Control

Question 1

Consumers

Answer 1

Paraphernalia and products link to materialism which provides a sense of identity for the consumers.

Despite consumers holding no legal right to the popular culture, they will declare “ownership” of the culture and this group plays a large role in determining what the producers create.

Question 2

Producers

Answer 2

Generally towards gaining a profit off of pop culture

Under pressure by the consumers to produce popular culture paraphernalia which impress the consumers.

Can also take away the authenticity of the culture

Question 3

Tricia Rose consumers and producers’ tension

Answer 3

She asserts that “large numbers of young, white consumers wanted to hear gangster rap music and would support it heartily. This encouraged an increase in record-label investment in hip hop production, distribution and promotion on the radio”.

Question 4

Famous Hip Hop artist view on the ownership of Hip Hop Music

Answer 4

I am 45-year-old “I got no criminal record”

He feels Hip Hop has lost its way from the original Hip Hop

Question 5

Examples of original Hip Hop that had socially conscious

Answer 5

In 1982, in “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash, he says, “Got no money to move out, I guess I have no choice. Rats in the front room, room roaches in the back, junkies in the alley with a baseball bat…”

Run-DMC talks about the rise of the unemployment rate in the early 80s

“Its Like That” by RUN DMC
“Unemployment at record highs. People coming, people going, people born to die. Don’t ask me, because I don’t know why.”

Question 6

Quote on the tension between consumers and producers

Answer 6

BY Lecrae

“To understand who I was as a man, I had to construct my own warped sense of masculinity…I’m finding my role models in drug dealers and gang members, piecing together what masculinity looks like.”

Question 7

Continuities and change of the relations between producers and consumers

Answer 7

Continuities
Authenticity within the songs is being maintained
Kid Cudi kept it real when he talked about depression

Change
Markman said “there are many fans who don’t care, as long as it sounds good, they’re sold..but I feel like for an artist to have real longevity, then there has to be some level fo authenticity”

Question 8

Stakeholder of family

Answer 8

1990, 2 Live Crew’s album “As Nasty As They Wanna Be”, an album, that was initially deemed illegal for obscenity by a Federal District judge, created the alternate version “As Clean As They Wanna Be”, with censored images on the album cover.

The PMRC and the Parental Advisory label became a symbol of censorship.

Glenn Danzig released his anti-PMRC anthem “Mother”

Question 9

Quote on the stakeholder of family

Answer 9

Dan Stubbs, the editor of NME
“It’s almost a ‘badge of honour’ to have your album stickered…Kids would want to buy that album because it had the label on and it made your CD seem cool.”

Question 10

Stakeholder of Peers
- Studies

Answer 10

Study in 2007 had strangers meet in a chat room = found most common topic was musical preferences.

Study from 2003 (paywall) used a series of experiments to establish how people link their taste in musical genres to their personality characteristics.

Several studies asked people to describe personality aspects of fans of various music genres.
- A lot of agreement about the various stereotypes of music fans.
- Most subjects agreed that heavy metal fans have bad moods.

Question 11

Quote on stakeholder peers

Answer 11

“There’s a lot of correlation between the type of music you like and your personality,” said Janata.

Question 12

Stakeholder of marketing
Statistics CD, Spotify, Apple Music

Answer 12

132 million CDs sold in the UK in 2008, by 2018 this figure had fallen to 32 million.

In 2016 its number of paid subscribers spotify globally was 30 million but by 2019 it had more than tripled that figure to 100 million.

Apple Music launched in 2015 and now boasting 60 million paid users globally

Question 13

Stakeholder of marketing
Length of music

Answer 13

The NME reported that the average length of a #1 song in the ’80s was close to 5 minutes, however, since 2009 it was 3.5 minutes.
- J. Cole’s ‘KOD’ and Post Malone’s ‘Beerbongs& Bentleys’ equalling and breaking Billboard’s long standing Top 100 Singles Chart record of the most songs by the same artist to chart simultaneously in the Billboard Top 20
- Shorter song = More songs

Question 14

Stakeholder of media
- Social media

Answer 14

In 2018, music stickers on Facebook, Messenger and Instagram Stories.
- Allowing music fans to share their latest favourite tune.

2/3 of social media users agree that they discover new artists on social media, and nearly 60% visit online streaming platforms to listen to music after they see an update, tweet or post.

Over half of those surveyed use Twitter to follow or get updates from music artists and bands, and 63% of Snapchat users are either sending or looking at photos and videos from live music events.

Question 15

Stakeholder of media
- Technology

Answer 15

Lamar, who is signed to Nike as one of their celebrity endorsers, teamed up with the global sportswear giant for an activation that would take place during his live performances on his tour through Nike’s SNKRS app.
- Demonstrate how technology is being used to give fans the opportunity to buy limited edition products

The Gorillaz famously produced a VR music video in 2017 for their song Saturn Barz which broke a YouTube VR record at the time, amassing 3 million views in two days.

Question 16

Stakeholder of government
- FBI

Answer 16

1967 document by the FBI lays out the plan they would follow for the next several years to destroy the Party and, with it, the entire black liberation movement.
→ Planting false stories in the press, starting and exacerbating conflicts between different groups

Question 17

Stakeholder of government
- Former Beatles

Answer 17

John Lennon became radicalized in the late 1960s, and the combination of New Left ideas and his star power shook even the president.
→ “See me with a bodyguard, that means police is watching” —Jay-Z, “Streets Is Talking”
→ “Free John now if we can/From the clutches of the man” —John Lennon, “John Sinclar”

Question 18

Stakeholder of government
- Meek Mill

Answer 18

Sentenced to 2-4 years of prison for violations of probation.

The violations included leaving the Philadelphia area to perform without permission and misdemeanor assault charges resulting from a scuffle with an excitable fan at an airport (those charges were later dropped).

Jay-Z menioned how “this case is just one example of how our criminal justice system entraps and harasses hundreds of thousands of black people every day,”

Question 19

Stakeholders of global groups
- Infringment

Answer 19

In 1991, O’Sullivan sued Markie over the “Alone Again” sample.

Judge Kevin Duffy found Biz Markie guilty of infringing on O’Sullivan’s copyright, ordered the rapper to pay $250,000 in damages, barred Markie’s label (Warner Brothers) from continuing to sell either the single or album and, most astoundingly, referred the matter to criminal court, on the grounds that Markie was liable for theft
→ (The rapper was never charged.)

Question 20

Official and Unofficial censorship
- FBI letter

Answer 20

The FBI’s letter to the NWA claimed encouraged violence against police officers.

In the letter, the FBI stated “Music plays a significant role in society” and therefore the concerns of law enforcement were worthy of attention.”

Debut album, Straight Outta Compton, F— Tha Police (1988), inspired by their experiences with law enforcement as young black men in America.

Question 21

Official and Unofficial censorship
- NSW Police

Answer 21

OneFour
Drill music is known for its faster, heavier sound and raw lyrics that focus on the grittiness of street life

NSW police claimed they are doing “everything in [their] power” to stop rapping about these topics.

This is done through:
- Shutting down their shows before they can perform
- Issuing their management with legal orders preventing them from associating with the members of the group
- Trying to get their music pulled from streaming platforms.

Question 22

Official censorship at school

Answer 22

Teri Brady, senior director of transportation at Portland Public Schools, sent a directive to bus drivers in March forbidding “religious, rap music, or talk show programs.”

Ryan-Onken, a senior from the school said “When you outlaw a kind of music that is very indicative of the modern culture of one group of people you’re basically saying that they’re not welcome,” Ryan-Onken said.

In 2012, Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks” topped the charts but it discussed school shooting.
- The chorus says, “All the other kids with the pumped up kicks / You better run, better run, outrun my gun. All the other kids with the pumped-up kicks / You better run, better run, faster than my bullet.”

Question 23

Official censorship at universities

Answer 23

University of Sheffield decided to ban all of Eminem’s music from being played on their campus.

Speaking to ABC News about her decision to enforce to ban, Rachel Agnew, the Union’s Women’s Officer, stated, “Eminem’s misogynistic and hate-filled language is intimidating and extremely threatening!”

This prohibition was highly polarising, and many of the university’s students felt it infringed on their rights

Question 24

Hip Hop fighting power and authority - Russia

Answer 24

In November 2018, Husky, gathered fans streets of Krasnodar to perform on the hood a vehicle.
- Later arrested 12 days on the grounds of hooliganism

Putin explained rap is only about “sex, drugs and protests”

Husky’s “7 October” (Putin’s birthday) tells the story of a king who enjoys a copious meal while his people are dying of starvation.

After popularity + debate Putin himself explained there would no longer be attempts to abolish Hip-Hop, rather the government would focus on co-opting it.

Question 25

Hip Hop fighting power and authority - Tazania

Answer 25

2017, rapper, Nay wa Mitego, was charged for singing “offensive [lyrics] to the administration.”

Wa Mitego, speaking directly to President Mugufuli sang: “Which sort of person are you? You don’t want to be criticized. You are bewitched[!]”

Dar es Salaam unemployment rate (up to 40%) forces many to work in the informal economy, including drug trafficking and prostitution.

Although Tanzanian artists are facing increasingly strict censorship they find ways to avoid state institutions through underground music, social media and new technology.