Since time immemorial, music has been inseparable from the media. This is primarily due to the entertainment function of the media. Thus the media has always incorporated the function of entertaining its listeners in its programming. Despite the good intentions by the media in using music to reach the masses and ensure that they stay competitive, a number of, arguably, negative genres of music have found their way into television screens, and the radio.
The fact that media owners and workers in media houses allow such music to be played in the radio and on the television tells so much about how the media perceives music. This paper is an in-depth analysis of the perception of the media towards music, and the extent to which the media has influenced kids by playing music.
The media uses music for a variety of reasons. The chief reason comes from the fact that all business organizations are always aimed at making profit, and thus most of them use whatever means to achieve this objective. Thus the chief reason why the media uses music as part of its programming is because music has a lot of popularity with the masses and thus the use of music will enable them to reach the masses easily.
This is because as people listen to the music being played in the television or radio stations, the media people can use this opportunity to pass commercial messages to the people, and thus be able to grow their clientele. The media has also used music as a commercial tool in promoting the music of certain artists.
This is achieved by the media when it plays songs of certain unpopular artists so as to make them known to the public. The second reason why the media uses music is to entertain its listeners. It is common knowledge that every service-providing business organization strives to provide quality services to its clientele.
The media, being no exception, designs programs that are meant to entertain their listeners so that the listeners can be contented with the services provided by the media organization. As part of the entertainment function, music is also used by the media between other programs in order to give a break to both the actors and the listeners. This way, the music enhances other programs, making them have a greater impact on their listeners.
The use of music by the media, especially some genres of music, has had both positive and negative effects on kids. For instance, when kids listen to music, they get to learn many things, both positive and negative. Thus the kids are more informed if they listen regularly to the music played by the media.
On the other hand, some music genres have counter-productive effects on kids. Music like hip-hop, rap, rock, etcetera, has been infamous for making kids develop negative morals by trying to emulate it. For instance, hip-hop, which mainly talks about unhealthy sexual relationships, is responsible for the alarmingly young age at which contemporary kids are being initiated to having sexual relationships.
Additionally, rap has also been infamous for initiation of kids into gangster hood and the use of drugs. Rock, on the other hand, has been known for making people belonging to a variety of age-groups develop gothic characteristics. Also among these influences is the impact that music has had on the dressing styles of kids and teenagers alike. Hip-hop artists are known for their bad dressing habits.
For instance, female hip-hop artists mostly dress in revealing clothes that are copied by our kids. On the other hand, male artists are known for their notorious sagging of trousers, which is also copied by kids and teenagers. Additionally, kids and teenagers have copied the habit of tattooing their bodies, which is common among artists.
The paragraph above evidences the fact that music played in the media has had many negative effects on kids. The aforementioned habits like drug abuse, initiation to sexual relationships at young ages, emulation of negative aspects of music artists and the like are all matters of grave concern to parents.
Also overlooked in the paragraph above is the fact that rap music has been notorious in promoting violence. In most rap videos, it is not uncommon to see guns and police pursuits. The music may even be produced using gunshots in order for it to have its desired effect on teenagers.
This has made children develop violent dispositions as they try to emulate these artists. In fact, these issues have concerned parents so much that some parents have forbidden their children the listening of some types of music. The media knows this but the increasing popularity of some of these genres of music force media houses to play such kind of music since their failure to play such music could drive them out of business.
As evidenced in the discussion above, music is an appendage of the music and an attempt to separate the two will, most definitely, emerge as futile. The music played by the media has had many negative effects on children that parents are increasingly being concerned about the same. Children are now being involved in sexual activities at very young ages, they are abusing drugs, and they have also developed violent dispositions from listening to rap music. There is, therefore, the need for a revolution in the kind of music that the media plays.