2. WHAT IS MUSIC
GENRE?
“A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a
shared tradition or set of conventions”
Genre divides different types of media texts into different categories. Films have genres e.g.
romance, horror, comedy etc, magazines have genres, entertainment, lifestyle etc and so do
music e.g. pop and rock. A combination of two genres such as indie pop, is called a ‘hybrid’
genre as two different styles have been joint together.
Often, a piece of music will fit into one genre, but it is possible to have multiple genres or sub
genres e.g. Indie pop, it is two music genres mixed into one.
Some of the music genres that are popular today include pop, indie, hip-hop, rap, rock, R&B
and country but there are many more.
One way of defining genre is as a set of
expectations (Neale 1980)
3. Music genres also have common codes and conventions which are associated
with them, audiences expect to see these elements because they have been
repeated through time. These conventions differ depending on the genre of music.
They provide a structure that the audience can understand allows them to find
genres which they like and then find other videos in the same category. Fowler –
‘one advantage of genres is that they can rely on readers already having
knowledge and expectations about the works within a genre’.
The conventions can be divided into two categories; technical and symbolic
Technical - How meaning is conveyed using technical equipment e.g. the way the
camera is used, the sound, the pace and style of editing.
Symbolic - Symbolic techniques are ways of expressing the genre from what you
initially see for example, facial expressions, gestures and mise en scene
4. Genre is useful to producers because it sets guidelines for what should be included
in the video rather than being able to include anything which could take a long time
to plan. When marketing/producing a new video it is important to know who the
intended target audience are so that they can use the conventions which have
previously proven to engage and interest the audience this minimises the risks of the
video not being popular. The concept of genre also helps record labels to budget and
plan their finances more accurately because for example typically a pop music video
will be more expensive than an Indie genre video due to the different conventions e.g.
special effects, various locations, costumes etc.
Regarding the promotion of the video, music genre helps because the record label
would understand where the target audience are most likely to see the promotion and
what would attract them to the music video. For example stereotypically teenage girls
enjoy pop music so producers would film the video knowing it needs to be relatable
to these girls. An example is Little Mix ‘Black magic’ as the video is filmed in a high
school, has clips of girly sleepovers, studying, getting ready with friends etc which
would appeal to the target audience because it is relatable to them.
