Alexis Glubka
3-23-05
Engl. 101-9 am
Media. Music. You.
In our society today, people are influenced by many different things. The media uses advertisements and commercials to sell us what “we think we need” in order to fit in. This type of media hype is everywhere; in our magazines, on our television screens, on billboards, and in our music. Yes, music does control society in some aspects. Little girls idolize pop stars, and young men look up to the clever lyricists in our popular culture. Yet, sometimes these role model artists are not sending the right messages to young adults. Girls may judge what a man should be based on her current pop star crush, and guys may judge girls in the same way. Not all boys can be Justin Timberlake, and not all girls can be Britney Spears. This should not be the message to young people in the first place; they should listen to artists who present diverse issues in their music, so the young minds of these teenagers can form their own opinions about the world. The media and the big corporations that own the record companies place such a big hype on certain artists that some people may not take the time to dig deeper and find genuinely good music, or to see what underlying issues are taking place in the music industry. There is a website called Downhillbattle.org that provides information for music activists; the site shows the world how the big record labels are controlling the radio music play and how artists get paid close to nothing compared to how much the big corporations make.
One of the ways Britney and Justin are made into pop idols is through a system in the music industry call “pay-for-play.” In an article by Eric Boehlert called “Will Congress tackle pay-for-play?” the issue of Congress finally stopping the big record companies from paying out the radio stations is discussed. “…It virtually shuts off access to commercial FM radio for artists or record companies who can't or won't spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to promote a new single” (Boehlert). This pay-for-play gives artists under the big record labels and unfair advantage over those who are on independent labels. This is also a way the big record labels can control what we listen to; they can control what is popular. They can put Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake on the radio all day long, but lesser known artists may not get any promotion on radio play. You may be thinking, “Well, what’s the problem with the independent artists? Why don’t they get on a big record label?” The answer to this is found all over Downhillbattle.org. There is an article called “The Problem With Music” by Steve Albini that breaks down what an artist makes compared to one of The Big 5 (BMG, EMI, Warner Bros., Sony, and Universal) recording companies. Basically the profit comes down to this: for every $16 CD that is sold, the artist or band receives less than $1. By breaking away from The Big 5, artists may be able to make more profits, but this will not be enough to get them on the radio waves. A way around both of these situations is the internet. Lesser known bands can get out to the masses, and file-sharing is bringing down the big record label corporations (which downhillbattle.org says will help the artists and the consumers alike). File-sharing and the internet are “causing a democratic shift, as more phenomena filter up and fans elect their own stars rather than accept the dictates of radio or MTV” (Gundersen). This is a wonderful concept that can help Americans, teens especially, finally break out of the mold of listening to what the media tells them all the time.
