You may not realise this, but pop music has been around for decades. Ever since the early 1920s when pop music drew its influence mainly from jazz, to the 1950s where it was rock and R&B, to present day where its influence comes mainly from Hip Hop. Pop music is often distinguished from other styles of music because of its danceable rhythm, beats, simple melodies and repeating structure that is mixed with lyrics that are often emotional and relating to love.
Pop music is seen to be the most marketable and profitable type of music in the industry and pop artists are among the best-selling and most widely known in many regions of the world. The music industry is dominated by massive record companies as part of a global music market, which distributes worldwide through radio, television and other sources of media in order to maximise publicity and exposure.
Pop Music and the Market Today
Now that pop music has become cheaper to produce and more affordable, the average age of the consumer has dramatically decreased. In previous years singers such as Frank Sinatra used to sing about affairs, champagne and nightclubs, because at that particular time those type of lyrics were what appealed to its major investors (more mature individuals). Nowadays however the market is hugely influenced by the younger generation and in recent years this has resulted in the music industry seeing the largest sales in history.
Explicit Material in Pop Music
Over the years music has become more and more explicit and now has to be monitored or even restricted to certain age groups depending on the content of the material. At times music has been responsible for much moral panic, causing people to complain, suggesting that some music promotes violence or even condones crime.
However we perceive pop music and for whatever reason we buy it, it remains to be a big part of one of the biggest industries in the world, which constantly turns over massive amounts of profit each year for artists and their promoters. It’s been around for decades and will be around for many years to come.