MediaWork

1. Pop
GENRE RESEARCH

2. Introduction
 Pop music is a genre that had originated and was
‘founded’ in the 1950’s and although not a sub-
genre, it derived and first came about as a result
of the genre Rock and Roll. Pop/Popular music
was first a genre which consisted of any style of
music, nowadays the term Pop is associated with
music that contains qualities of mass appeal.
 Pop in itself can include styles and elements that
have been borrowed/copied from other genres
and sub genres such as; Urban, Dance, Rock etc.

3. Introduction (Continued)
 Although elements are taken from the
different types of genres, pop has core
elements that define and seperates the genre
from others. These elements are things such
as; short-to-medium length songs, songs
written in basic format, and often consist of
the verse-chorus structure. (Along with
repeated choruses and melodic tunes)

4. Origin of Pop _ The Term
 The first recorded use of the term ‘pop song’
tracks back to 1926 – it was used to define a
piece of music having ‘popular appeal’
 The Oxford Dictionary of Music defines pop
being a non-classical music, being performed
by artists/bands such as the Beatles, the
Rolling Stones, ABBA etc.

5. History
 The most significant feature of the emergent
popular music industry of the late 18th and
early 19th centuries was the extent of its
focus on the commodity form of sheet music
 It was made possible for music to be
disseminated to a wide audience of amateur
music-makers

6. History (Continued)
 another factor was the increasing availability
during the late 18th and early 19th century of
public popular music performances in
"pleasure gardens and dance halls, popular
theatres and concert rooms

7. History (Continued)
 One of the early popular music performers to
attain widespread popularity was a Swedish
opera singer Jenny Lind

8. History (Continued)
 During the late 19th century the Tin Pan Alley
music publishers developed a new method
for promoting sheet music – incessant
promotion of new songs
 By the early 1900s, the big trends in popular
music were the increasing popularity of
vaudeville theaters and dance halls and the
new invention—the gramophone player

9. History (Continued)
 In the late 1920s and throughout the 1930s,
there was a move towards consolidation in
the recording industry which led several
major companies to dominate the record
industry
 In the 1950s and 1960s, television began to
play an increasingly important role in
disseminating new popular music

10. History (Continued)
 The development of new technologies in
recording such as multi-track recorders gave
sound engineers an increasingly important
role in popular music in the 1960s

11. The Beatles
 An English Rock band formed in Liverpool –
1960
 One of the most commercially successful
bands in the history of pop/popular music
 Band – John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George
Harrison and Ringo Starr
 Active between 1960 - 1970

12. The Rolling Stones
 English Rock band formed in London – 1962
 Genres within pop – Rock, Blues, Blues Rock,
Rock and Roll
 Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
 22 albums released in the United Kingdom
 Active from 1962 – present

13. ABBA
 Swedish pop/rock band formed in Stockholm
– 1972
 Topped the charts on numerous occasion,
world renowned group
 Active from 1972 – 1982
 Sold over 370million records worldwide, still
selling millions every year

14. Electric Guitar
 In popular music, the electric is often used for
two main reasons; as a rhythm guitar
(Provides the chord sequence), and as a lead
guitar (Performs the melody lines)

15. Top 5 Female Pop
Artists/Bands
 Britney Spears
 Avril Lavigne
 Janet Jackson
 Kylie Minogue
 Madonna

16. Britney Spears
 Born December 2, 1981
 American recording artist and entertainer
 Signed with Jive Records in 1997
 Debut album Baby One More Time – 1999
 ^ Which became the best selling album by a
teenage solo artist
 Instruments – Both vocal and piano

17. Janet Jackson
 Born May 16, 1966
 American recording artist and actress
 A prominent figure in popular music for over
25 years
 Began her career with The Jacksons in 1976
 Signed a recording contract with A&M – 1982
 Active from 1973 - present

18. Madonna
 Born August 16 – 1958
 American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer
and entrepreneur
 Sold more than 300million records worldwide
 Signed an unprecedented US $120million
contract with Live Nation
 Active from 1979 – present

19. Top 5 Male Pop Artists/Band
 Ricky Martin
 The Killers
 Green Day
 Kanye West
 Eminem

20. Ricky Martin
 Born December 24 - 1971
 Pop singer and actor who achieved
prominence, first as a member of the Puerto
Rican boy band Menudo
 Then as a solo artist since 1991
 He was the founder of the Ricky Martin
Foundation

21. Green Day
 A California based punk rock/pop band
 Formed in 1987
 Early releases were from the Lookout!
Records
 They sold over 10million copies in the US
 Active from 1987 – present

22. Eminem
 Born October 17 – 1972
 Brought to fame by rapper and producer Dr.
Dre
 American rapper, record producer, songwriter
and actor
 Sold more than 42million tracks and
41.5million albums