“Where words fail, music speaks.” — Hans Christian Andersen
I briefly mentioned before that music is an alternative to convey thoughts and ideas. To add on, it is a kind of magic that unites mankind, elevates moods and helps put things into perspectives effectively.
Music has always been a part of me — be it in my name, career and leisure time. I am no accompanist, though there were feeble attempts to play the drum other than the 8-hole plastic clarinet during school days. Yours truly used to think that a song was simply random words paired up with rhythm or beat. Older and wiser, I definitely appreciate the time and effort to build this piece of collective art at present.
Spreading goodwill and promoting peace, the World Music Day is observed on 21 June annually to honor the amateur and professional talents in over 120 countries. Music in short is made up of vocals and / or instruments, an universal language that goes beyond age, gender, borders, religions and cultures. No doubt the soloist plays a part to deliver the soul. Many would be familiar and / or able to readily identify pop, hip hop / rap, acoustic, jazz etc as genres. However little is known that these names actually derived from the maestros themselves. In case you are interested,
Fun Fact #1: “Heavy metal” was first used to describe ugly guitars…(?!)
Fun Fact #2: “Heavy metal” and classical melophines tend to be dramatic and theatrical, so says a Professor Adrian North.
Why is music so emotionally powerful? Whilst science could explain many other reasons, life experiences should not be overlooked. Most of us have an anthem to speak of to celebrate milestones and commemorate important events. Personally I cannot imagine days without it, especially during workouts or to improve concentration at work. Interestingly the opposite sex would perceive you to be “mate material” if you managed to play an instrument well.
People usually consume music either by chance or on purpose. From toddlers spontaneously singing at beaches to paying hundreds of dollars to catch celebrities perform upclose, like it or not we are pretty much surrounded by melodies. For some, you might witness audiovisual transformations through the years and indulge in a few of them. Yes, I am talking about vinyl records, cassette tapes, compact / laser / mini / digital versatile discs, mpeg audio layer-3s and streaming providers. One of the veterans is even making a humble comeback, in view of rising production costs and “Instagram-able” factors.
Because of social media and technology, our interactions with music (and the faces behind) became more direct and immediate. Enthusiasts can contribute anything from $1 to $100 whenever an artist releases a music video or exclusive content. A winning strategy, it offers an extra revenue stream for the musicians and keeps their supporters engaged. No longer do we take minutes to “forward” the in-betweens to get to the tunes we want, hours to identify the name of a track or months to hear back from the vocalists on the fan mails. Who would have thought millions of people around the world could now connect and witness a live concert at the same time?
Besides being known to heal and story tell, music is infused into a brand’s marketing DNA. If sampling is the key objective, the food & beverage ones would usually make their presence felt “creatively” at music festivals. Under subtle influence, members of the public become more receptive and are likely to purchase the product or simply post and share their thoughts online. The role of music in marathons, conferences, charity and politics is significant too. K-pop advocates raised over $1 million in just over a day to #BlackLivesMatter causes, and shamed President Trump at his Tulsa rally with bogus registrations.
I have had the good fortune of working (and survived!) with love on album production, licensing, artiste liaison, advertising and promotion etc. The music business, though glamorous, has never been an easy feat. With rampant stream-ripping piracy is still on the rise, no thanks to the “well-educated and well-off”. Whether you are a music user, creator or listener, in my opinion these stakeholders are essential and deserve credit for making Mother Earth a better place to live in.
