Music Genres and Corporate Cultures [Paperback]

Keith Negus (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415174007 | ISBN-13: 978-0415174008 | Publication Date: August 6, 1999 | Edition: 1

Music Genres and Corporate Cultures explores the seemingly haphazard workings of the music industry, tracing the uneasy relationship between economics and culture; `entertainment corporations' and the artists they sign. Keith Negus examines the contrasting strategies of major labels like Sony and Polygram in managing different genres, artists and staff. How do takeovers affect the treatment of artists? Why has Polygram been perceived as too European to attract US artists? And how did Warner's wooden floors help them sign Green Day? Through in-depth case studies of three major genres; rap, country, and salsa, Negus explores the way in which the music industry recognises and rewards certain sounds, and how this influences both the creativity of musicians, and their audiences. He examines the tension between raps public image as the spontaneous `music of the streets' and the practicalities of the market, and asks why country labels and radio stations promote top-selling acts like Garth Brooks over hard-to-classify artists like Mary Chapin-Carpenter, and how the lack of soundscan systems in Puerto Rican record shops affects salsa music's position on the US Billboard chart. Drawing on over seventy interviews with music industry personnel in Britain and the United States, Music Genres and Corporate Cultures shows how the creation, circulation and consumption of popular music is shaped by record companies and corporate business styles while stressing that music production takes within a broader culture, not totally within the control of large corporations.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Worthwhile book which is well written and well presented.' - Work, Employment & Society, 14(3), 2000

'Painstakingly researched and impeccably theorized.' - European Journal of Communication, 15(4), 2000

About the Author

Keith Negus is a lecturer in the Centre for Mass Communication Research at the University of Leicester and lecturer at the University of Puerto Rico. He is the author of Producing Pop and Popular Music in Theory.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (August 6, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415174007
• ISBN-13: 978-0415174008
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,059,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars VERY INTERESTING, March 22, 2004

By 

Gian Fiero (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Music Genres and Corporate Cultures (Hardcover)

This book will introduce you to the political side of the music industry while exposing you to the formulas for success that many major record labels use. It is NOT an easy read. The author's writing style is very clinical and at times, not very reader friendly. But if you are starting a label that you want to compete with the most successful ones, this book will provide you with some eye opening information about the processes used.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent insider's view of the music industry, July 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Music Genres and Corporate Cultures (Paperback)

Negus, a culutral studies-oriented scholar wrote an excellent book called Popular Music In Theory: An Introduction in 1996. He continues his thorough, informed approached in this fascinating sociological, economic and ethnographic look at the recording industry.

He clearly explains the intricacies of portfolio management, marketing and targeting, resource distribution and cultural attitudes regarding the way music is created and distributed. He uses specific examples from his own primary research regarding genres like rap, country and salsa.

I am working on my Ph.D and I found the book challenging and accessible. I would recommend this to anyone who wants insights into music marketing.