The McMusic Industry

Group assignments
Ground rules

Readings:

• Wikipedia pages (just to give you a sense of the industry--spend 5 minutes or so looking over the information on each: the music industry and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
• Amina Khan. 2012. The science behind what makes a hit single. Feb 3, Los Angeles Times.
• Andrew Romano. 2009. The end of selling out. September, Newsweek online.
• Sal Cinquemani. 2005. Vanessa Carlton. June 15, Slant Magazine.
• Sharon Edelson. 2009. Miley Cyrus, Max Azria sign deals with WalMart. June 3, WWD.
• Wikipedia list of music genres

Videos:

• Immortal Technique. 2008. The message and the money (Youtube)
• Rob Paravonian. 2006. The Pachelbel Rant. (Youtube)
• Sut Jally. 2007. Dreamworlds3 (excerpt). Media Education Foundation.
• Merchants of Cool (sections 2 and 5)

Assignment: 150 to 200 - word abstract.

Lots to think about here. Remember, we're covering McDonaldization and rationalization in class, so that's probably the prism through which to think about these materials as you read/view them.

1. At the top, put the citations for the articles you read.
2. Briefly summarize the articles (1-2 sentences for each).
3. Relate the articles to the class (why do you think we're reading them?)
4. Basically, I want you to show me that: 1) you read the articles, and; 2) you got something out of them.

In Zabel 256: Why we Fight