Research - Genre

Genres

There are many types of genres and and sub genres in the music industry today. This i due to the different artist/bands in the industry being  so distinctive and have different interests than others. Artist/bands tend to mix their interest and express more than one type of genre into a song making this a sub genre. The fans/audience of these artists also have different interest. This is why genres are categorised, to help make it easier to identify and know the genres.

Genres are may be referred to as the name of origin of the music; e.g. afro beat is classed in the 'African' genre, asian, brazilian etc.

Genres of music:

Hip Hop

Key conventions - youth, black/male dominated, upbeat, ghetto or glamourised setting, male squad, promiscuously dressed females, male gaze

Target audience: youth based, ages from 16 - 30, both male & female.

R&B

Key conventions - black dominated, both male and females, dancing beat, relationship concept, glamourised setting with background dancers

Target audience: all ages of both genders, favoured more by the black ethnicity.

Pop

Key conventions - dancing, usually includes green screen, bright, colourful, fantasised imagery.

Target audience: all ages of both genders.

Jazz

Key conventions - instruments, staged, live performance based, classic, male band, classic suits, black origin therefore black dominated

Target audience: more of the male gender of ages from 30+

Rock

Key conventions  - Band, instruments, dark & aggressive, up beat, leather, long hair, reckless, concerts, loud, mainly white people

Target audience: mainly males 16+

Dance

Key conventions - up beat, club based, colourful, dancing, partying, youth

Target audience: All ages but mainly the younger generation.

Country

Key conventions - Western setting/atmosphere, cowboys/girl, acoustic/guitar , instruments, calm/happy atmosphere

Target audience: favoured more by the southern/country side of America e.g. Texas, Wisconsin

  

Mainstream and Niche genres

Mainstream - The mainstream genres are usually the genres in which the music is being played repeatedly for weeks or months all over the radio and hyped about on social media. These genres are usually made of the mixes of R&B, Pop, Hip Hop, Dance.

Niche - Niche genres tend to have a smaller fan base than mainstream audiences as the music is more distinctive and therefore enjoyed by those with different interest than mainstream audiences. These genres are usually sub genres such as country, jazz, electronic or cultural based music such as afro beats, asian pop etc.  

Table of conventions:

Importance of genres for audiences:

Identifying a genre can sometimes be difficult for audiences because their may be similar elements the genres tend to have. This is why genres are categorised in to smaller categories such as African - afro beats to be more specific, which helps the audience identify the genre of music much clearer. This will also allow fans stay loyal to their favoured artist/bands as it can help them tell the difference between genres. Categorising of genres can also set a platform for audiences being able to identify different music.

In conclusion, i believe that genres and sub genres are important for the audiences to identify music genres that are categorised. This is because they are able to stay loyal to their favoured artist/band which also allows them be more up to date and have a gain of knowledge about music in the industry.