This document discusses the music industry and the band Nirvana. It provides background on Nirvana's formation in 1989 and release of their debut album Bleach. In 1991, Nirvana signed to Geffen Records and released their breakthrough album Nevermind, which has now sold over 30 million copies worldwide. The document examines Nirvana's importance in changing the mainstream music industry and genre, combining elements of punk, metal, and pop to help create the new grunge genre. It also explores Nirvana's marketing strategies, including their use of music videos and reliance on television performances for promotion in the pre-internet era.

1. Music Industry

2. 1) Assess the main advantages of the internet to your three main
texts.
2) Explore the marketing strategies used in your selected
industry.
3) How successful have your chosen texts been for their industry?
4) Explore the impact of digital technologies on your selected
industry.
Types of questions for music

3. Kurt Cobain
Dave Grohl
Krist Novoselic

4. 1989
Nirvana’s first studio album was entitled Bleach and was released
by the independent label, Sub Pop.
The album gained good critical reviews but failed to chart in
America.
History and Context

5. By 1991 Nirvana had diluted their alternative, heavier sound
with more popular music conventions and signed to Geffen.
Geffen is owned by Universal and has huge marketing budgets.
History and Context

6. Firstly Released by
DGC Records in 1991
with an optimistic
expectation of
250 000 sales.
Nevermind has now
sold 30 million copies
world wide and copies
have and are still
being sold ever year
since

7. Industry importance

8. 1991 biggest selling artists pre Nirvana
Excess, flamboyant, show offs, escapism

9. Industry importance
Nirvana helped to change the genre and ideology surrounding
mainstream, popular music.
Nirvana combined more alternative genres such as Punk with
more popular genres at the time such as Metal and Pop to
create a genre known later as Grunge.

10. Industry importance
Punk musical conventions
•Singing style (elements of shouting and
screaming)
•Instruments and effects used
•Simple musical structures
•Some elements but not as purist as punk on Anti-
establishment and disenchanted ideology
•Smashing instruments at end of a show
•Fairly simply musicianship
Metal conventions
•Singing style (elements of shouting and
screaming)
•Instruments and effects used
(distortion/overdrive)
Nirvana
combined these
conventions
with pop music
conventions

11. Industry importance
Pop music conventions
•A heavy reliance on vocals
•2-4 minute song length
•Song structure – Verse – Chorus - Verse
•Use of rhyming couplets in vocals
•Promotion channels
This hybrid of conventions resulted in the post modern genre
of Grunge, which attracted a variety of mainstream and more
niche audiences and was a huge commercial success.

12. Industry importance
Nirvana would often promote other alternative music and project
them into the mainstream. Remember this is pre-internet.

13. •Lyrics are typically angst-filled, often addressing themes such as
social alienation, apathy, confinement, and a desire for freedom
•Many grunge musicians displayed a general disenchantment with
the state of society, as well as a discomfort with social prejudices
•Live shows are energy filled and crowds are very
active/moshing/crowd surfing/stage diving (video Swedish
interview)
Grunge ideology and characteristics present in Nirvana
Industry importance
Metal+Punk+Pop = Grunge

14. •Clothing commonly worn by grunge musicians and fans consisted of
clothes that was purchased from or looked like they were from charity
shops
•Most common was checked/flannel shirts
•A look that appeared un-kept (ripped jeans, baggy T-shirts, longish hair,
anti superficial)
•Grunge fashion was very anti “Flash/show off”
•The subculture had an anti inequality and hegemonic ideology.
Grunge Fashion
Industry importance

15. 1.Changing the genre of music that entered into the
mainstream charts in 1991.
2. Assisting the creation of a subculture.
3.Changing the ideology present within mainstream music.
Industry importance

16. Marketing

17. Marketing and Promotion
1. Use of the music video
2. Reliance on record label.
3.The use of the rock star/front man
4. Reliance on Television performances (Jonathan Ross, MTV
own shows, memorable live shows)
5.Music Videos, iconography, connotations, mis en scene, all
attracts its target audience

18. Marketing and Promotion
4. Reliance on Television performances (Jonathan Ross, MTV
own shows, memorable live shows)
Huge lack of anything on demand
Live shows had to be memorable and
relied on word of mouth to promote
bands.

19. Nirvana release four singles
accompanied with music videos to help
promote the album.

20. Smells Like Teen Spirit
Come as you are
Lithium
In Bloom
The use of the music video

21. How has the internet helped Nirvana?
1.Fansites (facebook, Instagram, Websites)
2. Itunes, Youtube
3.Allowing new generations access to older music
4. Spotify
Marketing