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Over the past few weeks I have really enjoyed researching music histories and the live music experience. It is interesting to note how much attention is given to certain types of music in comparison to others. Pop music is covered in large doses in the media, with plenty of attention given to top 40 artists and their daily life shambles. This, I feel, is a shame. There are plenty of other topics which deserve coverage by the media and attention from the general public. The live experience and local music being one of these.
Here at Popular Music Press the team have attempted to present stories, articles, photos, media analysis and scholarly research on the live music experience in order to present an alternative topic and view to the general public. In doing this we hope that insight has been given into the struggles, benefits and general social debate on the topic.
Just to rehash live music is not all about anti-social behaviour and is not primarily driven by economic gains, as alot of media articles articulate. Instead the live experience should be thought of as a socially demanded activity that not only brings joy and entertainment but also social cohesion and a sense of community, as relevant theorists quoted in previous posts have suggested.
This sense of social cohesion and community has been argued by some as further intensifyed by technology such as the internet. The internet has rapidly changed the way we use, store, distribute and interact with music. This communication medium has opened up a world of possibility for musicians, allowing artists, particularly aspiring artists, to promote and distribute their work to thousands of people around the globe. However some believe that the impact the internet has had is indeed a negative one.
Musicians such as Sir Elton John highlight the possible devastation within the music industry that may occur as a result of the internet, not only on decline in sales and profit but also on the level of musical creativity.
There have been fears of technology wiping out the live experience. I do not believe that this will be the case any time soon. From the research I have conducted I have found that people will always enjoy the live experience. The audience craves the personal connection with the artist and the music they produce, they crave the raw sound and the whole product, the scenery, social interaction and embrace the music created right there and then.
There have also been fears for safety not only for the individuals engaging in a live performance but also the safety of society. Riots, rampage and drug and alcohol abuse have all been linked to the live experience. Although these are apparent, they have always existed and should not influence the demise of the live music experience.
Popular Music Press hopes that the live experience blog has opened up your eyes a little to the world of live and local music and has sent waves of interest and excitement through your veins. Let’s hope that in the future local, live music will receive more attention by the media and the government and the social and economic benefits it can provide are realised.
Thanks for reading!!
Concert stampede kills 10
SMH.com
February 10, 2008
Ten young people have been trampled or crushed to death as hundreds of music fans tried to force their way out of a rock concert in the Indonesian city of Bandung.
Witnesses told the Pikiran Rakyat newspaper that people inside the packed venue were trying to escape the crush just as hundreds of others were surging their way inside.
“Ten people were killed, one of them has not yet been identified. Six other people were injured,” Bandung police chief Bambang Suparsono told the Detikcom online news portal.
The dead are mostly teenagers. He said an investigation was under way into the incident late yesterday.
Detikcom, quoting another police officer, said the capacity of the building was for 700 people but that only around 400 attended the concert by a popular punk rock group.
However, Pikiran Rakyat said there were more than 1500 people inside.
Detikcom said at least 40 were being questioned, while a police officer at Bandung, the capital of West Java, said three organisers were being quizzed as suspects.
“The bodies of 10 people have been brought here but all but three have been taken by their family,” said Toto, a staff member at the local hospital morgue where the dead were initially brought.
Suparsono said the crush occurred as people tried to leave the Asia Africa Arts Hall in downtown Bandung.
One 19-year-old witness told Pikiran Rakyat: “Outside, there were hundreds of people pushing to enter. They were pushing at the gate.
“Inside, there were also a lot of people who wanted to leave, because the hall was so packed that it was difficult to breathe.”
Another witness told the paper that while the band was playing, hundreds of people forced their way in, damaging the entranceway.
Six dead in concert stampede
SMH.com
SIX people died and several were injured overnight in a stampede at a concert held in Tunisia.
The stampede occurred at a theatre at Sfax, 300 kilometres south of the capital Tunis, where a concert was being held for the TV program Star Academy Lebanon, an official said.
Rescuers rushed to the Sidi Mansour theatre, the official said.
This is also an intersting related journal article about the deaths that occurred at The Who concert in 1979. http://www.jstor.org/pss/800813
Comment on PANIC! Death at a Live Music Experience!
This is a great article I found that I feel that any live music concert goer will love and understand.
It attempts to explain the significance of a live performance and of the live music experience from a personal perspective.
Jacobsen (2007) states:
“I have been a massive fan of the live experience since my first concert. It was in 1985 and it was Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The atmosphere and energy were incredible. He gave the audience hit after hit for three hours and of course the E Street Band as a live unit were without peer, and when he pulled someone from the audience onto the stage the crowd went wild. It was a complete adenaline hit. Concerts still provide that unbeatable energy and vibe for me and many others.”
Jacobsen (2007) talks of the internet as the reason behind the increasing lack of musical talent and musical creativity, which I do not believe is one hundred percent accurate. He states: “we are going through a revolution that has not just changed the rule book. In some instances it has torn the rule book up and thrown it out the window. This revolution is the internet.”
I do not believe that the internet has had a detrimental effect on the promotion of music but rather on record companies and the sale and distribution of music.
Jacobsen (2007) however maintains that the live experience will remain popular as more booking agents are taking their acts to younger fan bases, ” in schools, regional areas, youth events and at Scout Jamborees [personally I've never heard of these before but..] which draw between 12 and 15,000 twelve to sixteen year olds. Again, this is the first time many kids experience a live band – and because of that, they remain loyal to the experience and the band.”
Jacobsen (2007) also presents another theory that, “people in their 20’s are staying at home longer and buying their first house later in life. As a result they are not tied down by a mortgage and have more money to spend. They focus on getting exciting life experiences and going to concerts is one of these experiences.”
In summary Jacobsen suggests for the future:
As far as the internet issue goes, we should embrace it. Yes, there’ll be a time when concerts will be streamed on the ‘Net. Some promoters believe it will kill their market. Others, like me, believe it will only expand the market. Sure, it’d be good to see David Bowie play a show in Paris in the comfort of your home.
But as I said, you cannot download the live music experience – you can bet that thousands of the people who see that webcast, will then want to see Bowie live.
Australian promoters also need to lobby the government harder to give the live entertainment industry the tax incentives that the film industry has, and which have helped it thrive.
And finally, we need to stand together and demand that ticket scalpers and E-bay ticket traders be dealt with by law. Queensland plans to increase fines, but the rest of the country is dragging its feet. It’s an important issue because these scalpers are nothing more than parasites on our customers, whose greatest thrill is the live entertainment experience.
In summary, there are always obstacles and challenges like the internet. The only reason we might NOT be able to get past an obstacle or challenge, is if we continue to work with the same rules and business models.
So, as this industry goes through generational changes and the first breed of Australian promoters retire, I encourage all of us, armed with new ideas, to be the new blood.
Article can be found at: http://www.business.uts.edu.au/acem/pdfs/Jacobsenspeech.pdf
I found this site which ties in very well with our blog.
You can find it at: http://www.alexcooley.com/
This site attempts to look at live music on a deeper level, which I here at Popular Music Press believe has been lacking in the media. Alex Cooley suggests that live music naturally promotes community, culture, discovery, fun, family and adventure, which I tend to agree with. Anyone who has a attended a live performance they have enjoyed is left with a sense of social cohesion, excitement and joy.
Cooley also offers an optimistic look at the digital revolution in regards to the live experience stating that, “the digital revolution offers exciting possibilties in the live music industry. There are new ways to enhance audience experience, to help artists reach more fans, and for fans to take the experience home.”
The site also offers people the chance to share their live music experience posting ‘live music pic of the week.’
The Hyena’s are a local Newcastle punk / rock band who play regular gigs in the area. On their MySpace page they claim that their influences are The Clash, ACDC, Rancid, Motorhead, The Ramones and many more.
They state on their MySpace page:
Ladies and gentlemen and carnivorous mammals everywhere. Has your diet of live music been lacking in bone crunching rock and roll and essential spectacle and showmanship? The you will want to feast your eyes and ears on the hyenas.
Check out their MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/hyenasrocknroll
To check out more local Newcastle bands visit: http://www.newcastlemusic.com/links.php?cat=24
As Frith (2004) suggests in the article ‘Towards an Aesthetic of Popular Music’ in the book Popular Music Critical Concepts in Media and Cultural Studies, “different groups possess different sorts of cultural capital, share different cultural expectations and so make music differently. ” So what is it about the cultural capital that pop music producers and top 40 artists occupy and why do they seem to dominate in the music industry.
Frith (2004) offers an answer to this suggesting that, “popular music is popular not because it reflects something or authentically articulates some sort of popular taste or experience, but because it creates our understanding of what popularity is.” So essentially people like popular music because they are told to like it? This could make sense as we do have top 40 charts telling us what is hot at any one point in time.
But in relation to the live music experience Auslander (1998) suggests that live music conveys connotations of authenticity. “To hear music is to see it performed on stage with all the trappings.” Some may argue that in a sense pop music does not encapsulate what the live experience is about, as pop music may succomb to all the trappings, for example miming or lip synching. Auslander (1998) also points out that, “rock music is performed live, and that within rock culture such performance is important and demanded.”
Frith (2004) states “Authenticity is, then, what guarantees that rock performances resist or subvert commercial logic, just as rock star quality (whether we are discussing Elvis Presley or David Bowie, the Rolling Stones or the Sex Pistols) descibes the power that enables certain musicians to drive something individually obdurate through the system.” One could argue that popular music does not achieve this?
Frith (1998) as quoted in Wiseman (2004) Writing Rock: A Psychogeography of Pop, states:
“the common sense of rock…is that its meaning is known thoughtlessly: to understand rock is to feel it. Among left-leaning intellectuals the attitude is a generalised disdain for rock’s commercialism and vulgarity coupled with a commitment to an individual artist or song or genre. Hype – the driving force of the rock sales process – is taken to be transparent in its motivation and effects; taste, the reason why people like particular sounds, is taken to be mysterious, inaccessible to reason. “
What do you think?
Post your comments on The Domination of Popular Music in Society.
As Jess mentioned in earlier posts there is a lack of coverage in the media of live music and local bands and popular or mainstream music seems to dominate. I thought that I would take the opportunity to promote Newcastle Music Week which highlights the talents of the students at the NSW TAFE Hunter Institute. It runs from the 26th of October to the 2nd of November.
For more information check out the site at: http://www.newcastlemusicweek.com.au/
I found this article published by the New York Times online, Internet is seizing the spotlight in the live music business:
I thought that this would be a good follow up to the post I presented earlier. This article takes a look at some case studies of bands who have benefitted from going online with their music. For example the band Vic Thrill and the Saturn Missile perform only sporadically so having the ability to promote themselves online where their videos may receive views into the millions is a great benefit. As the article suggests users are also very interested in vintage videos, for example like the one presented below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnl3G1WndD4
I think that the overall argument or the main idea presented through this article can be summed up like this: “The Internet’s reach and instant distribution, coupled with the declining cost of producing video content, mean that fans and live performers have more access to each other than ever.” (Leeds 2006)
However in saying this I still believe that live music is an experience like no other. Auslander (1998) in the article “Seeing is Believing: Live Performance and the Discourse of Authenticity in Rock Culture” in the journal Literature and Psychology suggests that, “to hear music is to see it performed on stage, with all the trappings.” Auslander (1998) in the article also presents the idea that the pleasure of experiencing live music is derived from the interaction with others, “the individual listener has the opportunity to commune with fellow fans and to experience an illusory bond with the performer.”
On the other hand there are those such as Earl (2001) in the article, “Simons Travel Thereom and the Demand for Live Music,” in the Journal of Economic Psychology who feel that there are plenty of down sides to live music performances, such as:
- transport related costs
- child related costs
- poor sound quality and excessive volume
- difficulties in seeing the performers
- undesired supporting artists
- monopolistic suppliers of food and drink
When one considers these downsides it becomes apparent how beneficial the internet can be to promoting up and coming bands and even helping to support top name bands. As Earl (2001) puts forward, “in the case of top ranking artists, a ticket for a concert will cost significantly more than a recording.”
[For more on Simons Travel Thereom and the Demand for Live Music please see an earlier post by c3088775.]
Check out the article and let me know what your opinion is on the topic.
Something I’ve noticed while I’ve been conducting research for Popular Music Press is the impact the internet has on promoting and supporting live music.
The internet provides a forum for advertising and promoting live music acts, which is an environmentally friendlier way to advertise than putting up posters all over the neighbourhood, and undoubtedly reaches a much larger audience. Harsanyi (2008) argues that the internet provides a means for job creation and mass creativity. We can see this with the MySpace phenomenon where ‘artists’ such as Lily Allen have started careers. MySpace is only one outlet. There are many others including:
However there are those who feel that the internet is having somewhat dire consequences on the live music experience. In the Sun article, Why we must Close the Net, http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article251007.ece, Sir Elton John claims that the internet is having devastating effects on music, “The internet has stopped people from going out and being with each other.”
If the footage of shows is available on the internet will people just watch this or is it still about the ‘live experience’? I found this site that you might be interested in checking out: http://www.archive.org/details/etree
What do you think? Do you feel that live music has suffered or gained from the advancement of the internet?
This article can be found at: http://www.culture.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/2052207F-5635-4006-A5A5-FE2BBAA7718A/0/feasibilitystudylivemusicimpact.pdf
I felt that this was an interesting read as it helped to define what makes live music so successful. The article looks at certain factors that make some venues more successful than others. It explores some of the barriers of live music and live performance and also looks at how live music can be promoted, particularly in disadvantaged areas.
The article also made me aware of all the stakeholders that are involved or surround this topic. It is not only about the musicians and their audience but also the promoters, unions, councils and various associations.
The ‘multiplier or second round effects’ which are generated by the live experience include, “ increases in area population, “live music could potentially make the local area more popular, encouraging more people to move there or visit,” and the encouragement for further musical activity, “successful live music performances are likely to encourage the staging of additional live music performances.”
The article also states that, ” public performances of live music require a license from the local council. The revenues earned by the council from the sale of licenses could potentially benefit the wider community.”I feel that these are all important issues which surround the live experience and do not receive enough coverage.
