Popular music
Scholars have classified music as popular based on whether a song becomes known to listeners mainly from hearing it rather than reading sheet music. This definition distinguishes the genre from classical music, where musicians traditionally learn pieces through written scores. Sales of recordings or sheet music serve as one measure of popularity, yet this metric has flaws because multiple listens are not counted in sales figures. An alternative approach evaluates appeal by audience size or social class, but applying accurate social categories to musical styles proves difficult for researchers. Manuel states that critics argue popular music is produced by large media conglomerates and passively consumed by the public who merely buy or reject what is offered. He claims listeners in such scenarios cannot choose their favorite music, which negates the idea of active consumer choice. Understandings of popular music have changed with time, requiring stability within societies to characterize historical periods and distribution patterns. Anahid Kassabian separated popular music into four distinct categories to better understand its function. She identified popular as populist, having overtones of liberation and expression like jazz or rhythm and blues. Her second category describes popular as folk, stating the music is written by the people for the people, seen in country music and gospel. The third category frames popular as counterculture, empowering citizens to act against oppression through punk rock or hip-hop. Her final classification views popular as mass, where music becomes a tool for oppression rather than liberation.
The most significant feature of the emergent popular music industry of the late 18th and early 19th centuries was the extent of its focus on the commodity form of sheet music. Inexpensive, widely available sheet music versions made it possible for amateur middle-class music-makers to play songs at home. Amateur music-making in the 19th century often centred around the piano, an instrument capable of playing melodies, chords, and basslines simultaneously. One of the early popular music performers to attain widespread popularity was Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind, who toured the US in the mid-19th century. The center of the music publishing industry in the US during the late 19th century was New York's Tin Pan Alley district. Tin Pan Alley publishers developed incessant promotion methods to sell new songs to consumers. A technological innovation that helped spread popular music around the turn of the century was the player piano. This device could record a skilled pianist's rendition and play it back on another machine for larger audiences. By the early 1900s, big trends included vaudeville theaters, dance halls, and the gramophone player. The record industry grew very rapidly, with almost 200 companies operating in the USA by 1920. Radio broadcasting began in the early 1920s, helping spread songs to huge audiences including lower income groups unable to afford concert tickets.
In the 1950s and 1960s, television began to play an increasingly important role in disseminating new popular music through variety shows. Development of multitrack recorders gave sound engineers and producers an increasingly important role in creating new sounds impossible with traditional live recording techniques. The introduction of digital equipment like mixing desks and synthesizers in the 1980s resulted in what Grove Dictionary of Music dubbed the creation of new sound worlds. In the 1990s, availability of sound recording software meant amateur indie bands could record albums using little more than a laptop and microphone. Despite this democratization, audio quality of modern studios still outstrips what amateurs can produce. Vinyl record singles heavily favored for radio play only had room for about three minutes of music, physically limiting song length. With the invention of CDs in 1982 and later streaming, music can be as long or short as writers and listeners wish. Songs have shortened again partially due to the ubiquity of streaming platforms. The average song length in 2018 was 3 minutes and 30 seconds, 20 seconds shorter than the average in 2014. Artists are now paid per individual stream, so longer songs could mean fewer streams and less revenue. Consolidation trends continued into the 1970s until dominance rested in five huge transnational organizations including WEA, RCA, CBS, EMI, and Polygram.
One major change is that popular music has gotten slower over time. The average BPM of popular songs from the 1960s was 116, while the average of the 2000s was 100 BPM. Additionally, songs getting radio play in the 1960s were on average only about three minutes long. In contrast, most songs in the Billboard Top 5 in 2018 were between 3:21 and 3:40 minutes long. There has also been a drop in the use of major keys and a rise in the use of minor keys since the 1960s. Eighty-five percent of songs were in a major key in the 1960s decade, while only around 40% of songs are in a major key now. Subject matter and lyrics have undergone major changes, becoming sadder as well as more antisocial and self-centered since the 1960s. An increasing trend shows emotional content, key, and tempo not following common associations like fast songs with sad subjects or slow songs with happier content. Popular music since the late 1960s has increasingly been used to promote social change and political agendas. Artists have often focused their music on current events and subjects relevant to current generations. Globalization makes audiences' tastes more diverse, allowing different ideas in music to gain popularity.
Popular African music styles have stemmed from traditional entertainment genres rather than evolving from music used with ceremonies like weddings or funerals. The genre Maskanda is popular in its culture of origin, South Africa, though listeners influence ideals brought forth in the music. A popular maskandi artist named Phuzekhemisi had to lessen political influence within his music to be ready for the public sphere. His music producer West Nkosi was looking for commercial success rather than starting a political controversy. Political songs have been an important category of African popular music in many societies during the continent's struggle against colonial rule. Nationalistic songs boosted citizens' morale based on Western marches and hymns reflecting European education systems early leaders grew up in. In South Africa, political songs during the Anti-Apartheid Movement were based on traditional tribal styles along with hybrid forms of imported genres. Activists used protest and freedom songs to persuade individuals to take action and become educated with the struggle. One genre people use for political expression is hip-hop, which has been remade to produce new meanings for African young people. Artists who would have started in traditional genres like maskanda became hip-hop artists to provide stronger career paths. These rappers compare themselves to traditional artists like griots and oral storytellers who reflected internal dynamics of larger society.
Popular music in Indonesia is often categorized as hybrid forms of Western rock to genres that originated in Indonesia and are indigenous in style. The genre Dangdut formed from two other genres: indo pop and underground music coming together to create a new fusion sound. Dangdut takes noisy instrumentation from underground music but makes it easier to listen to like indo pop. This genre has formed into a larger social movement including clothing, youth culture, resurgence of Islam, and capitalist entertainment industry. Another popular scene in Indonesia is punk rock shaped by local interpretations of media from the global punk movement. Jeremy Wallach argues that while Green Day was seen as death of punk elsewhere, in Indonesia they were catalysts for a larger movement. In China, youths stated they enjoyed listening to Chinese, other Asian nationalities, and Anglo-American popular music in a 2015 study. Youths described being able to connect to emotions and language of Chinese music while enjoying melodies found within Anglo-American tracks. Modernization of music in the Arab world involved borrowing inspiration from Turkish music and Western musical styles. Late Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum stated we must respect ourselves and our art to ensure native styles are not lost in modernization. During the 1980s and 1990s, popular music was seen as a problem for Iranian government due to non-religious meanings and bodily movements of dancing. Iranian underground rock bands composed of young urban-minded members expressed feelings of alienation stemming from war and social restrictions on youth.
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Common questions
How is popular music defined by scholars?
Scholars define popular music as songs known to listeners mainly from hearing them rather than reading sheet music. This definition distinguishes the genre from classical music where musicians traditionally learn pieces through written scores.
What were the key features of the late 18th and early 19th century popular music industry?
The most significant feature was the focus on the commodity form of sheet music which made it possible for amateur middle-class music-makers to play songs at home. Inexpensive widely available sheet music versions allowed people to use instruments like the piano to play melodies chords and basslines simultaneously.
How has song length changed in popular music since the 1960s?
Songs have shortened again partially due to the ubiquity of streaming platforms with the average song length in 2018 being 3 minutes and 30 seconds. This duration is 20 seconds shorter than the average in 2014 because artists are paid per individual stream so longer songs could mean fewer streams and less revenue.
Why did political songs become important during the Anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa?
Political songs became an important category during the struggle against colonial rule to boost citizens' morale based on Western marches and hymns reflecting European education systems. Activists used protest and freedom songs to persuade individuals to take action and become educated with the struggle using traditional tribal styles along with hybrid forms of imported genres.
What role does Dangdut play in Indonesian popular music culture?
Dangdut formed from two other genres indo pop and underground music coming together to create a new fusion sound that takes noisy instrumentation but makes it easier to listen to. This genre has formed into a larger social movement including clothing youth culture resurgence of Islam and capitalist entertainment industry.