Research: Hebdige's Sub-Cultures

                                                          Sub-Cultures

subculture are groups who are united through common values, systems and tastes.These are split up into specific groups such as clothes, music politics etc. They tend to go against popular mainstream culture. As hebdige  suggests that  subcultures create their own smaller culture and do not conform with majority of people and rebel against common values and systems.



   

Subcultures are a large part of the music industry in which they grow out of mainstream genres such as rock. Rock genre is favored by the punk subculture as they relate to the type of music by who they are and how the represent themselves. Subcultures play a important role in music and shouldn't be ignored as they have unique nature and they offer different perspective in the music industry.


Hebdige and Mc Craken are specialist on subcultures and they have viewpoints about the topic.

Mc Croken suggests that the post modern world is full of diversity, and people have so many different diverse ideas about music videos and that this is still growing.Mc Craken outlines the fact that creativity plays a big role in this. If  we look at the array of values and ideologies then we can't say all subculture come from one culture.


Hebdige suggest that conforming to music as a process that differs from person to perso, social background as in contributing factor to this. People can read into different aspects of the same song people are not part of the ' mass culture.


Subculture and our history

in the 1950's Rock and Rollers and were the main subcultures in the society. In 1960's surfers , ted boys , hippies and bikers had emerged. In 1970's there had skinheads, soul boys, rasta , funkers and punks.In the 1980's heavy metal, goth, The 1980's can be described as not following a distinct culture.

Research:Audience Identification

                                                      Audience Identification

Audience in relation to music videos are group of people who take part in  watching a music video. It is important to know about  the audiences so that you are aware of what groups are more likely to watch your music video.


Audience are categorised into differing sections. Audiences could be categories based on: 

•  Age 
• Gender 
• Race 
• Class
• Location 
• Income                                                       

This information is used alongside other information to develop audience categories.

 An example can be shown here, audience being categorised into class and wealth are split into groups of six.

Categorising audiences can have differing advantages and disadvantages.

        Advantages:

• You can make your  content that will suit what the audience are interested in.
•  You have an idea of what people are interested in.
• The information may be used for advertising.
• You can pick the right location if you know your genre of music.
• You would know what sort of products they would buy based on how much money they have to spend.
• Use the information to encourage companies to advertise on your radio station. 

       Disadvantages:

• It doesn't consider that people are different, despite having similar job.
• It doesn't consider people's interests, just their income and status.

Different genres have different audiences.The majority of  the viewer for hip hop genre,would consist  of the E  category and maybe some 'D ' category.This could appeal to these people as they aspire to have cars, money and girls portrayed in music videos. For example for window shopper, the artist is seen in the boutique wanting to buy a expensive shoes and cars the lyrics is about window shopping  about how he spends his money on, having a lot females on the video.All these themes seem admirable to the young and unemployed audience. This wouldn't appeal to higher categories as this  would be irrelevant to them as they would already have money and wealth. 

                                                      

On the other hand classical music genre  has a completely different target audience.The 'A category  are groups of people  that  would  associate themselves  with classical music genre  which  consist of  sophisticated lawyers , doctors and other professionals.In  the music video  Il Divo. we can see them wearing suits and smart clothing which the target audience  can relate to within their profession. lower categories would not find the tone of  music and content not appealing as they would  find it weird.

Audience engagement describe how  an audience interacts with media text.how different people react in different ways to the same text which this link to Hebdige theory.

Audience expectations:These are what  the audience thinks  about an artist and their music,for example audiences expects certain  aspects from different genres. Such as the eight characteristics from Goodwin's theory of music videos.
 Audience foreknowledge: This is what the audience knows about  a music artist and their song or videos.
Audience identification: This is how an audience relates to an artist.( Dyers star theory).Audience placement:This is how the media producers, target a particular audience and make them feel that the music video is specially  for them.


This information on audiences helped me develop ideas for my own music video. I now are aware of how different  audiences are categorised, and what appeals to specific category.My music video would be targeted mainly to audiences of 'E'  category as the content would be conventional to unemployed, casual workers and student.

Research: Popular Music Theory

                                                       Popular music theory

There are many theories around music videos that I will be discussing throughout the post. Popular is the masses being able to relate and the genre usually being pop that relates to our lifestyle.

Popular culture describe the life style and tastes of the majority of young people. It is consumed  by  non-elite and non-bourgeoisie group, such as working class. The main focus and ideas are targeted to the mainstream culture .

Popular culture is chosen based on the taste of ordinary people rather than bourgeoisie, values, ideas arts,entertainment , belief , customs and social behaviour.

Everyone can understand popular culture.For example band such as One direction can be easily understood because their hairstyle a lot of male would want to follow their style popular culture is around us its hard for the audience to not follow what their favourite artist are wearing, so that they can also buy exactly what their are consuming.


Popular culture is mainly aimed at teenagers because they can persuade their family to buy the brands,

• Smartphones 
• Games 
• Fashion 
• Social media plays a massive role within popular culture 
• Hairstyle are now come coming back due to popular culture.

Antonio Gramsci and Hegemony:

Gramci- introduces the concept of Hegemony.This occurs when ruling class values and ideas are dominates the society this effects everything we see. The control of media can influence things such as what shows get aired or cancelled and the degree to which television station covers or does not cover certain news stories. which results in the audience all thinking the same and not challenging cultural dominant ideologies. This had been challenged through people able self publish music  format such as Sound cloud, you tube, owner-fellowship which is easier to access by consumers. all these aspects are reduced by 'hegemony of large corporation .

 

Frankfurt School

 Frankfurt school believe that popular music is the end product of a production line where everything sound similar.An industry that exploits the mass population for profit and social control , in the hope that they accept a certain ideology about the world they are leaving in.The music industry promotes absorption, everything about these pop stars becomes commodity;clothes, images likes and dislikes etc which implies that pop star lifestyles has bought into.

Ardorno was German sociologist, philsopher and musicologist. He was leading member of Frankfurt school of critical theory where he argued in 1903-69 that capitalism fed people with products of a culture industry''.The opposite of 'true art to keep the passively satisfied and apathetic (no interest).

Ardorno argued that the' culture industry operated in the same way as other manufacturing.
 As relation to popular culture - These features are particularly true in the popular music products are commodites to be sold to an audience who believe that they are consuming ' true emotions. all Rock, Hip hop, pop, heavy metal , rap. are standardised  which are interchangeable from one song to another, and they all sing about the same types of lifestyle.The effect of standardsation are offten hidden to by 'frills' that are put within a song to disguise that sound between popular music and serius music ( classics) plays to pleasures of the imagination offering engagement. which popular music makes everyone to think the same.

Birmingham School :
Birmingham school was a  cultural theory. One of the most famous and influential forms of cultural studies intially under the influence of Marxism. with  the centre for contemporary   cultural studies in Birmingham.considered as a more modern school of throughout that challenged some of what the Frankfurt school and Adorno suggested about ' popular culture ' they evaluated the effects and popular culture representations on their audience. audiences are not as passive as suggested, there is some engagement by consumers about what they like and don't like. The Birmingham school defends the right of individuals.

Richard hebdige 
Hebdige suggests that Adorno's  ideas are very pessimistic and dismissive of mass audiences as passive and easily manipulated. consumption is an active process in which different audiences have different readings into the same cultural products.The audience are free to resist the power of large products to consume. often then the audience constructing themselves as distinct from mainstream culture =Subcultures. Major companies will try to and cater for this too and create products  that sub cultures will consume.The audiences then have to decide whether to consume these products or whether to resist them further.Audiences are therefore more active in popular culture consumption.

Conclusion   

All these theories about popular culture are unique in their own as they offers their a broad viewpoint. However the Birmingham school is more appealing as it suggest that consumers have more of a saying in what they prefer.I agree with this theory as its modern as well compared to the other theories.