With an increased influence of music industry on the availability of certain genres, bands and performers, the quality of the singer’s voice or the band’s performance seems to be only a part of what defines their popularity among the 21st-century audience. For a singer or a band to be popular, it is essential to engage in a range of activities that seem to be unrelated to music (e.g., participation in talk shows, reality shows, contests, etc.).
Much like the rock singers of the 50s and 60s, who had to represent themselves through participation in public interviews, talk shows, etc. on radio and television (the 50s and 60s’ equivalent of advanced media), modern rock bands and singers have to rely on modern information technology just as hard.
This phenomenon becomes especially evident when considering the examples of modern rock singers and rock bands and comparing it to what made the bands and singers of 50s and 60s popular. At first, it might seem that the change made to the music industry is radical – the present-day live shows have little to do with the talk shows of the 50s and 60s in terms of the credibility of their delivery.
However, despite the seeming artificiality of the 21st century shows that rock bands and starts participate in, the concept has not changed that much – to become successful, a rock band or a rock singer must keep appearing in shows, TV and radio broadcasts, social networks, etc.
A closer look at the way, in which music industry of the 50s and 60s promoted such rock stars as Jerry Lee Lewis, Bobby Darin, Bo Diddley, Johnny Cash, etc., will reveal that the methods were quite similar to those of the 2010s. An artist or a band was invited for a talk show as a guest, with the host asking all sorts of questions regarding the artist’s work process, inspiration, new songs, and so on.
It could be argued, though, that the shows of the era of the 50s and 60s had a stronger emphasis on the artist’s personality, whereas modern show focuses on building the audience’s expectations for the product that the artist is going to deliver. A minor difference, it has had a huge impact on rock music, leading to the emergence of the genre known as pop rock.
The phenomenon of shows remaining one of the most powerful means of advertising a rock band or a rock singer can be observed in the 21st century quite clearly. It is clear that a range of bands, such as Kings of Leon, The White Stripes, and Fun, owe their commercial success not only to the number of TV shows, which they have been seen in but also to the social networks, in which they are promoted.
Fun, for example, has its own Facebook page. Other rock bands and singers, like Smokey Fingers, for example, are less known, since they focus on their art rather than on participation in social networks and engage in the activities related to modern media. Thus, the introduction of new forms of media has predetermined the type of promotion that bands should rely on.
The transformation, which the principles of rock music popularity have undergone, is truly fascinating because the current ones seem to be the complete reiteration of the previous principles, yet the means of introducing the bands and singers to the audience have changed impressively. It seems that modern media has added a somewhat looser feel to the shows that rock stars and bands participate in to become famous.
In contrast to the era of 50s and 60s, when radio broadcasts and TV talk shows were the most common types of featuring a specific rock band or the rock singer, in 2010s, modern media has opened an entire pool of opportunities for people to learn even about the band that has gained a relatively small amount of popularity and is ranked comparatively low.
The era of new technology, however, shaped the process of learning more about rock singers and bands to a considerable extent. First and most obvious, the shows that most rock bands and starts take part in are planned thoroughly. Compared to the TV and radio broadcasts of the 50s and 60s, which were rather raw, the present-day records are polished to the point where the personality of a singer becomes replaced with a series of staples.
It would be wrong to claim that the quality of performance has dropped because of the incorporation of new media into the promotion process – far from it, social networks and TV shows and commercials allow music stars, particularly, rock stars, to stop being concerned about their popularity and focus on their art instead.
The change in the type of promotion, however, has also shaped the very nature of the music industry in general and the rock music in particular. The consistently increasing pace of competition, which the music industry of the 21st century presupposes, has allowed for even minor rock bands and singers get an impressive promotion and be heard all over the world.