Demise Of The Music Industry & Music Education

by Sheldon Rocha Leal

What do these artists have in common? Besides for being iconic recording artists, none had a formal music education: The King Of Pop (Michael Jackson); Prince; The Godfather Of Soul (James Brown); Queen Of Pop (Madonna); Queen of Soul (Aretha Franklin).

Recently I’ve been exposed to and read various articles by academics, critics, commentators and/or educators spelling the demise of the music industry, complaining about the low quality of popular mainstream music, the lack of music literacy amongst mainstream music creators and the demise of music programmes at schools and universities around the world.

Some of these articles go on to say that there is no longer a space for Jazz and Classical musicians and music (aka serious music) in the mainstream of the music industry, as in the past.

Whilst I agree with the fact that there are many music programmes, that have been shut down, due to a lack of funding or demand, there is a reason for that. As for the rest, I don’t really agree with the sentiment conveyed by these “commentators”.

Classical music, Jazz, Rock or Hip-Hop, each era has their brand of music and every generation thinks their music is superior to the present generation.

Before I go any further I would like to state the following: creative music output cannot and will never be controlled by music critics, academics, educators or so called experts. Music is controlled by the market, by demand and by music creators and there is nothing that can stop them and nothing experts can say that will stop them. Music is something that can be created anywhere, at any time, with any implement. One does not require a stage, an instrument, formal training or equipment in order to create music, it can be created out of anything, anytime and anywhere and can therefore not be controlled, and in the digital age this is becoming more of a reality. New technologies and methods of consuming music have altered the balance of power in the industry, with recording companies struggling to hold on to their previous monopoly.

Sir Elton John, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, Arif Mardin, Quincy Jones and Phil Ramone all have formal music training.

Regarding Music Education

Music education has been part of mainstream education all the way back to ancient times. Actually it was considered the highest form of scholarly exploration. All education at this time was split into two broad fields: liberal and practical arts. The lower form of scholarly endeavor was practical arts (e.g. medicine and architecture) whilst liberal arts were considered a more sophisticated academic endeavor.

In Ancient Greece music was considered one of the 7 liberal arts. The liberal arts were split into two categories: Trivium and Quadrivium. The Trivium or preparatory exploration of the liberal arts consisted of three arts: Grammar, Logic and Rhetoric. In order to be granted access to the Quadrivium, one needed to master the Trivium. The Quadrivium consisted of the remaining liberal arts: Arithmetic, Geometry, Music and Astronomy. That being said however, prior to the establishment of musical academic discourse and formal music education, music was being created, all over the world, by people and cultures that were musically illiterate: i.e. music came before academia.

Beethoven, Mozart, Handel and Bach were all patronized by rich and influential nobles.

Fast forward about 1000 years, with the establishment of the first universities in Europe and one will find that that tertiary education (or any education for that matter) was limited to the nobility and clergy. The pursuit of a music education was reserved for the very elite and the music created was designed to communicate to a very particular market: the rich and powerful. Composers like Mozart, Beethoven, Handel and Bach were patronized by powerful nobles and the music they created was meant to be enjoyed in the parlours, chambers or courts of their wealthy patrons. Musical output was controlled by the clergy or nobility and they decided what the populous would listen to, what would or would not be documented and how it would be documented.

That did not, however, prevent the musically illiterate from composing and performing their own music and songs. The only difference is that because they did not have access to a formal music education, the songs weren’t as complicated or transcribed and the method of dissemination was not sheet music, but rather by word of mouth. That is why many of these old folk songs and traditions disappeared from our social reality, leaving us with a minimal understanding of the true extent of the peasantry’s creative output.

That being said, composers were very aware of who their audience was and therefore composed music accordingly. If their patrons were not happy with what they heard, they could be out of a job and their songs would be suppressed. As a result many of the famous composers, who would not “tow the line”, landed up dying paupers, people like Mozart, who wrote music for himself and refused to give into the pressures of the court or establishment.

Later composers from the 20th century, like Igor Stravinsky, were patronized by wealthy individuals, in this case Coco Chanel.

Objectively, composers of the Western Classical tradition were a minority of the music making population, catering to a very small, but wealthy market who appreciated the nuance and intricacy of their compositions. The reality, however, is that the majority of musical output was probably being created by musically illiterate peasants.

Fast forward nearly 1,000 years and the pursuit of a formal music education is something that is still limited to the few: those individuals who can afford to do so and, at tertiary level, to those who have had the privilege of a formal music education prior to entering university.

Once again the music that emanates from our hallowed halls of tertiary education have been designed with a very specific audience in mind: others who understand and appreciate the complexity of the music created. I don’t think any of these individuals expect that the music they create will appeal to a mass audience, and if they do, then they are under the misguided impression that the majority of music consumers are highly musically literate and educated, which is a completely ridiculous notion. In other words, this section of the music industry is catering to a similar market to which they did 1,000 years ago.

When considering Jazz music, which seems to have now been elevated to a high art, the origins of the music emanated from a group of musically illiterate individuals, who were merging ideas inherited from the blues and negro spirituals, to Western/European folk song traditions, to create a new and highly improvisational genre of music. It was only elevated to a high art later on. The music was enjoyed by a very elite audience, of like minded individuals, who patronized the genre, as nobles had done with Western Classical music. People like Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, who were highly respected, were never popular mainstream musicians, they existed on the periphery of the music industry, catering to an audience that appreciated their output. The music that was popular at the time were songs from the “American Songbook”, which were less challenging and complex, than the altered versions of these songs performed by the maestros of Jazz.

Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock and Charlie Parker, whilst highly respected were never mainstream artists, even in their heyday.

Regarding the demise of music education and the closure of music departments around the world, it is well documented that music departments have not kept up with the times. Music educators are teaching, the same content, in the same way they have for hundreds of years, yet the way in which music is consumed and created has changed drastically in the 21st century. Generally music education does not appeal to or is trying to make the system attractive to their new target audience of millennials. Music education is like any business, if there is no demand, then it’s not economically viable to maintain the structure. It is therefore essential that music education become more relevant and attractive to a younger generation of music consumer and creator. Those institutions that have innovated, evolved and moved with the times have been rewarded with a loyal following and financial prosperity.

That being said, there is a space for traditional music education, and in school grades it has been found to be highly beneficial for a child’s psychological and cognitive development. That does not preclude the system from innovating and evolving, broadening its definition of what a music education entails, making space for more differently abled musical talent and better preparing graduates, especially at tertiary level, for the realities they will face in a career.

Regarding Music Tastes And Literacy

Music trends have altered drastically over the years. Sometimes Jazz is the flavour of the year, at other times Blues and yet at other times Hip-Hop, it all depends on the generation and the place in which we find ourselves as a society. The people who are able to best communicate with an audience, at a specific time in history, are the ones that take home the prize and the money.

The Beatles, who are the biggest selling pop band in history, built their fortunes on simple 2–4 chord songs.

Popular music usually contains a strong melody, is quite predictable and has a memorable hook. People have made billions by creating music that is unoffensive, easy to follow and remember, with a message with which the audience can relate. In the 1960s the Beatles made their fortune creating songs that contained 2–4 chords, that’s all, nothing more. If one considers classical music, the compositions to which the majority of music listeners gravitate, are those compositions that are easy to follow, with a strong melody and harmonic structure: Clair De Lune (Debussy), Moonlight Sonata (Beethoven), The Messiah (Handel) but only the Hallelujah Chorus. As Berry Gordy said: Keep It Simple Stupid (K.I.S.S).

Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown and a visionary, is probably one of the most powerful men in R&B and built his fortune on simple, unchallenging songs.

Berry Gordy knew that in order to bring R&B to a mainstream audience, that he needed to minimize Blues elements and maximize pop elements in his new music. Had he not innovated, R&B could have been relegated to the annals of history, never to be heard from again, but instead Motown was born and went on to influence many other popular music genres. The majority of the stars that emerged from the Motown stable were not formally musically trained, stars like Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson. But that’s why he employed professional, musically literate musicians and producers who could polish the Motown sound.

Chet Atkins did for Country music what Berry Gordy did for R&B…i.e he brought it into the mainstream.

Chet Atkins, had a similar vision in Nashville, when he created the Nashville sound. He added pop elements to Country music and reduced traditional country elements to create a genre of music that transcended Nashville. Once again most of the stars that came from Nashville were not formally trained, but had the support of formally trained musicians and producers, who could add shine to the Nashville sound.

Most of the Rock ‘n Roll stars of the late 1950s, were not formally musically trained (like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard) and relied on cover versions, as they were unable to write their own songs. Compulsory license copyright provisions, included in US copyright law, facilitated the evolution and popularization of the genre.

In the 1970s the disco movement was engineered by a group of musically literate producers, arrangers and orchestrators, yet the disco stars themselves, were not musically literate: Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer, The Village People. The Bee Gees, who are considered to be one of the most successful bands in history, were not musically literate, they had teams of people who transcribed their musical ideas. Blues legend, BB King, could not read sheet music and played by ear.

The Village People, Gloria Gaynor and Donn Summer were a creation of recording studio bosses.

In the Bronx in the 1970s at the birth of Hip-Hop, a genre that went on to dominate the music scene at the end of the 1990s, the people who innovated and created the genre were not musically literate. All they had was a beat, created orally (beat box) and a rhyme, that went over the beat. These guys had no formal music education, yet they were making music, that went on to dominate the world.

The popular music industry has always been inhabited by musically illiterate stars, who were sometimes supported by musically literate producers and bands who guided their musical careers and journeys. This did not prevent these musically illiterate stars from making music. This just strengthens my hypothesis that one does not need to be musically literate to be able to make music.

So if musicality is not that key to the success of the music industry what is? I guess the key is the ability to communicate a message effectively with one’s audience. If one is making music for oneself, not taking into consideration an audience, it cannot be expected that money will be made from the creative output. It’s called the music business after all, it’s not a charity.

Only one of these 4 artists studied music at after completing school: Luciano never learnt to read music, Andrea Bocelli studied law and Kenny G studied to be an accountant. Only Josh Groban studied music. Yet they all managed to cross the genre line, into the mainstream, at times when their genre of music was not “popular”.

This has been proven time and again. Music stars, regardless of genre, are able to cross over into the mainstream, if the message they are communicating, relates to the people with whom they are trying to communicate. Pavarotti was able to bring opera to a mass audience in the 1990s by collaborating strategically with various pop music stars, ensuring big audiences and massive income generation. Andrea Bocelli, through the careful selection of repertoire and musical producers, has been able to communicate with mass audiences. Kenny G, a Jazz musician, was able to sell millions of records in the 1990s, by making Jazz accessible to a mass audience. Andre Rieu has built a career of selling out different venues with a brand of joyful classical music, Waltz’s, that appeal to a mass audience. One can not operate in a vacuum and expect that people will just accept the final creative output. The latter artists are, however, considered sellouts in their relative genres. The question is: would one rather be a sellout, making money, or not sell out and die a pauper?! The answer to this question is subjective.

As I said at the beginning of this section, music tastes change over time and what was popular at one time, will not always be popular, and one is able to crossover and make money, if one is able to effectively communicate with a target audience, regardless of genre. If it’s good people will buy it.

Regarding The Music Industry

After two world wars, one major financial crisis and the advancement of technology, the music industry was ripe for a revolution, a revolution that materialized in the 1950s. This revolution was tantamount to the French Revolution of 1789, but for the music world. For the first time in history music was being made by the youth for the youth. No longer did one need to be highly musically literate to participate in the mainstream of the industry, any kid with a guitar, a story, a song, the right marketing and support, could become a star.

Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Haley and Little Richard ushered in a new type of music that revolutionized the way in which music business is conducted.

Rock ‘n Roll, which came to prominence in 1955, with the song “Rock Around The Clock” by Bill Hayley & The Comets, changed the pop music formula and how business is conducted to this day. No longer were big ensembles and elaborate setups required to put on a performance. Ensembles sometimes consisted of three members, songs were easy to perform, consisting of 2–4 chords, giving artists the time to work on their performances. It was therefore easy for an act to put on a performance in a school hall or any other space for that matter.

In the 1960s formula music, as in Motown and the Nashville sound came into existence. This further formalized and cemented the pop music formula. Music literacy was not a requirement for success, stars would be supported by producers, songwriters and musicians that could do the job.

Country pop musicians like Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Charlie Rich and Patsy Cline were not formally trained musicians.

The problem with this new music industry, was that power lay in the hands of the few, as in the times in which music and creative content was controlled by the nobility and clergy, this time around the patrons of music were record labels. They paid for everything and therefore owned everything. Musicians got paid amounts record companies felt were proportionate to their investment. The bigger the star and the more money they generated for the recording company, the greater the reward would be for the star and the more they would “take care” of the artist. Musicality, music literacy, formal music education were not requirements. The record companies were in the business of trading creative output for financial input.

There were previously many more major record labels, but since the Napster case of 2001 and the ensuing music revolution we only have three left: Song, Universal and Warner’s.

The status quo ensued into the 1990s, until the Napster incident of 1999, which turned the whole music industry on its head and opened up a Pandora’s Box, which the industry has not been able to close or reverse. Initially it may have seemed like a major problem, and many musicians lost a lot of money, but what it did was force the industry to move forward, innovate and gave music back to musicians. Never in history have musicians been as empowered to control their own futures, careers and creative output, as they are now. New streams of income have been created and musicians have found other ways in which to exploit their talent. I honestly believe there is more music being created, recorded and documented now, than there has ever been in history. I agree that a lot of it is sub-standard, but in order for the music industry to establish parameters and formulas, it is essential that it go through this phase. The music industry is stronger than it has ever been, with the doors to music creation, exploitation and performance more open than they have ever been. More people are now able to and are actively creating and recording music and it is not as limited an industry as it once was.

Motown Stars, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye weren’t formally trained by sold millions of records.

That being said, there will always be a need for formally trained music practitioners, to sustain certain components of the music industry. As I said earlier, they service a very specific market, that also requires content. Firstly there are many people who still love serious music and are willing to pay a premium to listen and watch it. Secondly the movie, advertising and gaming industries, which have become major income streams for professional musicians, rely on people with advanced knowledge of music, music theory, composition and arrangement to create appropriate score music or jingles for their productions. Finally recording artists require the assistance of formally trained musicians to tweak compositions, arrange, orchestrate and produce recordings.

Ed Sheeran, Leona Lewis, Jessie J, Adele, Dan Reynolds (of Imagine Dragons), Charlie Puth and Lady Gaga, some of this century’s biggest stars all received formal music training.

To those that say that musically illiterate people are presently dominating the music industry and that previously creative output was of a greater standard: well that’s because only the minority were being represented, the recording companies, clergy or nobility controlled creative output and the reality is that it is likely that the majority of people creating music have always been musically illiterate, after all music literacy is something that was established long after people initially started making music.

To those who say that music programmes are closing down all over the place, well…they are right, but then music educational structures need to do some introspection and determine what it is that they can do to be more representative, responsive and inclusive in order to ensure the economic sustainability of their structures, at the end of the day you can call it Education, but it is a business.

These pioneers of Hip-Hop were not formally musically trained but wanted to make music: Dr Dre; Run-DMC; LL Cool J; Grandmaster Flash

To those who are saying that the music industry is in trouble and are hailing its untimely demise, I say that it has never been as inclusive, representative and decolonized as it is now, and if we have to endure some bad compositions along the way, whilst structures are stabilized, then so be it. Also it’s what people want right now, live and let live, every generation thinks their music was better. The music buying market is predominantly musically illiterate, they just want sounds that will elicit an emotion, we can’t expect them to enjoy what we as musicians, critics, academics or educators want them to enjoy, because they are coming to music from a different vantage point and filter it differently. At the end of the way it is all a matter of taste and perspective, and what may sound amazing to the now generation, may not sound amazing to older generations, but the time is now…

Sheldon Rocha Leal, PhD

Written by

Music Academic, musician, songwriter and Director of Culture at a private school in South Africa.

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