Category: Music Industry

A Music Video Analysis: Macklemore and Lewis, “Same Love”

The topic of marriage equality has always been a controversial topic, especially given the recent political climate of the United States. On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court cast aside all state bans on same-sex marriage, legalized it in all fifty states, and required states to honor out-of-state same-sex marriage licenses in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges. Many celebrities have, over the years, voiced their support for gay rights, including the musical artists known as Benjamin Haggerty, AKA Macklemore, and Ryan Lewis.

Far before same-sex marriage was legalized, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis released a music video for their song titled “Same Love” in October 2012. The video may be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlVBg7_08n0. The video follows the birth and death of an unnamed male character, beginning with various establishing shots of a hospital room and a nurse, which transitions into a short montage of clips of children playing. The first scene of substance shows the main character at a party, playing a game of spin the bottle. When the bottle lands on the main character, he seems to be in distress with confusion over his sexuality. Faced with these emotions, he locks himself in his room. His mother becomes concerned and tries to find out what is wrong with her son but is met with hostility as he wants to keep his feelings a secret. After some more portraying average high school life, we jump into the future of the main character’s life. He is now doing very well in life, seeming to be a successful businessman as well as having a successful homosexual relationship. He plans to come out to his parents over dinner. The scene begins with the main character and his boyfriend stealing a kiss in their car before entering the parents’ home. Whilst eating dinner with his family, the main character comes out to both of his parents. Met with this information, the father leaves the room. His mother follows soon after. The next shot shows the main character and his significant other having many adventures together, such as cliff jumping, listening to classic vinyl records, and having a night out on the town. During their night out, a stranger passed them and proceeds to say a derogatory term to them. Following the scenes of the couple enjoying life together, the music video takes us to a shot of the two main characters on a beach together. The main character’s boyfriend proposes, to which the main character says yes, with an incredible amount of emotion being displayed by both characters. The video jumps immediately to the wedding, first showing the guests and wedding party, as well as both grooms. After seeing the couple prepare themselves for the ceremony, the video proceeds to the ceremony and reception itself. During the reception, the grooms can be seen cutting the cake, the main character dancing with his mother, and the guests holding up sparklers to celebrate. The music video ends with a scene of the couple, who have aged significantly, in a hospital room. The main character lies in the bed with his husband by his bed, holding his hand.

Neither Macklemore nor Ryan Lewis is gay, but both had gay families and were exposed to a level of normality towards homosexuality very early on. Ryan has a gay uncle who lives with the immunodeficiency virus HIV, and Macklemore has both a gay uncle as well as a gay godfather. A photo of Macklemore’s uncle and his significant other is shown at the end of the video, and the two, according to Macklemore, represent a committed and loving relationship. The photo is also the art cover for the single version of the song. Throughout the video, there are heavy references to subjects that are very relevant to the LGBT community as well as individuals who may be struggling with their sexuality.

The first theme seems to be gender stereotyping, portrayed by the shots of the main character as a young child, playing sports and climbing trees. However, alongside the masculine shots of the main character, scenes of young girls playing with dolls and selling lemonade are also presented. These are all stereotypes that exist in the modern age. Children are taught some things are only meant for boys, and some things are only meant for girls. The children are raised with these stereotypes and end up usually taking them through life.

Another topic the video presents is the subject of “coming out” to relatives. The main character, despite being an adult with a life of his own, still struggles emotionally to tell his parents about his sexuality. During the time, and even in today’s modern age, a large percentage of one’s family may not be supportive of one’s sexuality if it isn’t in their definition of “normal”. The main character’s father is not seen after he comes out to his parents, not even at his wedding, which conveys that his father may have somewhat disowned his son. Unfortunately, sometimes this disapproval manifests in ways of verbal and/or physical abuse. There have been many studies that show that almost half of the LGBT youth are forced out of their homes or choose to leave out of abuse or rejection.

Much later in the video, the main character and his significant other are victims of a stranger making an anti-homosexual remark. This shows some of the harassment ones may suffer if a part of the LGBT community. Hate crimes towards gay people have ranged from murder cases, such as Matthew Shepard, a college student who was robbed, brutally beaten, and lashed to a chain fence, to everyday insults, slurs, and sexual violence. Statistics from the FBI show that nearly half of the hate crimes committed in 2013 were due to the victim’s sexual orientation. Another issue has been the amount of online hate one may receive from social media outlets, as it adds a layer of anonymity.

Works Cited

1. Lambe, Stacy. “The Making of Macklemore.” The Making of Macklemore. 9 May 2013. Web. 31 Jan 2015. http://www.out.com/entertainment/music/2013/05/07/macklemore-ryan-lewis-gay-anthem-hiphop?page=full
2. Lewis, Ryan. “MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS – SAME LOVE feat. MARY LAMBERT (OFFICIAL VIDEO).” Online music video. Youtube. Youtube, 2 October 2012. Web. 25 January 2015
3. Marra, Andy. “GLSEN’s “Out Online: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth” First National Report to Look In-Depth at LGBT Youth Experience Online.” GLSEN, 10 July 2013. Web.
4. United States of America. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Hate Crime Statistics, 2013. N.p., Fall 2014. Web. 31 Jan 2015

Ariana Grande was the first artist to reach the top three of the Billboard 100 since The Beatles did in 1964. Beyonce was the top-selling artist of the 2000s. Lady Gaga became the first woman to win an Oscar, Grammy, BAFTA and Golden Globe in the same year in 2019. Adele’s ‘Hello’ was the first song to sell a million digital downloads within the first week of its release.

We see our favorite female artist accomplishing all these remarkable achievements. We hear their songs on the radio, we listen to them, we add them to our playlist whether on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music or on YouTube, and, in my case, Ariana Grande’s single ‘Positions’, which is her fifth single to debut at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, was on repeat for days when it was first released, and I never get bored of it, I still listen to it now. We do these completely oblivious to the struggle, the hardship they had to face, the oppression, exploitation and misogyny.

One first example of exploitation is the pay discrepancy in the music industry between female and male artists. Taylor Swift is a good example of this, she has struggled for years to own her own master recordings, which are the original recordings of the music that she wrote and sang. Little Mix has also spoken about being exploited in the industry, they left Simon Cowell’s music label because they felt were not being paid properly and joined a music label that allowed them more freedom and paid them fairer. Taylor Swift is one of the most successful artists in the world, but even she admits she’s still had to deal with sexism in the music industry. Swift’s entire career plagued with sexism in various forms, from constant media criticism to sexual assault and losing the rights to songs she wrote herself. It really is just systematic misogyny; women struggle to get recognition. Swift said, “I’m so sick of running as fast as I can. Wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man”. She also said, “You don’t feel a sense of any victory when you win because the process is so dehumanizing”.

Swift shouldn’t have to feel as if she could have gotten there faster if she was a man, it should be about talent and ability, and not because of gender. That is what society have made us think, that men are better off and have a better chance of achieving something much quicker and easier than women. Society have also made us think that beauty is important and if you lack that, you won’t get anywhere with just your talent alone; if you are attractive then you have a better chance of succeeding, being liked and accepted.

In the pop industry, women are expected to fit a certain stereotype. Newspaper like The Sun, The Daily Mail, The Daily Mirror and more tabloid newspapers always criticize Adele for her weight. She was too heavy for the industry ideals and then, when she lost weight, they also criticized her. They called it a ‘revenge body’ after her divorce from her husband which detracts from her achievement. They also called her too ‘haggard’ and ‘slim’, but that was what they were demanding from her for years. They even changed to story of her weight loss to being about her divorce. Ariana Grande has spoken about how she felt the pressure to fit into preconceived, cliched ideas of her persona. She also mentioned how there are certain standards that pop women are held to that men aren’t, for example, she said, “We have to do the teaser before the single, then do the single, and wait to do the preorder”. It’s as if women are expected to do more than men, like women need to do more in order to be on the same level as a male. Ariana isn’t the first female pop star to criticize the present state of the music industry; Nicki Minaj, Dua Lipa, and Little Mix have all spoken out about their personal experiences with sexism.

Award shows are also a good example of blatant sexism within the music industry. During an interview with New Billboard, Ariana said: “I would just love to see a chart with as many women on top as men. It’s just so male-dominated. It’s so easy for them”.

In 2020, men won twice as many awards as women at the Grammys. Women accounted for only 2% of Grammy nominees for Producer of the Year and 7.6% for Album of the Year, meaning that 98% of Grammy nominees for Producer of the Year and 92.4% for Album of the Year were male. Female producers are not recognized as much as male producers are, no woman has ever won a Grammy for Producer of the Year. Despite not winning, Linda Perry was the first woman to be nominated after 15 years in 2019, since Lauren Christy was nominated back in 2004. According to PRS for music, 13% of 95,000 songwriters are female which is not surprising as there are a great number of female-written songs that have yet to be taken seriously.

With the rise of the #MeToo movement in the past few years, you can see the dark side of the music industry being exposed. There are men in positions of power who take advantage of that to exploit women trying to get their big break. In a BBC news article titled ‘The Music Industry’s Dark Side Exposed’, a girl named Amy talks about how she was sexually harassed by her manager because she refused to be in a relationship with him. For 2 years he continued to threaten and blackmail her saying he’d ruin her career if she was to tell anyone of what he’d been doing to her. She’s not the only one who had gone through this, many do not come forward about this because they fear what might happen to them. Very recently in an interview with Oprah, Lady Gaga revealed she too was sexually assaulted by a male music producer when she was 19 that led her to becoming pregnant. Even now she refuses to name her attacker due to the PTSD she has suffered since then. This shows that even the most successful female music artists have faced this form of sexual violence, and hopefully by them speaking out, some changes will be made to protect women in this position.

Women’s experiences reveal that the largest impediment they confront is the music industry’s attitude toward women. Women’s perceptions are highly stereotypical, sexualized, and lacking in ability. Women will continue to confront a roadblock in their careers unless those fundamental beliefs are altered. Women have been subjected to prejudice and objectification. And it’s not just within the music industry, this is very much reflected on the vast of society.

Misogyny in the music industry is surviving because not enough people are doing enough to tackle it. Women and feminine-identified people will continue to be underpaid, oppressed, and discredited until we adequately address and eradicate misogyny.

Developments in technology within the 21st century mean that the way we use music is constantly changing. Historians have dated the first musical instruments to have been created over 30,000 years ago – these instruments were used to create ceremonial music, to be used for religious purposes (The Hymns and Carols of Christmas, 2019). Since then, the ways we use and listen to music have massively changed – from the development of blues music from the migration of Africans to the United States (Fisher, 1998, Pg 8-9), the rise in rioting punks in the 90s who used music as a means to rage about political issues, the introduction of the revolutionary business ‘Apple’ who introduced the ability to store massive amounts of music in such a small device, to the use of music on modern digital platforms such as Youtube and the rise of ‘Youtube Stars’. Music is everywhere and we as the public are constantly being exposed to music in many different ways therefore, how the ways we use and consume music affect the music industry is a matter that affects everyone. This essay discusses how developments in the way we physically and psychologically use and consume music have affected and continue to affect the music industry in terms of the law, job roles, marketing schemes, and syncopation.

‘Music is such a key element in swaying the hearts and minds of people (Thomson, 2016). This is why music plays a key role in politics and is commonly used as a form of influence and persuasion. As part of the UK Copyright Law, an artist’s moral rights are protected under the Trade of Rights, meaning that any ‘Derogatory treatment – defined as any addition, deletion, alteration to or adaptation of a work that amounts to a distortion or mutilation of the work, or is otherwise prejudicial to the honor or reputation of the author’ (Intellectual Property Office, 2015). In 2017, a number of artists such as Calvin Harris and Florence and The Machine were upset about their music being used in a political conference held by the Conservative party. Calvin Harris expressed that he felt that by playing his music at a Conservative conference the integrity of his song had been disrupted ‘I do not support nor condone happy songs being played at such a sad event’ (Harris, 2017). However, ‘the political party is able to play music without gaining express permission as the conference center is a public space and the artists will be paid royalties’ from collection societies such as PRS and PPL (BBC, 2017). This directly affects the songwriter negatively as it means the message of their song is being portrayed to support a different point of view to what the artist intended, however the song itself, in terms of its structure, lyrics, or melody was not altered therefore it was completely legal for the Conservative party to use these songs. It can also be argued that the Conservative party have no influence in the way that the audience perceived these songs and that these songs could have solely been chosen to play at the party’s conference down to them being popular songs at that time. On the other hand, it could be said that the fact that a song can be used without the songwriters’ permission, as long as royalties are collected, in a way that alters the meaning of a song is wrong and brings about questions involving copyright law.

The phenomenon of video game music historically has been defined under the genres of bitcore, Nintendocore, or chiptune (Collins, 2005, Pg2), however, developments in technology since the 1990s have allowed video game composers to have more creativity and find themselves freed from technological limitations. This is the reason why Sexton claims there is no longer such thing as video game music (Sexton, 2007, Pg 51) and instead proclaims video games now feature more complex music that is written for or adapted to suit the themes and needs of the game itself. Fifa is the world’s biggest and best-selling sports franchise console video game, selling over 260 million copies all over the world. Along with its gaming success, FIFA is also notorious for helping artists gain recognition by featuring them on the soundtrack of the game. Steve Schnur, EA’s music supervision chief recognizes the platform that artists’ have been given when their music is syncopated in games such as Fifa. In an interview, he says, ‘We know that 41-plus percent of all time spent on a game is in the front end, playing the menus, and that’s where the music is. So if you’re a kid spending 100 hours playing a game, that’s a pretty big audience.’ (Schnur, 2016). The latest version of the FIFA soundtrack featured up-and-coming British artist Sam Fender’s song ‘Play God’ (Sam Fender, 2017). Before FIFA 19 was released Fender’s song had 2 million views on Spotify, since then this has grown to 10 million. Although other marketing and promotion would’ve been in place for Fender’s streaming growth, it is undeniable that being on the FIFA 19 soundtrack would’ve massively influenced this. It is recognizable that gaming soundtracks, as the use of music, positively affected the music industry as it is encouraging artist growth resulting in success. This use of music acts as a form of passive marketing, therefore maybe lowering the amount of money needed to be spent by a promotion or marketing team in order to create an audience engagement for the developing artist.

The introduction of sound alongside cinema arose in 1927 during the film ‘The Jazz Singer’ (The Jazz Singer, 1927) which inspired over two hundred musical films over the next three years (Inglis, 2003).

In the early films featuring music, music was often lurking in the background and was used to add an element of emotion and support the storytelling of the film. Powrie and Stilwell claim that in the 1960s film score music was recognized as an integral thread rather than just a supportive layer (Powrie and Stilwell, 2006). This concept is still used in modern films, as music is considered a key element within cinema. 2018 saw the release of ‘A Star Is Born which was to become the ‘highest-grossing musician-starring film ever’ (Cowen, 2019). The film starred Lady Gaga – previously known for her iconic edgy fashion style and electronic euro-pop dance music. As well as her onscreen performance, Gaga also wrote the music in the film alongside Mark Ronson, former Dirty Pretty Things vocalist Anthony Rossomando and Miike Snow vocalist Andrew Wyatt. The ‘A Star Is Born soundtrack debuted at ‘No. 1 on the Billboard 200 the biggest week for a soundtrack since the Fifty Shades of Grey companion album in 2015. The LP was the third No. 1 soundtrack of 2018, following The Greatest Showman and Black Panther: The Album’ (Zellner, 2018). I conducted a survey to understand whether seeing Lady Gaga in ‘A Star is Born’ changed the way that the public view her. Before watching ‘A Star is Born, on average, the public said they would label Gaga as a three-star performer, however, after watching the movie 80% of the public viewed Gaga as a five-star artist. I was also interested in whether seeing Lady Gaga in the movie influenced the public to listen to her other music, every single member of the public said that they had been influenced to listen to her newer music. The results of this survey demonstrated that being featured on the movie soundtrack, much like a gaming soundtrack positively impacts the songwriter/artist and acts as a form of passive marketing. The success of ‘A Star is Born ultimately predicts that the public should expect to see musical films created in a way similar to ‘A Star Is Born. Having an already massively recognized persona for the lead role and songwriter was a very tactical choice and this could be seen more in the future.

Youtube today is currently responsible for 4% of internet traffic worldwide (Youtube: The Home of Vlogging, 2017, Pg1). Youtube’s growth since 2005 has resulted in the site being a platform for all sorts of free-to-view video media with a number of videos being accompanied by music. The implementation of the new law ‘Article 13’ could massively change youtube and influence what music is being shared and used on the site. This provision states that user-upload sites, such as youtube, will be held accountable for copyright-infringement material being accessible on their platform (European Parliament, 2018). This new law supports artists, songwriters, and musicians being paid fairly for their work. In the past, we have seen many artists rise to fame as a result of posting covers on youtube. An example of this is Justin Bieber. In 2007, when Bieber was 13 years old, he started posting videos on youtube of himself covering his favorite songs. These videos very quickly became popular and ultimately ‘led to Bieber’s discovery by a talent agent, following which at the age of 15 he moved to Atlanta, signed a record contract, and began working towards his breakout commercial success in 2009’ (Bickford, 2014, Pg1). The enforcement of Article 13 could inhibit the ability of artists to establish themselves via youtube as Article 13 would force Youtube to become stricter on their guidelines for uploading covers. This could potentially lead to more original music content on youtube, meaning we could see a boost in songwriters coming from youtube rather than covering artists.

As well as there being many physical uses of music, there are also many emotional and psychological uses of music. Katz and Blumler (1975, Pgs 509-23) suggest in their ‘Uses and Gratifications’ theory that the four main reasons as to why people consume media are to identify, it as a form of social interaction, in order to educate and as a form of escapism. In popular culture, it could be said that the biggest use of music is however identification. In today’s mainstream societies we see adolescents idealizing and identifying with the artists behind their favorite songs; therefore influencing life choices the listener may make such as appearance or actions. In 2017/2018 over forty thousand knife crime offenses were reported – this is the highest statistic in over 8 years (House of Commons Library, 2018). Many British newspapers such as The Guardian have linked these knife crimes to the appreciation of drill and grime music (Beaumont-Thomas, 2018). Whether there is evidence to prove this or not, linking hard crimes like this with a genre of music has an overbearing impact on the artists of that genre. For example, although this is a negative issue, all news is good news. As an audience begins to discuss the topic, they are passively marketing the artist in ways such as sharing articles they have read involving the artist’s name and streaming the artist’s music out of curiosity, which results in increasing the recognition of the artist. In certain situations like this, the artist may become a popular client for booking agents, as the artist will appear in interviews to discuss the topic, this may cause the agent contract to have some reference as o what the artist will talk about in regards to the negative topic. Another use of music from Blumler and Katz’s theory is escapism. On social media platforms such as Instagram, we see musicians, more specifically in the hip-hop genre, posting about their boujee and expensive lifestyles. As consumers, we desire to identify and use music as a form of escapism. Therefore it could be said that these musicians are idealized by their listeners as we see a rise in people posing intentionally to appear to have a more materialistic lifestyle ( Marwick, 2015). Instagram is a very effective way for musicians to engage with their fan base. The demand for social media engagements stimulates a parallel demand for jobs involving social media marketing within the music industry.

In today’s developing society we use and consume music in a number of ways and for a number of different reasons. Music is generally everywhere we go, whether it’s featured in the background of a film in the cinema, on a popular video game, or featured in a social media post. As a society, our understanding of technology is ever-growing and developing therefore, this means that the ways we use and consume music will change in parallel with our understanding. This essay discussed how the ways in which we use music will affect the development of the music industry. To conclude, new developments in the way music is used will predictably see changes in the legal system in regard to the music industry; such as the implementation of Article 13 in order to protect Artist’s rights, we will see jobs emerge in order to meet new demands; much like the increase in demand for social media marketers that arose from the growth of social media platforms, We will also see developments in the way artists are marketed; as new social media platforms arise and current platforms change and adapt their features. Overall these developments in the way we use and consume music are impacting the music industry positively. As new developments are made, discussions are needed to be held to discuss the ways in which the music industry will be affected as times change and developments outgrow laws and common approaches to marketing and promoting.

Introduction

Music plays a significant role in shaping culture, expressing emotions, and providing entertainment to people around the world. However, as society evolves and new challenges emerge, the question arises: Should musicians change their tune? This essay will argue that musicians have a social responsibility to address pressing issues and use their platform to promote positive change. It will explore the potential impact of musicians’ messages, the power of their influence, and the ethical obligations they have towards their audience and society as a whole.

Influence and Platform

Musicians possess a unique platform and influence over their audience. They have the ability to reach millions of people and shape public opinion through their music and lyrics. This influence comes with a responsibility to use their platform wisely and consider the impact their messages can have on society. Musicians have the power to challenge the status quo, raise awareness about social issues, and inspire change. By changing their tune to address pressing concerns, they can spark meaningful conversations and encourage their audience to take action.

Social Commentary and Cultural Reflection

Throughout history, music has served as a reflection of society, addressing social, political, and cultural issues. Musicians have often used their art to convey messages of social justice, equality, and peace. In times of social unrest or political upheaval, musicians have played a vital role in voicing the concerns and aspirations of the people. Changing their tune to address current issues allows musicians to engage with their audience on a deeper level, fostering a sense of connection and empathy.

Responsibility to Inspire and Empower

Musicians have the power to inspire and empower their listeners. Their music can provide solace, motivation, and a sense of unity. By changing their tune to promote positive values and advocate for change, musicians can inspire individuals to become agents of change themselves. Music has the potential to instill hope, encourage resilience, and challenge individuals to think critically about the world around them. Musicians who embrace this responsibility have the opportunity to make a lasting impact on their audience and society.

Ethical Considerations

In an era marked by pressing global challenges, musicians face ethical considerations regarding the content and messages they convey through their music. They must navigate the fine line between artistic freedom and social responsibility. While artistic expression should be respected, musicians should be conscious of the potential harm their lyrics or messages may cause. By considering the social impact of their music, musicians can contribute to a more inclusive, tolerant, and progressive society.

Embracing Evolution and Staying Relevant

Change is an inherent part of life, and musicians must adapt to the evolving social landscape to stay relevant. By changing their tune, musicians can demonstrate their ability to grow as artists and respond to the changing needs and concerns of their audience. Embracing new perspectives, genres, and themes can help musicians connect with a wider range of listeners and expand their artistic boundaries.

Conclusion

Musicians have a unique opportunity to use their platform and influence to make a positive impact on society. By changing their tune to address pressing issues, they can engage with their audience on a deeper level, inspire change, and foster empathy and understanding. While musicians should exercise their artistic freedom, they also have an ethical responsibility to consider the social implications of their music. Embracing this responsibility allows musicians to contribute to a more inclusive and progressive society, shaping the cultural landscape and inspiring future generations. In a world in constant flux, musicians have the power to change their tune and, in turn, change the world.

Music technology is one of the best things that comes with music, it is one of the most interesting parts and it is the most in-depth part of developing technology in music. These are the ways in history that music affected consumption in society. In 1857, Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville invented the phonautograph. This is a machine that traces soundwaves instead of recording soundwaves. The intent of this is to make music visible on soot-covered paper. These were not able to be reproduced by analog means, these were played back in 2008 because of digital imaging. Later in 1877, Thomas Edison’s work on the telephone transmitter and the keyboard phone gave him the idea to make up sketches and an idea for a device that would be able to record and playback sound impulses that were imprinted on tin foil. Later, one of Thomas Edison’s employees (John Kruesi) built the first tinfoil phonograph, based completely on Edison’s sketches. Some recall that the first-ever recording was a verse from “Mary Had a little lamb”. In 1886 the development of the wax cylinder came about, it took six years of experimenting with varied recording technology, and scientists at the Volta laboratory were granted patents for the improved sound recording. These scientists called their device the graphophone. The wax cylinder was a way that cutting the wax was the same as the tinfoil way but made dents in the wax. In 1887 German inventor by the name of Emile Berliner, he was granted a patent to create a machine to record sound by tracing a lateral, instead of a vertical groove of even depth onto a cylindrical drum. In 1888, the phonograph and gramophone were joined under the North American phonograph company in a failed attempt to market the machines. In 1894, the flat disk record first appeared. This started the format war. For the next 20 years, there was a lot of competition, especially between the flat record and the cylinder. In 1896, the phonograph was used as a consumer good. Both Edison and Columbia began offering spring-motored phonographs at very affordable prices. This allowed a lot of households the opportunity to listen to music, this is the first time that a consumer had gotten a sound machine. In 1901, Victor was born. Victor is the mascot for Vitor the talking machine company, this company was incorporated by Eldridge R Johnson following the unfortunate demise of the Berliner gramophone company. In 1902 there was a mass production of recordings as Edison and Columbia’s market molded a lot of cylinders, they produced recordings from the master mold, prior to this, commercial cylinders were copied from pantographs or by dubbing. In 1904, the very first musical superstar appeared on the scene. This man was called Enrico Caruso. In 1917 the very first jazz recording was made by Victor The Talking Machine Company by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. These recordings by this band began a whole new torrent for musical recordings in this style. In 1928 recording radio broadcasts are introduced and in 1934 recording radio broadcasts were introduced, this made the lacquer-coated blank disk famous for home and broadcast use. In 1935 introduced the magnetic tape recording and the magneto phone. This tape recorder is a pioneering tape recorder, By 1938, the technology improved to meet the standards of the very basic broadcasting standards. In the 1940s, the multitrack recording was introduced, the first way this was introduced was by Walt Disney’s feature film Fantasia, which was seen to have a four-track recording derived from eight recording channels, this was compared to surround sound. In the early years, Instant, portable sound recording came into play. This was created because of improvements from a culmination of advances to the magnetic tape recording style. The 1950s brought light to stereo recordings, ’57 was the year in which the first stereo records were sold commercially. In the 60s, tape recordings were miniaturized and quieted, due to the company Phillips introducing the cassette tape. The Beatles are a steeple in music technology as they were one of the first bands on capitol records to hit the American market with their vinyl “Introducing The Beatles” and “Meet The Beatles”. In 1980, the Walkman was introduced to the public, this was a stereo cassette tape player, and it made it easy for listeners to walk around and travel and listen to music, using headphones. ’83 saw another war within formats, as the CD and the disk player are marketed to the public, this would eventually push stereo LPs out to this new convenient way of listening to music. In 1996, Digital encoding is introduced as a new way to listen to music and is marketed as a high-quality, low-bit audio format that has become the norm for music nowadays. In ’99, iTunes was developed, and along with it came a media player and library which users can use to purchase and store music and organize them accordingly. In 2001 iTunes created a portable device that could store thousands of songs.

I believe that every single one of these inventions and parts of history accumulated and contributed to the way that music is perceived and obtained by the public. I believe that the first creation of the phonautograph was one of the steeples of music technology as not only did it kick start everything, but without it we wouldn’t have all of the necessary technologies to listen or record music in the way that we do now. I believe that the Walkman, MP3, and CD were the most prominent devices in music technology as not only were they all invented for the consumer, but they’re all much better than the cylindrical wax device as well as the LP, even though the LP is legendary. I believe the MP3 has greater power over the other two as it can be downloaded at a lower bit rate and it doesn’t have much memory whilst keeping the same high quality as the CD. I believe the MP3 is better than the other ways of consuming music as not only does it have high quality, it is a lot more accessible than the other two, MP3s can be accessed at any point, especially within their respective playlists or albums. With CDs and Cassettes, you need a player and the cassette and CD, whereas the MP3, all you need is the mp3 player and everything you want is on the device. I believe that the Walkman was one of the most revolutionary of the devices as it was the first consumer device that you could take anywhere and listen to music in any situation, the same with the CD, but I believe that it was built up from the Walkman and adapted for updated forms of music consumption. I think that the LP was high up with user consumption as it was one of the first ways that consumers listened to music and the CD has a lot of similarities towards it. I think that because of the way the LP has very significant limitations, it is a lot further down my list of the most effective, but it had the most impact on consumers, especially in the early years of music and its technologies. Most music now is virtual and mostly in CD form. I think this is where the cassette is discarded as it just isn’t produced anymore and it doesn’t have a significant impact on the consumer as it used to. I think that a lot of digital music is the most important currently for music, although a lot of the old forms of music are making a comeback. LPs and records are becoming a lot more popular despite their musical and personal limitations to the listener.

We hear a lot about how mental health is very prominent in the music industry and how the music industry worsens artists’ struggles with it. But why does the industry worsen mental health when it’s such a glamorized industry and career choice. To answer this question, I will look at examples of artists with known mental health struggles and try to figure out when their struggles started and if being in the industry had a negative or positive impact. I will also look at general statistics of mental health, including suicide rates, depression, anxiety, and other things in the mental health umbrella. Mental health is a broad subject and there are over two hundred disorders and illnesses under this umbrella. My paper focuses on emotional disorders such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, suicidal thoughts, etc.

One of the most well-known cases of mental health and struggles with depression is Kurt Cobain. He committed suicide in April 1994. This was not his first attempt at taking his own life. Cobain had previously tried to do this by taking over fifty prescription drugs, however, he survived. Cobain had struggled with his mental health since he was young, he was diagnosed with clinical depression as early as high school. He eventually was introduced to drugs which became a coping mechanism. The combination of drugs (which mostly caused paranoia, mood swings, and irritability) and clinical depression is what ultimately led to Cobain’s untimely death.

Simone Battle was another case of a struggle with mental health that led to the untimely death of a young singer. Battle was one of five singers in the group G.R.L., which was formed in 2012, only two years before Battle sadly committed suicide. Friends and family have told authorities that Battle had been depressed over money issues which they did not understand as she was at the height of her career. Battle had never shown any sign of mental health struggle beforehand and her untimely death came as a shock to those around her.

In 2018, the Music Industry Research Association did a study and found that fifty percent of musicians reported battling symptoms of depression compared to the general public which reported less than twenty-five percent of people battling with the same symptoms. Nearly twelve percent of musicians reported having suicidal thoughts which were nearly four times the general population. At least seventy-three percent of independent musicians have battled stress, anxiety, and/or depression at some point. From sharing a survey with ten artists, at least eighty percent of them said they were suffering from some kind of mental health issue. When five of those artists were asked why they thought their mental health was so negative, their general responses included the pressure of being consistent with their music, the pressure of maintaining their image, and the instability of their career choice.

As a general overview people don’t achieve as much or act efficiently when put under pressure and stress. In July 2021, a study was conducted by Better Up. They asked one thousand six hundred and ninety-three people, ‘How often does your performance at work suffer due to challenges with anxiety, stress, or other performance-related mental health issues?’. One in four of these people reported struggling with their performance weekly, sixty-three percent reported struggling monthly and five percent reported struggling daily.

After completing my own survey (aimed at individuals in the music industry), I found results that were consistent with these statistics. 88,9% of people found their mental health was being affected due to the pressure of being productive and creative. I asked musicians for their stories on how their mental health has been affected by the pressure of working, one of which said: “It’s a constant battle. I frequently struggle to work due to a stressful desire for perfection, something that has been detrimental to my mental health on frequent occasions. I cannot say whether the stress has affected my work directly, or if it’s the low quality of some of my work that has triggered the stress itself, but I do know that it’s feelings such as these that cause me to panic about my role as a musician. I hardly produce because of the stress surrounding factors such as the attempt to be a unique artist and whether or not I am good enough. I constantly feel the pressure of needing to be productive all the time and often cannot allow myself to take part in activities such as watching a film or reading a book as I feel that I will be wasting my time”.

A survey done by Hypebot showed seventy-three percent of one thousand and five hundred people experienced negative emotions such as stress, anxiety, and/or depression concerning their career. Thirty-three percent of these people reported fear of failure and financial instability as a reason for their negative emotions such as depression, stress, and anxiety.

The music industry is a very unpredictable place and can sometimes be an unstable career choice. For some, if they don’t produce work then they aren’t able to sustain their day-to-day lives. Because of this, there is a big pressure to create regular and perfected work. Artists make their living most often off royalties; most artists earn around nine cents (in American dollars) each time someone buys/streams/downloads a song. For an average person, it costs around nine hundred and thirty-seven dollars without rent each month for basic living. An artist would have to have their song bought/streamed/downloaded nearly ten thousand and five hundred times every month. For most this is difficult to achieve consistently. Fear of failure is also very common in the music industry, especially amongst newer and upcoming artists. Some common fears people have include: fear they are too old, fear they are not talented enough, fear their style will not be popular, and fear they will not be supported.

Certain types of thinkers are naturally drawn to play the stressful events over and over again, thinking about what happened, what they could have (or should have) done differently, how the details of what occurred will affect the rest of their lives, and so on. Creative thinkers tend to fall into the latter group, replaying events over and over again to better understand them. This thought process is what can lead to immense depression or a feeling of hopelessness, according to Yale University psychologist Susan Nolen-Hoeksema. This style of thinking is not exclusive to people in the music industry however people in the music industry tend to have a creative mindset. That creative mindset causes individuals to think about things longer than the average person because they are able to think of more outcomes for themselves. This could be a cause or at least contribute to long periods of negative mental health.

For most people in the music industry, pressure is put on physical appearance (weight/body type) and cosmetic appeal, especially for women. Examples of this include artists such as Demi Lovato, Kesha, Lily Allen, Sam Smith, Park Jimin, and Halsey. A 2017 study, done by Marianna E. Kapsetaki and Charlie Easmon of Imperial College and University College, asked three hundred and one musicians about their experiences with eating disorders. They found that thirty-two percent had experienced an eating disorder in their lifetime, and nineteen percent were classed as having one at the time of the survey.

Demi Lovato was served watermelon with a small amount of icing in place of a birthday cake for eight years by her management team in order ‘to keep her weight down’, according to Lovato’s best friend Matthew Scott Montgomery. Lovato’s management team kept her and anyone around the singer on a restrictive diet with the knowledge she had had severe struggles with eating disorders in her past.

Park Jimin of the band BTS has been public about his struggles with his body which led to severe eating disorders. He and a fellow bandmate went on the show ‘Please Take Care of My Refrigerator’, where they openly discussed their struggles. Park Jimin confessed to starving himself several days at a time to look slimmer and leaner so he could look more ‘handsome’. He revealed he followed strict diets when not starving himself which caused him to lose fifteen pounds and led to him becoming very ill. The singer would often pass out during rehearsals as a result of his eating habits.

For women more so than men pressure was put on facial and cosmetic beauty. The K-pop industry is a prime example of this. It is extremely common for K-pop stars to undergo plastic surgery to achieve perfect looks, either on their own accord or sometimes under the influence of their management companies. Serri, a South Korean singer spoke about her experience with plastic surgery on her YouTube channel. She spoke about how her management company would ‘offer’ surgeries to her to make her appear more attractive. She was offered breast augmentation several times as well as other surgeries. She also spoke about how for most idols, Botox and face fillers are almost mandatory to give more youthful and attractive appearances.

The music industry is starting to take steps to improve the collective mental health of those involved. New initiatives are popping up from both corporate giants and grassroots organizations; festivals and benefits are being planned to raise awareness of mental health, and efforts by record labels and artists are being made to destigmatize mental illness. More and more artists are speaking up about their struggles, which is making it easier for others to speak up and seek out help.

From a survey done by Help Musicians, over 2,000 music industry individuals ranging from artists to managers, staff at labels, publishers, booking agencies, promoters, etc., showed that over two-thirds of those surveyed had suffered from panic attacks, anxiety, and depression with over half of those surveyed felt that there were gaps in the provisions of services to support those struggling with these issues. This is slowly changing. More organizations are appearing to offer support. One of these organizations is music support. Their website states: “We provide help and support for those in or employed by music industry affected by mental ill-health and/or addiction. We facilitate education and learning via workshops and training to individuals and organizations in the industry so they may be better equipped in the areas of awareness, early intervention, and prevention”. If more companies and individuals become aware and educated on these things, mental health in the industry can be improved.

In conclusion, for most in the music industry mental health is affected by three main categories: fear of failure and instability, pressure of producing, and pressure put on looks. There will be more that contribute to the overall negative mental health of the music industry. Although mental health in the music industry is becoming de-stigmatized and is starting to improve it is not where it deserves to be. As a community, we need to put less pressure on artists’ appearance and the way their body looks. We need to continue speaking up about mental health and make it easier to access help.