Electronica Music and Its Impact on the Music Industry Essay

Electronica Music and Its Impact on the Music Industry - Essay Example Electronica Music and Its Impact on the Music Industry The beginnings of electronica as a music genre started when technological advancements in music instruments such as the introduction of electronic-based instruments and sound synthesizers in the music scene (Collins, Schedel, & Wilson, 2013; Mickley, 2011). This went well in conjunction with the rise of the disco or dancing as recreational activities by the younger generations, making electronica and other music genre that descended from it as staples of the electronic dance music revolution (Keith, 2012). While during the late 1990’s the popularity of electronica waned due to various factors such as it being over-hyped by some in the music industry, it did not disappear entirely as it became a famous genre for other areas such as in the advertising industry (Dunn, 1992; Taylor, 2007). Ultimately, within a span of a decade the elements comprising the original electronica genre were reborn within the recent music scene itself, as it became infused with other popular genres such as hip-hop, rap, rock, and dance music (Bogdanov, 2001). This helped the next generation of audiences in appreciating electronica’s legacy as one of the earliest predecessors of contemporary music today. Outline: I. The historical background of electronica as a musical genre A. Its origin 1. Originally in Hollywood movies for background music (Collins, Schedel, & Wilson, 2013) 2. Frequent use outside movies was in late 1960’s Europe, most notably in Germany (Keith, 2012) 3. Avant-garde music scene, futuristic and space-themed music (Dunn, 1992; Reynolds, 2007) 4. Influenced by classical music, altered to imply detachment from reality (Collins, et al., 2013) 5. Cultural purpose is to widen and increase what is considered to be musical sounds (Dunn, 1992) B. Historical development 1. Composers of early electronica a. William S. Burroughs (Keith, 2012) b. Klaus Schulze (Reynolds, 2007) c. Walter Carlos (Reynolds, 2007) 2. Performers of early electronica a. Tangerine Drea m (Reynolds, 2007) b. Tomita (Reynolds, 2007) c. Can, Faust and Neu! (Keith, 2012) d. King Crimson (Keith, 2012) e. ELP (Keith, 2012) 3. Important changes in the electronica genre a. Trickling incorporation with traditional instruments (Collins, et al., 2013) b. Gradual acceptance of a wide variety of electronic instruments in commonly-heard music (Dunn, 1992) c. Increased use of electronic music instruments in the growing disco scene (Mickley, 2011) 4. Cultural-related development of electronica (Dunn, 1992) a. Evolution of technological advancement b. Availability of synthesizers, analogs and other electronic-based instruments c. Increased acceptability of electronica amongst listeners 5. Important genres that evolved out of electronica (Bogdanov, 2001) a. Electronic dance music (EDM) b. Funky Beats c. Dance-pop d. Techno e. Experimental Rock II. The cultural background of electronica A. Demographics 1. Listeners and audiences a. Late teens-early 30’s (Campbell, 2011) b. Ne ar-equal mix of genders (Campbell, 2011) c. US, Europe (UK, Germany, France, Spain), Asia (India, Japan) (Mickley, 2011) d. People from middle or working class (Campbell, 2011) 2. Changes in the demographic throughout the genre’s history a. Expansion of geographic locations to South America, Africa, Southeast Asia (Mickley, 2011) b. Expansion to lower-working class and elites (Campbell, 2011) B. Performance context 1. Places where electronica is most often heard a. Disco scenes (Keith, 2012) b. Dedicated music festivals (Keith, 2012) c. Movies (Collins, et al., 2013) 2. Additional venues where electronica is performed a. Radio (Taylor, 2007) b. Television (Taylor, 2007) c. Places with large spaces (Campbell, 2011) 3. Cultural â€Å"rules† in electronica performance and appreciation (Campbell, 2011) a. Expect loud and/or repetitive music b. Clapping, dancing to the music, singing, as long as no disturbances such as riots happen C. Clothing styles and