same room, using acous*c
screens in order to split the room into sec*ons. They would
record on mul* track tape machines star*ng with 4 track and
eventually 8 track.
This helped provide the doubled up instrument sound.

The songs would be mixed gently with classic compressors such
as Teletronix LA2A.
The recordings would
be of high quality,
they would oUen use
the panning eect on
songs. For example,
the vocals, piano and
{36}
guitar would come
out of the right

speaker whilst the drums, bass etc. would come out of

the leU speaker.

{37}
Sam Cooke was born in 1931 in Mississippi.
Before becoming a household name with hit songs such
as Wonderful World and You Send Me Cooke started
out performing soul music with the gospel group Soul
S*rrers.
Some refer to Sam Cooke as the Father of Soul he had a
unique take on this style of music. He had a collec*on of
songs in which he merged the gospel sound and the pop
sound together. This technique was popular with both
the white and black demographic.
In 1957, Sam Cooke released his rst single Lovable,
although he did not use Sam Cooke as the releasing
ar*st, he went under the name Dale Cooke.

Later that year he released his next single You Send Me
the song was so popular it even overtook an Elvis song at
the top of the charts.
Sam Cooke did a varia*on of ballad songs Wonderful
{36}
World (1960) and up-tempo songs
Twis*n The Night

Away (1962).
However he did not limit himself to songwri*ng and
singing. 1959, Cooke ocially owned his own publishing
company for his music and proved he was a real business
man in 1960 when he nego*ated with RCA for a befer
contract and not only did he leave with an advance but also
for 30 years he would get full ownership of his master
recordings.
Sam Cooke soon owned his own record label in 1961 called
SAR Records, although Cooke himself wasnt signed to the
label he helped jump-start the careers of ar*sts such as Billy
Preston, L.C. Cooke (Sam Cookes younger brother), The
Valen*nos and many more ar*sts.

The Valen*nos recorded the original song Its All Over Now,
which was released from SAR Records. The Rolling Stones
later covered this song.
Sam Cooke created SAR Records intending it to be a venue
where struggling African American
ar*sts were able to record their
music during the 1960s whilst
America was s*ll racially surged.
Sam Cooke passed
away December 11,
1964. 1965 SAR Records
released Sam Cookes unreleased
song A Change Is Gonna Come,
{38}
this was soon known to be one of
Cookes most poli*cal song. Sam Cookes legacy lives on in
the world of Soul music, and in 1986 he was introduced to
the Rock and Roll, Hall of Fame

Lyrics would typically be about hardship and the hope for

change; an example of this would be Sam Cookes A
Change Is Gonna Come.
This song is one of the most popularized links to African
American Civil Rights Movement.
Its been a long *me coming,
But I know change is gonna come,
Oh yes is will

These are the lyrics for Cookes song. It is said that Bob
Dylans Blowing In The Wind inspired the song.
The lyrics suggest that Sam Cooke believed that there
would be a day where change would come.
Blacks had been targeted since the 17th century in the
United States and were s*ll under the white race when
Cooke wrote this song.
Lyrics would also be about love; a good example of
this song would be 1971 hit Just My Imagina*on
(Running Away From Me) by The Tempta*ons. The lyrics
talk about a boy daydreaming about a girl of his dreams
and dreaming of the future he wants with her and the
chorus shows that its just his imagina*on.

Famous female soul vocalist Aretha Franklin had many
hits including songs such
as (You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman, Think,
Respect and I Say A
Lifle Prayer. The success of these songs, and many
more, meant that by the end of the 1960s era Aretha
Franklin claimed the *tle The Queen of Soul.
Aretha Franklin, along with Ray Charles and others, was

cast in the lm The Blues Brothers. The Blues Brothers is a 1980

musical, crime comedy lm
that features soul music with
other styles like R&B too.
Aretha Franklin followed Sam
Cooke in the way that she
added the pop and bluesy
sounds to secular gospel songs.
{39}
In 1987 Franklin became the
rst female to be introduced
to the Rock and Roll, Hall of
Fame.

There were very few radio
sta*ons that played African American music during this era,
WGIV, a radio sta*on based in North Carolina is an example of
a radio sta*on that gave African American music airplay.
Soul music was able to stay popular within the black
community by dividing into other genres such as Funk, a
popular soul/funk ar*st that did that would be James Brown.

Soul music along with R&B ended up being an inuence on the
genre surf rock. However another big inuence would be to Hip
Hop. Hip Hop would use sec*ons of soul music and they would
be manipulated for the culture. For example Ray Charles
song Ive Got A Woman (Way Across Town) was used to
inuence Kanye Wests song Gold Digger.
Hip Hop DJs would also use soul instrumentals and speed them
up and play around with DJ tricks whilst dancers danced to the
beat. Many instruments used in soul are also used in Hip Hop.

Soul Discography:
1865; Slavery ended in America, 1954; Ive Got A Woman
by Ray Charles, 1956; CurNs Mayeld And The
Impressions start recording, 1957; Sam Cooke releases his
rst single, 1959; Cooke opens publishing company and
Motown Records is created, 1960-1969; over 50 songs
cross over the top 10, CurNs Mayeld joined the Civil
Rights Movement and started wriNng poliNcal songs
1960s; Motown Pop Soul, 1961; Sam Cooke opens SAR
Records, 1965; SAR Records releases A Change Is Gonna
Come, 1968; Soul genre began to split, 1970; Ill Be There
by Jackson 5 and Curtom Records open, 1980; Blues
Brothers is released, 1986; Sam Cooke was introduced to
the Rock And Roll: Hall Of Fame, 1987; Aretha Franklin
became the rst female to be introduced to the Rock And
Roll: Hall Of Fame

The Development of Music

The Magne7c Tape
In 1928, Fritz Peumer designed the magne*c tape for
sound recording it was then improved by German
electronic companies AEG and BASF who collec*vely
manufactured the recording machine and the tape.
By the 1930s the magne*c tape had been progressed
however this had to be kept unknown as World War II
started in 1939. Following the war, Americans brought
the technology from Germany and evolved the magne*c
tape into commercially prac*cal format. Soon enough the
magne*c tape became the norm for recording in the
music industry, whether itd be radio or studio work.

John T Mullin was an American audio engineer and he is
known to be a pioneer for magne*c tape recording.

Mullins goal was to convince Hollywood Studios to use
magne*c tape for soundtrack recordings for their lms.
John Mullin presented two examples of his machines and
the second *me Bing Crosby, an entertainer, had his
technical director in the audience. He arranged for Mullin
to show Crosby a private demonstra*on.
Bing Crosby is also known to be another pioneer for
magne*c tape recording, aUer he became the rst big
American music ar*st to use magne*c tape to pre record
his radio broadcasts and the rst to understand
commercial tape recordings.

Mul*track recording was the next

development within magne*c tape.
This required the tape to be split into
mul*ple tracks that would be parallel
with each other.
German audio engineers invented
two-track recording in 1943; it was
used for modern music in the 50s as
it allowed signals from more than {40}
two dierent microphones to record
at the same *me, making it easier for stereophonic recordings
to be edited. Commercial classical recordings and radio
broadcasts used Stereo whilst genres such as jazz and pop
music carried on using monophonic sound through to the mid
60s.

Mul*track recording was the next development within
magne*c tape. This required the tape to be split into mul*ple
tracks that would be parallel with each other.
German audio engineers invented two-track recording in 1943;
it was used for modern music in the 50s as it allowed signals
from more than two dierent microphones to record at the
same *me, making it easier for stereophonic recordings to be
edited. Commercial classical recordings and radio broadcasts
used Stereo whilst genres such as jazz and pop music carried on
using monophonic sound through to the mid 60s.

Les Paul was a guitarist, composer and technician who

experimented with recording equipment e.g. tapes. He
ordered the rst custom-built eight-track recorder. Les
Paul and his wife, Mary Ford, were the rst to master the
technique of mul*tracking, they would record the
instruments of songs separately. This allowed them to
listen to the already recorded parts and then record new
parts all on the same track.

A 3-track recorder was released soon aUer and was used
oUen for popular music. This allowed two tracks to be
used for overdubbing or to create a backing track and for
the last track to be used for the lead vocal. Phil Spectors
early Motown music was recorded on 3-track recorders.

{41}

Following the 3-track was then 4-track recording and had a

great aect on music entering the late 1960s as it gave
musicians more freedom for recording techniques and
overdubbing. The Beatles used 4-track recording on a lot of
their hit albums such as Revolver.
The disadvantage of 4-track recording was the background
noise that could be heard; the sound engineers at Abbey Road
are famously known for being able to create clear mul*track
recordings and keep background sound to a minimum.
AUer 4-track, quadrophonic sound was developed and
albums were released in
both quadrophonic
{42}
format and stereo
however quadrophonic
did not catch on.

The growth of the
magne*c tape has
changed the way
technology is today
because it's led to being
able to mul* track up to twenty four songs, meaning that we
can double track instruments if needed as well as have a
numerous amount of
instruments. It also allows us to experiment with dierent
musical op*ons and venture into new possibili*es.

Then Philips invented the Compact Cassefe for audio

storage and presented it in 1963 on a radio show. This
was a big breakthrough because many had tried to create
a device that could package the tape and didnt need to
be thread however to no success. Before the cassefe
many recording systems used the reel-to-reel format.
So the compact cassefe was very convenient to the
development of tape recording, not long aUer the
compact cassefe was released it was in high demand in
the market.
Recordable cassefes helped ar*sts with their song ideas
as they could be recorded on the tape, meaning they
were saving money on studio *me to record demos. It
also saved the ar*st from wri*ng sheet music or
remembering melody lines/harmonies etc.

The cassefe soon was able to be played portably in the
late 1970s and the popularity of the cassefe resurged,
other kinds of technology, such as The Walkman, helped
make music more accessible as you were able to listen to
music on the go.

This has also shaped the way music is made today, as
people are able to carry around a device that is always
available to take a video or voice recording of a musical
idea anywhere and at any*me and also able to present
their ideas to others with a click of a bufon.

{43}

{44}

Current Business Direc*ons:

How is the music industry coping with technological advancements; such as the digital
revoluNon?

The music industry is struggling with the digital revolu*on

taking over. Online streaming is at an all *me high whilst
the tradi*onal ways of purchasing music have been put
to the back of the shelf.
{45}

As the genera*on is
growing so are the
popularity of digital
formats. The growth of
formats are destroying
the value of recording.
Streaming is cheaper
than downloads and
downloads pay less than CDs, this is a perfect example of
how music is genng cheaper and cheaper.

Streaming music is taking control and its not in a good
way. The majority of consumers nowadays take
advantage and have very lifle respect for the music and
their ar*st, they show this by downloading their music
illegally.
However the streaming companies are taking advantage
too by underpaying the ar*st; leaving various ar*sts, such
as Taylor SwiU and Rihanna, refusing to license
companies like Spo*fy.

Them underpaying major labels aects the label and the ar*st
however there is no considera*on for Indie labels/ar*sts who
are suering as their rates have dropped as companies, for
example Spo*fy, are not taking into considera*on the amount
of money a major label receives in comparison to a smaller
indie label. Even worse is that many people will not upgrade
from their free subscrip*on to the paid one as they would
rather it be free with adverts in between songs.

I feel that none of the new genera*on know what it feels like
to wait for an album, because ar*sts albums tend to be
leaked! This has led to an ungrateful genera*on and it is
aec*ng the musicians too.

No one really listens to an album anymore, seeing a concept
album is rare because of this. The highlight of modern music
tends to be an ar*sts single.
An ar*st could release ve singles a year and would most likely
receive befer feedback than if they were to release an album
with clever lyrics and a story.

The pressure for ar*sts to release singles that are con*nuously
in the Top 10 Hits is ruining the sound of music, as everything
is turning into the same music but just dierent lyrics.

Technology has made it hard for ar*sts and labels, as

people would rather just listen to the music on their
phone or they can just watch a
video of their favourite ar*st live
from their phone too, however,
some people will go to the concert
to be that person taking a video of
Beyonc dancing with heels on.

For famous ar*sts that have already
made a founda*on for themselves,
{46} such as Beyonc, The Ar*c Monkeys
and Taylor SwiU; touring is one of
Recently vinyls have resurged into the mainstream
the best ways to make their wage.
popularity. When you put a vinyl on it is hard to skip

songs for the vinyl is delicate and also the songs are not
{47}
Online streaming companies pay
easily skip-able; you will always end up either in the
the labels, not the ar*sts, and because the labels do not
middle of the song or at the ending of it.
pay the ar*sts; touring is one of the only ways for

The resurge could be a result of the, carefree, no skipping performers to make a decent income considering the
majority of their songs are being illegally downloaded.
deal but it could also be for the authen*c sound a vinyl

plays.
The music industrys sale records are

Even though websites like YouTube, in some aspects have low at the moment, however this is
made it easier to get discovered, by crea*ng a founda*on not due to touring, merchandising
for people to record their voices and show it to the world or any other non recording ac*vity
but more because of streaming.
and hopefully get signed.

However because everybody is doing it, the compe**on
{48}
is high and therefore makes your chances even harder to A plus side to streaming is that it has
calmed down the use of illegally downloaded music
be discovered.
although its s*ll a common issue.

Online streaming companies pay the labels,

not the ar*sts, and because the labels do
not pay the ar*sts; touring is one of the only
ways for performers to make a decent
income considering the majority of their
songs are being illegally downloaded.

The music industrys sale records are low at
the moment, however this is not due to
touring, merchandising or any other non
recording ac*vity but more because of
streaming.

A plus side to streaming is that it has calmed
down the use of illegally downloaded music
although its s*ll a common issue.

{48}

Globalisa*on In Music
I will be talking about the posi*ves, nega*ves and
opportuni*es that can be found within the global market

What Is Globalisa7on?

Globalisa*on is when a business or organisa*on has an

interna*onal inuence or they start distribu*ng on an
interna*onal scale. Music globalisa*on is when there is
an interna*onal music inuence that eects culture,
economy and people.

Globalisa*on has eected: how popular or unpopular an
ar*st is based on interac*on, how fans interact with each
other and their favourite ar*st, how people who enjoy
music suggest dierent types of music to other people
and how people who are star*ng a career are able to
upload music and create/nd a demographic.

{49}

The Features of Globalisa7on:

These are the features that are thought to make up globalisa*on.

New Technology

For example, how technology has improved from the CasseFe to the CD, to
the MP3 and now to online music streaming.

New Communica*on and

Transporta*on

Thanks to improvements in communica7on and transporta7on music is easily

accessible and can be sold anywhere in the world.

New Culture

To please the interna7onal audience pop music has now been split into a
range of genres. New culture is created by the mixture of world music. Music
can inuence social and cultural ideas.

New Aec*on of Personal Life

Peoples lives have changed due to the globalisa7on of pop music.

Technology:
The music industry, at the moment, is
trying to keep up with the technology, I
feel like a good example of this would
be how its dealing with the digital
revolu*on.
The music industry has developed
increasingly in order to become
accessible and available in the digital
revolu*on, however this creates
various pros and cons for both the
consumer and the ar*st.
The posi*ves of the digital age would
be the aordability, the increase in
cultural exchange and the increase in
connec*vity; for example, for an ar*st
to be in America and to be able to
connect with the consumer in Japan.

The nega*ves of the digital age are the
increase of pira*ng songs, leaking
music and listening/watching music on
their technological device (iPods/
iPhones etc.) rather than going to
watch a live performance.
Social networking websites, such as
Facebook and Twifer, have allowed
people to upload free music, to
comment and/or discuss, they also give
the op*on of following your

{50}
favourite ar*sts. This allows you, the
fan, to view any tweets posts and
pictures that your favourite musician/
ar*st is pos*ng.
Websites like Vimeo and YouTube
have facilitated a founda*on for
ar*sts.

Advantages of Globalisa*on in
music
Some key advances in music
globalisa*on are new
technological breakthroughs
such as the iPod and live
streaming apps. iPods came out
in November 2001 and was the
start of popular online
purchasing, making music more
accessible than ever before.
Streaming apps came on the back
of the advancement of iPods,
people could stream on Spo*fy
for a month at the same price of
an album. Streaming via YouTube
for example has also helped
ar*sts like Jus*n Bieber be
discovered.
Disadvantages of Globalisa*on
A main disadvantage for these
technological breakthroughs is
that involving music online has
brought illegal musical
downloads from websites. This
has damaged record sales as a
result of this.

Communica7on and Transporta7on:

Due to the growth of transporta*on and communica*on a various range of music is now accessible and can be sold
all over the world. There is easy availability over the internet for people to listen to dierent genres. E.g. a person in
America can listen to K-pop, whilst a person from Korea can listen to Turkish Folk.

Posi7ve

Nega7ve

Ar*sts may have specially own in instruments in order

to create a specic sound. For example The Beatles,
during their Sergeant Pepper album, explored with
dierent sounds and ew in sitars from India.

Local bands have to pay more to travel out of their area.

For example, a band might travel up and down the
country (England) in a van but the expenses to pay for a
ight across to America or other places in Europe along
with their instruments is very high.

How Has Culture Eected

Music?
Culture has aected what instruments are used
in songs and how they are executed. A good
example of this would be Rude by Magic! The
song has used reggae-style instrumenta*on and
the beat that carries the song and atmosphere is
reggae inspired. Although the instrumenta*on is
reggae, the vocals and lyrics are sung in a
modern western style.
Culture has also eected the meaning of certain
songs, par*cularly songs that bring awareness. A
good example of an ar*st who did this was
Michael Jackson. He was such an icon and he
wanted to make such a change in the world and
create awareness for the world. E.g. The Earth
Song, Heal The World, They Dont Really Care
About Us etc.

How Has Music Eected

Culture?
Music has had an eect on culture by using techniques like
recording songs, marke*ng (via the internet) and giving the
proceeds to charity. An example of this would be Do They
Know Its Christmas by Band Aid.
Band Aid used the internet in order to adver*se the song
and the proceeds went to help the poverty in Africa.
This is an example of western music bringing awareness to
the world that there are some areas in the world that need
help. Therefore more chari*es/charity songs are created to
help raise money to help people, in Africa-for example.

These are also examples of how music

aects the economy and people.

{51}

Opportuni7es for musicians to sell records outside of

their local area:
There are many ways for bands/ar*sts
to sell records outside of their local
area.
Bri*sh boy group One Direc*on started
o in Britain however it wasnt long
before their popularity spread across
the globe to America.
They started out on X Factor however
they didnt win. They signed with SyCo
Records and already had created a fan
base in Britain. Due to marke*ng and
promo*on from the label and the fans
promo*ng 1D; it didnt take long for the
teenage girls in America to go wild.
As soon as the group found out their
demographic (teenage girls) they
started to release music they knew
would appeal to them. This helped them
outgrow America into Canada and from
Canada, elsewhere. Soon signing over to
Columbia Records, they were releasing
music across the globe, making an
interna*onal statement.

{52}

Nowadays bands and ar*sts also use
YouTube to promote themselves. I
have seen many groups such as
Pentatonix where they also have a
USP
(a Unique Selling Point) they sing all
their songs acapella. One Direc*ons
selling point was the fact that they
were the rst young boy band in a
while therefore lling a gap in the
market.
The internet is a very good way to sell
your records and give yourself
exposure. This genera*on are so into
technology that the best way to
present something new to them is
through technology.

Another example is to collaborate with

other ar*sts. This way you are appealing
to your fan base and entering another,
allowing you to gain more audience by
being out there in the industry.

Marke7ng And The Internet:

Marke*ng and the Internet are big factors of globalisa*on
as they can either make or break you.
When signed to a record label it normally comes with a
marke*ng team; however you will s*ll have to market
yourself. Whether that be performing at talk shows or
using the internet (i.e. Twifer and Facebook and
YouTube).
Marke*ng is a key factor in globalisa*on because if
nobody was marke*ng themselves or their ar*sts or
product then nobody would know about it. Marke*ng
allows people to know that there is a band for ages 12-16
around or that your favourite ar*st is touring and has
booked dates to perform at the o2 and when the *ckets
go on sale.
The internet, nowadays, is a form of marke*ng.
Consumers pay for concert *ckets using the internet,
listen to music using the internet and keep up with their
favourite ar*sts tweets etc. using the internet.

The internet has increased globalisa*on because social
networks allow ar*sts to post a status while in London
and allows people from Japan and America to view it,
comment back and/or share it. Some*mes you dont even
have to market yourself as your fans will help by crea*ng
fan pages or simply telling their friends to check out this
new ar*st I found.

A good example to show the power of the internet is

Gangnam Style by Psy or Friday by Rebecca Black. Gangnam
Style was the rst YouTube video to hit a billion views and
once the song had leU K-pop and entered the mainstream
charts there was no going back. The dance also was a massive
hit, along with the catchy tune helped increase the popularity
of the song however the trend of this song was aUer a
celebrity tweeted about it; following was another line of
celebrity tweets including stars like Vanessa Hudgens.

How Do Things Expand Out Of America?

Music expands out of America in a number of ways.
The rst way would be by modern technology, such as
the internet. Radio shows like Ryan Secreast are
always recorded and then put on its Facebook page
where people share it and even if youre not following
that page one of your friends/rela*ves who lives in
America might share it and tag you in it. When you
then watch it, you may show your friends and so on.
This also applies to TV talk shows such as Ellen. Many
ar*sts perform on Ellen as theyre about to release a
new single/album.
Touring is another way to expand from America.
Bands/ar*sts may travel and perform small gigs in
order to introduce themselves into the industry in
dierent countries. It is very common for upcoming
ar*sts to perform as opening acts as bigger ar*sts, this
is a way for American ar*sts to expand.
The ar*st can market themselves by being very social
on social media and also by having a very dis*nct look.
For example; Lady Gagas wacky ousits are what
mainly got the afen*on of the public.
Finding a gap in the market is also a good way to help
expand from America. An example of an ar*st who did
this is Nicki Minaj. At the *me there wasnt any female
rappers around. She started o by featuring on
already famous musicians songs such as Jus*n
Timberlake and Lil Wayne; before releasing her own
solo song

As my family is Turkish, I grew up

listening to both Turkish and English-
pop music mainly.
As I grow older I am hearing a lot
more cultural mixes in songs, for
example my cousin showed me a
French song she heard called
Dernire Danse. Which fused French
lyrics with western pop
instrumenta*on.
When I was studying Spanish I
{53}
tended to listen to the music as it
helped me learn and even now my sister who studies French
will show me French rap songs to compare to the ones we
hear by ar*sts such as Jay Z.
Overall globalisa*on has had a lot of posi*ve and nega*ve
eects on the music industry. It has opened up new doors
and has closed some others.

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Works Cited
HIP HOP:
Informa7on From The Internet:
hfp://www.hiphoparea.com
2005-2008
October 2015

Informa7on From The Internet:
hfp://www.pages.drexel.edu/
~dbb27/hhgra*.html
October 2015

TV Documentary:
How Hip Hop Changed The World
Channel 4
95min 20sec 2011
October 2015

TV Movie:
Style Wars
1:09:47 1983
October 2015

Informa7on From The Internet:
hFps://www.uic.edu/orgs/kbc/
hiphop/break.htm
October 2015

DOO WOP:
Book:
Popular Music
Peter Gammond. Oxford University Press
October 2015

Informa7on From The Internet:
hfp://www.shsu.edu/lis_fwh/book/
roots_of_rock/Doo-Wop2.htm
Spring 2003
October 2015

Informa7on From The Internet:
hfps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doo-wop
March 2014
October 2015

Book:
Doo Wop: The Chicago Scene
Robert Pruter
University of Illinois Press ; 1996
October 2015

Ar7cle:
hfp://ar*cles.la*mes.com/2013/jul/28/
entertainment/la-et-ms-review-bruno-
mars-staples-center-20130728
Mikael Wood
July 2013
October 2015

SOUL:
TV Documentary:
James Brown: Soul Survivor
Eagle Rock Entertainment; October 2003
October 2015

Informa7on From The Internet:
hfp://www.biography.com/people/sam-
cooke-9256129
2014
October 2015

TV Documentary:
The Motown Invasion, Legends
BBC 4, 2011
October 2015

Biography:
hfp://www.rollingstone.com/music/
ar*sts/aretha-franklin/biography
Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll
Simon & Schuster ; 2001
October 2015

Book Experts:
A History Of Popular Music
Piero Scaru; 2005

October 2015

Works Cited
Informa7on From The Internet:
hfp://revues.mshparisnord.org/
ligrane/index.php?id=161
2012
October 2015

Informa7on From The Internet:
hfps://
popmusicifp.wordpress.com/
globaliza*on/
2012
October 2015

Informa7on From The Internet:
hfps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Magne*c_tape
2014
October 2015

Ar7cle:
hfp://www.newyorker.com/
magazine/2014/11/24/revenue-
streams
John Seabrook; Novemeber 2014

Informa7on From The Internet:

hfp://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/04/does-
spo*fy-hurt-the-music-industry.html
Nicholas Wells; 2015

Informa7on From The Internet:
hfps://portaxeplayer1.wordpress.com/
2013/03/10/the-music-industry-a-
powerful-monopoly/
Portaxeplayer1; 2013
October 2015


Websites such as Wikipedia provided
useful informa*on however as it can be
changed by the public all informa*on had
to be backed up by another source for
security.
Books and ar*cles were also helpful
however some can be slightly biased, if
they are a fan of the ar*st (Bruno Mars
ar*cle).
The documentaries were mainly fact
based with opinion provided too.

{6}