What is world music?

The term ‘word music’ can be interpreted in various different ways, for example we see ‘world music’ sections in our music stores such as HMV, if we think about it this may be seen as wrong or somewhat pointless as this section of the stores is nothing like the other music sections in the store due to the fact it is not defined by its genre but by its origin. We tend to see ‘world music’ as local music that is popular amongst a society in a country such as Salsa music to Latin-American people would be considered world music to us but local to Latin-American people, however a artists like ‘Shakira’ who are of a Latin-American origin but produce what is labelled as ‘Pop’, is considered global music as it is popular amongst a worldwide community. In my opinion the term ‘World Music’ is wrong as it has become a general marketing term for non-western music of all genres.

Is popular music a mass produced commodity or a genuine art form?

It can be said that popular music is a mass produced commodity, e.g. when you listen to a song that is considered to be popular music, we have the urge to listen to a related style therefore we decide to buy something that sounds similar, it can be said the reason for popular music sounding similar is due to the fact the music industry is made up of people that want to make money and therefore if a certain sound is working well and generating money, major labels will influence their artists to follow a trend, this is more enough what Adorno talks about on the topic of standardised (artists may seem to be different by actually sound nearly the same), however It could also argued that all music is creative and the music which becomes popular is considered to be less creative and ‘sell-out’ music due to its success.

How useful is a production of culture perspective in understanding the birth of rock and roll?

When talking about the birth of Rock and Roll, it is useful to use a production of culture perspective such as the one Richard A Peterson offers in terms of him talking about the evolution of the music industry for example technological, music laws, and radio developments as with out these such things the birth of rock and roll possibly wouldn’t of occurred or had the impact it did on the music world. However this perspective does not give reasons why it was this genre of music that became popular it does not give any reasons for this, for example it does not explain or mention the fact the black artists at the time who made the original songs did not become as popular as the white artists who covered them, practically speaking this theory could be applied for any type of music of that time that was up and comming. This is why a production of culture perspective can be used but only to an extent.

Is it reasonable to consider that rock music is gendered male?

It is reasonable to consider that rock music is gendered as male, due to the fact that in history to the present day, this has been the case; I think the reason for this is due to the fact that Rock culture is seen as very masculine, (despite certain areas possibly not being very masculine, such as their clothing). We may see talented popular females in this genre of music but will not see them being dominant and become the majority. Perhaps in other genres of music such as soul, pop and RnB, we may see influential leading artists that are female because this music genres are considered to be more 'feminine'. Also another reason why it is reasonable to consider Rock as gendered male, is because the music industry is very much run by males to an extent, such as record labels, A&R and other jobs, this may be another reason why Rock music is gendered male.