Browsing by Subject "popular music"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    “Aquele Abraco”: Brazilian Protest Music in the Face of Repression
    (2023-04) Nustad, Kayla
    This paper explores the relationship between Brazilian popular music and the military dictatorship. By focusing on three singers Geraldo Vandré, Caetano Veloso, and Chico Buarque, the range of musicians’ experiences confronting authoritarianism is seen through their responses to censorship and persecution. Censorship played a large role in the repression of culture and media during the Brazilian military dictatorship. Analyzing the experiences of musical artists provides a glimpse into both how leftist voices spoke out against oppression and how the military attempted to suppress them. Through public music festivals, new mass mediums, and innovative lyricism, artists of Brazilian popular music fought official censors to attempt to maintain connection to and hope within their audiences. Studying these interactions is pertinent because it is important to look at the ways censoring art can impact the artists and audiences, and how censorship was used to hide human rights violations.
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    The Commodification of Music in the Age of Curated Experience
    (2020) Lai, Rachel; Junker, Dave
    In a modern culture wherein the primary mode of consumption of music is through streaming platforms, information technology conglomerates continue to dominate modes of consumption of popular music, and thus, gain broader and more powerful control over the commodification and distribution of music. Historically, critiques of the entertainment industry and cultural commodification began with the Frankfurt School scholars Theodore Adorno, Walter Benjamin, and Max Horkheimer, among others. Such arguments criticized the standardization of songs and the formulaic processes that began to take shape as record labels and music business entities vied for commercial success. Today, the ubiquitous presence of the Internet and refined algorithmic analysis have sparked a resurgence of these arguments in the context of the datafication of society, the technological trend in which many aspects of life are turned into valuable consumer data to be sold and profited from. This thesis explores the ramifications of such influence in commercial music, from its production to its promotion, through the lens of technological developments that affect artist integrity and creative independence. To examine this fundamental tension today, the career and influence of UK band The 1975 will be analyzed using the theories originally proposed by the Frankfurt school as an example of the difficulties in cultivating a massive loyal following while remaining decidedly independent from corporate influence.
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    The Winner Takes It All: Transmedia Influence On The Afterlife Of Abba
    (2019-05-01) Christian, Anna; Fuller-Seely, Kathryn
    In an entertainment industry saturated with competing texts, media scholar Henry Jenkins maintains transmedia storytelling as an economic imperative. From ABBA’s inception in the 1970s to its contemporary revivals, the band’s irresistible pop anthems have achieved a level of international staying power comparable only to that of the Beatles, due in large part to the music’s multimedia presence. ABBA, with its kitsch fashion and distinctive melodies, emerged from an era that was captivated by the British Invasion and was prone to “disco demolitions.” Yet over the years it has managed to find a way into the narratives of movies, musicals, and drag performances alike. How does this mass, cultural co-opting contribute to ABBA’s enduring fame? Further, can the band’s unique business acumen—a trait responsible for an ever-expanding fandom by way of museums, musicals, video games, and virtual concerts—serve as a model for modern immersive music experiences?Sociocultural analysis provides reasoning for the band’s early reception (and rejection) by international audiences, while historical research may clarify a precedent for finding success out of the Swedish music industry. Additionally, this paper interprets both qualitative and quantitative data from music magazines such as Creem and Melody Maker, industry sales charts, and a variety of art and entertainment critiques. By using these sources and methods, I clarify both the particular factors that contributed to ABBA’s popularity and those cultural and social sentiments that detracted from it. I also attempt to determine to what degree the band’s several revivals and business savvy have solidified their position in the popular music canon.