Richard Dyer

Stars and Stardom

• In order to understand the relationship between the music industry and its audiences, it is important to consider the role of music star
• The term ‘star’ refers to the semi-mythological set of meaning constructed around music performers in order to sell the performer to a large and loyal audience

Some Common Values of Music Stardom

• Youthfulness
• Rebellion
• Sex magnetism
• An anti-authoritarian attitude
• Originality
• Creativity/talent
• Aggression/anger
• A disregard for social values relating to drugs, sex and polite behaviour
• Conspicuous consumption, of sex drugs and material goods
• Success against the odds

Richard Dyer

· Dyer has written extensively about the role of stars in film, TV and music.

· Irrespective of the medium, stars have some key features in common:

· A star is an image, not a real person, this is constructed(as any other aspect of fiction is)out of a range of material (e.g. advertising, magazines etc as well as films music)

· Stars as commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings

· Stars depend upon a range of subsidiary media- magazine, TV, radio, the internet – in order to construct an image is made up of a range of meanings which are attractive to the target audiences.

· Fundamentally, the star image is incoherent, that is incomplete and ‘open’. Dyer says that this is because it is based upon two key paradoxes.

Paradox 1

• The star must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary for the consumer

Paradox 2

• The star must be simultaneously present and absent for the consumer.

The star Image

· The incoherence of the star image ensures that audiences continually strive to ‘complete’ or to ‘make sense’ of the image.

· This is achieved by continued consumption of the star through his or her products

· In the music industry, performance seems to promise the completion of the image, but it is always ultimately unsatisfying

· This means that fans will go away determined to continue consuming the star in order to carry on attempting to complete their image.

· Finally, the star image can be used to position the consumer in relation to dominant social values (that is hegemony).

· Depending upon the artist, this may mean that the audience are positioned against the mainstream (though only to a limited degree, since they are still consumers within a capitalist system) or within the mainstream, or somewhere in between.

Keith Negus

The Ideologies of the Music Industry

“What I’m looking for is the working act. The real act. The act that can get up on stage and do it. That act will give you a career. I singed Black Sabbath umpteen years ago; they are still making records. These are acts that are career acts… two years ago I started a dance label… now that’s not a career orientated label. I mean those record are one-off situation and every now and again you’ll maybe get an artist come out of it.

When I first started it was more about going out and finding bands. That method is become more and more redundant. More and more these days I find it’s as much about: I sit here and think ‘there’s really a gap in the market for this kind of project…’ I don’t go out to gigs. That’s not how I find my stuff. So if a writer comes in he may have some great songs and maybe is looking for a front person. Or maybe I have the front person who I want to launch into the market but I haven’t got the songs. So I put the two together”

Ideologies of Creativity

• Keith Negus – producing Pop
• Identifies two distinct ways of thinking about potential artists from within the music industry.
• These ideologies shape the way in which the artists’ images and careers are developed , and the way that they are marketed towards specific target audiences
• The organic ideology of creativity and the synthetic ideology of creativity

The Organic Ideology of Creativity 1

• The ‘naturalistic’ approach to artists
• The seeds of success are within the artists, who have been ‘nurtured’ by the record company
• The image of the artist is ‘enhanced’ by the record company
• The artist is given time to evolve and progress through their career

The Organic Ideology of Creativity 2

• Emphasis is given to album sales and the construction of a successful back catalogue
• Often aimed at older or more sophisticated consumers
• Profits generated by this kind of act tend to be part of a long term strategy by the record company.

The Synthetic Ideology of Creativity 1

• A combinatorial approach to artists and material
• Executives attempt to construct successful acts out of the artists and the songs at their disposal
• The image of the artist is often constructed by the record company
• The artist will be given a short time to prove their success before other combinations will be tried out.

The Synthetic Ideology of Creativity 2

• Emphasis is given to single sales and to promoting first albums
• Often aimed at younger, less sophisticated audiences.
• Profits generated by this kind of artist tend to be part of an immediate, short term strategy by the record company

Balancing the two

• In practice, the success of synthetic acts will fund the development and investment in organic acts
• Most big record labels will look to balance their roster with a combination of successful synthetic and organic acts to ensure that there are finds available for the day-to-day running of the company as well as long term profit making potential.

Promoting Organic and Synthetic Acts

• There are clear distinctions between the ways in which different types of artist are represented to ensure short term or long term success
• Organic acts are often sold on their ‘authenticity’, both musically and socially.
• The image of the artist appears ‘unconstructed’(although, of course, this is in itself a carefully constructed look)
• Synthetic acts are often sold on their ‘look’ or personalities
• The image of the artist is carefully and unashamedly constructed.