Communications and Media

Question 1
Disintermediation in the music industry refers to the elimination of middlemen from intermediary functions such as recruitment, in order to maximize returns. Artists and repertoire(AR) a division of arecord label. It acts as an intermediary between artists and the record label. It is basically charged with the responsibility of scouting talent and overseeing the artistic development of musical artists. A  R guys are universally young (the explanation usually is that the scout will be in trend with the developments in the musical scene) and always have some obvious underground singing experience in the given genre (rock). A  R guys do not write contracts but what they do is present the band with a deal memo, which loosely states some terms and conditions. It also affirms the band that it will be signed with the label after the contract has been agreed upon. What most artists dont know is that this deal memo is legal. Musicians are forced to sign the contract which suits the label. Most record labels utilize the long tail phenomenon - which allows them to realize significant profits by focusing on large base of customers who are usually the lower class. They offer choice, for example different genres, in small quantities to the customers.

Question 2
Music genes have disrupted sex constructions and patriarchy in the society. Music can be characterized as masculine or feminine. Conventional rock seems in many ways to comply with the deeper demands of metaphysical music discourse for meaning, truth and sincerity emanating from the unmediated voice.However, rock music has another aspect that makes it the voice of classical philosophy. The rock voice is almost definitively masculine. Even on rare occasions when women sing music which can be unproblematically defined as rock, the vocal style tends to take on the masculine characteristics of traditional rock singing.The rough aggressions of its vocal conventions make rock music sound masculine. Rock music also has a commitment to authenticity and meaning that are masculine. Jazz and hip hop genes are also masculine. Hip hop is a vocal style in which an artist speaks lyrically, in rhyme and verse, generally to synthesizedbeat. Gangster rap is popular among youths who like the violent and aggressive lyrics. Other musical genes such as soul and RB are considered feminine. The beats are usually slow and relay gospel and love messages. It is characterized by call and responsebetween the soloist and the chorus.

Today, modern dance is characterized by young girls and sometimes gay people. In recent years, dance was more muscular and mature. Apart from rock, many dances involve young women half naked. This is usually geared towards selling.

Technology is both an agent and symptom of change. There is a concrete link between technological development and changes in patterns of musical activities. Technological change has had an impact on musical (or any cultural) activity. Aesthetic innovation has increased. Technological developments as always enabled creativity. Take for example metallic rock music, the instruments allow a singer to sing loudly with passion.

Question 3
Hip hops culture is characterized by graffiti, rapping, breaking, DJing, and beatboxing. I will concentrate on braking from Formans article in relationship to Hip-hop culture. Breaking is the newest part of hip hop culture. It is an innovation to traditional dancing. However, it has made hip hop a media obsession. It started in New Yorks ghettos. Until breaking became frozen and legitimized by the media hype, it was, much of kids culture in cities, self-generated and nearly invisible to outsiders, especially adults  who just didnt want to even think about it or even think about it or know about it, much less watch it. It was both literally and figuratively an underground form, happening in subways as well as in parks and city playgrounds, but only among those in the know.

Through breaking, in its original form, all the pleasures were symbolically played out in public places. Breaking was inextricably tied to rapping, both in terms of its cycle and content and because rap provides the insistent percussion that drives the dance. The format of the dance was quite fixed. The dancers and onlookers formed a circle. It began with an entry, a hesitating walk that allowed him time to get in step with the music for several beats and his place onstage. Next the dancer got down to the floor to do the footwork. Acrobatic transitions such as head spins served as bridges between the footwork and freeze. The final element was the exit, a spring back vertically to send dancer outside the circle. Few girls were involved not only due the physical risk involved, but also the risk of real fighting that might erupt. And part of it is the deliberate attempt to impress the girls.  The break dancers costume was born of necessity as well as style. Tee-shirts and net over-shirts provide traction on the spins, and sneakers are important to the footwork.

Even though the broader history of breaking dates back to the slavery days, most people date it to the seventies. Breaking is something new and original, born of American ghetto culture, but its basic building blocks are moves from the Afro-American repertory. It represents the social identity of these people. It is born in the ghetto (relatively poor people) and tended to migrate along these social lines. It was born out of innovation and its appropriate to rap music. Today, breaking is national in the U.S.
Hip hop has a relation with Banda in terms place and nationalism. While Banda is Mexican, hip hop is American. They have both evolved over time. Bandais abrass-based traditional Mexican music. Banda is part of the cultural processin Mexico.