What have I learnt about the culture industry?

With reference to: Production of Culture/Cultures of Production (ed) Paul Du Gay, Sage 1997


In this lesson we were put into groups, in which each group represented one of the four judges. We were asked questions about acts, which helped us to think from an industry's point of view.

We all agreed that with each act there were things you would say to their face, e.g. you have stunning vocals, or you have good stage presence. But there would be things you would think to yourself and not share with the contestants. Such as, how well would they do i.e. how many number ones, how many singles sold etc. All of the contestants do not have 'the X Factor' - they all have the potential to fit into a box.


Adorno and Horkheimer came up with the term 'culture industry' which describes the ways in which cultural items were produced was analogous to how other industries manufactured vast quantities of consumer goods.  They argued that the culture industry exhibited as an 'assembly-line' character which could be observed in the synthetic, planned method of turning out its products.

With X-Factor, JLS have created many different products to sell alongside their music career. Not only do they have their singles and concerts producing money, but they have a condom range, JLS dolls and many bedroom accessories.
     
Adorno and Horkheimer linked the idea of the 'culture industry' to a model of 'mass culture' in which cultural production had become a routine, standardised repetitive operation that produced undemanding cultural commodities which in turn resulted in a type of consumption that was also standardised, distracted and passive.

      

Before JLS went through the XFactor machine, they were more unique and had good harmonies in their first audition. They were stripped down and actual, real singing was shown. After going through the XFactor machine, they sang more 'safe', r'n'b songs and were like boyz 2 men. After this, they performed on the live shows with the band, Westlife. It is said that when you go through a machine like the XFactor one, you will change. You will be standardised and certain songs will be chosen.

Adorno and Horkheimer's view of cultural production has, with some justification often been portrayed as the pessimistic lament of cultural elitists who were dismayed at what they perceived to be the homogeneity and vulgarity of the 'mass' taste, and who were concerned that the potential for the artistic creativity in music, literature and painting had been co-opted and corrupted by the production methods and administrative regimes of industrial capitalism.

The capitalist companies are the ones in control and they predict who is popular. It is said that even if we argued against pop, we can't changed it.

The capitalist corporation seems to enjoy an almost omnipotent form of domination and both the consumers and the creative artists are not separate from but are directly connected to this system of production. Adorno and Horkheimer stressed the structures of economic ownership and control of the means through which cultural products are produced and argued that this directly shapes the activities of creative artists and consumers.

Adorno and Horkheimer argued that the 'culture industry' operated in the same was as other manufacturing industries. All work had become formalised and products were made according to rationalised organisational procedures that were established for the sole purpose of making money. The metaphor of the 'assembly-line' was used to stress the repetitive and routine character of cultural production.

Boy bands Take that, boyzone, Westlife, JLS and 1D all went through this 'machine.' They all appeal to a girl audience, they all create commercial songs. 1D are a new update to boybands, and JLS have an element of dance - Take That used to.

  

Adorno and Horkheimer were also critical of what they referred to as pseudo individuality. By this they meant the way that the culture industry assembled products that made claims to 'originality' but which when examined more critically exhibited little more than superficial differences.

Adorno and Horkheimer evoked the image of the lock and key - an item that is mass produced in millions, whose only uniqueness lies in very minor modifications.

Rough Trade notes

 

Rough trade began 30 years ago, on the 20th of february 1976. It was set up by Geoff Travis and the new shop was situated at 202 Kensington Park Road. They sold obscure and abstract records, and the first band they dealt with was the Clash. They also sold Punk music magazines.

They had an ethos different from most; they weren't trying to be an upmarket shop, they just wanted to make music. They also printed production costs on the record sleeves, so that people could do it themselves. They were different to large corporations as their contract seemed fairer; the contract would only last as long as one of the party, either rough trade or the artist, felt it was failing and not worth continuing. Also, the profits were shared 50/50 which was much more beneficial to artists than other record deals.

Rough trade ended up expanding, as many bands desired to work with rough trade, as the deal was fairer. Meant new bands and varieties joined. In the 1970s, rough trade put principle before project and weren't interested in building an empire. As one of their first acts, Stiff Little Fingers released their first album and sold 100,000 copies. Their success meant Rough Trade could fund smaller bands like 'the Raincoats.'

 It seemed there were problems between the record label and distributors as people began to get competetive. This lead to some changes. One of Rough Trade's major artists, Scritti Politti announced a drastic change; they had turned to pop music. The song 'Sweetest Girl' made £60,000 which showed turning to POP wasn't a bad decision in terms of profit. Rough Trade were a company which were more about the music than the money, but with the changes, it caused competetion. 'We need to have hits, we need to sell out' was a quote I picked up. The band Aztech camera made it into the top 20 charts, causing them to leave and sign to a major record label.

In 1982 the conflict between the record label and distribution couldnt be resolved, which resulted into the Rough Trade shop being sold to 3 members of staff. Not long after came the solution to their problems: The Smiths. They had huge commercial potential and brought about the Indie trend. With The Smiths, Rough trade abandoned the 50/50 deal and made a deal that secured them 4 albums. In 1984, Rough Trade were becoming mo/,re business orientated and moved to a warehouse in Birmingham. Following this, The Smiths signed to EMI, but they never gave them a record; Indie music was becoming mainstream.

In 1986 came the Dance music revolution!

At the beginning of the 90s, Rough Trade weren't in a good position. Their cash flow had stopped and in 1991 the staff had been dropped. Strangely, it was the most successful period for independants in which they went bust. Geoff and Jeanette took it upon themselves to set up shop just half a mile from the original Rough Trade store. In 1993, Pulp came about. They went into the charts at number 2 and by 1995 they had had a string of 5 top 10 singles.


In 2001, Geoff and Jeanette started to attempt to get the name back, as it had been sold with the rest of the assets. Rough Trade hoped that The Strokes would kickstart their new future. They were an American band, and Rough Trade flew to NY where they met them to see what they were about. Rough Trade marketed them like nobody else (eg through magazines), without signing a record deal. The Strokes were the biggest signing since the Smiths. Rough Trade signed the Liberteens some time after.

More recently, they signed Duffy and made a development deal. The way she was treated was different to that of an X-Factor contestant, for example. Nobody held her hand and took her to a writing session. She was given time to develop. Duffy got Rough Trade their first number 1 single in 2004.

Music video analysis - 99 problems

99 Problems

Genre and Characteristics:
- Urban area - in the 'hood' - Brings attention to the fact it's in his home town by wearing a Brooklyn hoodie.
-There are representations of a 'gangsta' lifestyle shown through people cruising in cars, dog fights, loitering, getting pulled over by police, playing basketball, guns, criminality, money.
- Street dance/freestyle
- Scantily-clad 'sexy' women - Cheap-looking, gold bikinis
- Jail scenes - all inmates are black.
- Stereotypical race representations - White gut in a suit, policeman is white, black people are jailbirds/on the streets.
- Goes against convention of representation of wealth - lacks fancy cars, clothes, bling, women etc.
- Women are only a minor element in the video - usually hip-hop videos would have more shots of sexy women.
- Shooting at the end - represents gansta cool.

Relationship between lyrics and Visuals:
- Overall images illustrate the lyrics - sometimes very literally, sometimes in a more subtle way.
- Theme of song = Jay Z has problems; video shows problems.
Examples of the lyrics illustarting the visuals:
- 'But a bitch ain't one' - female image
- 'Fast forward' - moves hand gradually
- 'Do you mind if I look round the car a little bit' - police officer goes around the car.

Relationship between music and visuals:
- The video is cut in time with the beat of the dong.
- The music is hard-hitting, aggressive-sounding with an emphasis on beat, rather than melody - visuals are also harsh = looking and edits are fast-paced to emphasise this aggression.


Influence of record label and use of close-ups:
- There are a lot of shots of Jay Z - not all close-ups but there are some.
- Close-ups of other men as well - aggressive-looking.
- Shots of women are long shots/mid-shots - because they're not important.
- Less emphasis on Jay Z on his own - he is an established artist and doesn't need much exposure.
- Jay Z has his own record label, as well as being part of Island/Def Jam - quite independent, evidence of less control by the label in this video than you might expect from a more mainstream/major label.


References to the notion of looking/voyeurism:
- Jay Z puts his hand over the camera so that it seems as though the audience is looking through his fingers.
- X-ray vision shot of money in boot - we can see through the boot.
- Scopophilic treatment if the woman is quite uncomfortable to watch - seems totally unnecessary.
- Early establishing shots are almost point-pf-view, creating the impression that the audience is looking around the hood.
- Video of Jay Z outside subway station.


Intertextual reference:
- There is a video of him - possibly referencing himself?

Music Video

-Codes and Conventions of a music video.
-Cinema created the ability for music videos to be brought to life.
-Jazz musicians --> Bessie Smith.




1965
Bob Dylan 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' from film 'Don't look back' was considered the first music video.
Pop Music TV Shows.



1970
-the record industry discovers TV-shows as a great opportunity to promote their artists.
-Short 'promos,' early music videos started to replace the live performance of the artist on the TV stage.



Bohemian Rhapsody
1975: a groundbreaking video released by Queen. -> Seen to be advanced.




TECHNICAL CODES

- CAMERA WORK
Movement, angle, short distance.
Camera movement can be accompanied by actors movement.

+ Close up predominates -> Selling artists/bands.



-EDITING

+ Fast cut montage, images are impossible to grasp on first viewing -> Causes you to watch it again.
+ Eminem, Jay Z. Dido -> slow pace, gentle transitions.
+ Enhancing the editing through digital effects -> Split screens, colourisation, blockbuster film style CGI, Chroma-key/green screen.
 


Development of Technical Codes
Portable video cameras enabled pop acts to produce promos quickly and cheaply.

1990
-fast cut montage
-multiple viewing
-non-representational techniques


+ 35mm film as the preferred medium.
Mid 1980s - it became standard to make a music video!


Andrew Goodwin


Andrew Goodwin writing in 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory' (Routledge 1992)
1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics.
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals.
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals.
AMPLIFIES, ILLUSTRATES, CONTRADICTS.
4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and may develop motifs which recur across their work ( a visual style).
5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
6. There is often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc.)

-Michael Jackson, Thriller - Zombie Film
-Madonna, Material Girl - James Bond Film
-Red Hot Chili Peppers, Californication - Game

 



Intertextual references can add another dimension of meaning to a text, as well as fulfilling an important role for audiences.

Those who 'got' the reference feel privileged, as though they are in on a secret.