Women, Music, Culture Chapter 9 © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

Chapter Focus  Music marketers intentionally fuse female body images and song, a longstanding ideal that has existed since at least the Renaissance  If marketing is successful, both men and women will respond to the imagery  It is a goal to get women consumers to imagine themselves on stage  Non-musical products can be sold along with recordings © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

Voice and Sexuality  The voice is tied to notions of age, sexuality, and emotion  The voice is also strongly tied to the body from which it comes © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

The Gaze  The male gaze has been longstanding in the world of music in connection with female singers  Visual attractiveness sometimes surpasses musical talent. The question is, “will the product sell?”  In the electronic age, images can be changed and disseminated quickly  Performers who fail to meet industry standards are quickly replaced © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

“Despite the pioneering work of Ruth Brown, Big Mama Thornton, and other rhythm and blues artists who paved the way for rock and roll, 1950s rock appeared to be a man’s world. There was a strong perceived connection between technology, electricity, and the male sphere, and most rock performers who were visible to the public were men who manipulated electronic instruments and equipment. Behind the scenes was a © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

male-dominated industry of producers, songwriters, publishers, and recording engineers hungry to make money. Rock took the country by storm, and the smooth jazz-based popular music of the late 1940s (such as that of Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra) died quickly among the teenage population. Rock was more than music; it was a form of rebellion that spoke of sexuality from a male perspective. © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

Teenagers purchased millions of records by performers such as Bill Hailey and the Comets, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, and Richie Valens. Like all popular music, however, the stylistic pendulum was due to shift, and the rock and roll of the early 1950s reached old age within a decade.” © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

Manufactured: Girl Groups  Girl Group: a small ensemble of female vocalists who sing popular music  Girl groups were popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s  The target market: young girls  Fashion, make-up, and hairstyles were promoted © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

The Plus Side:  Girl groups represent the first entry of women into rock  The lyrics often addressed topics of importance to young women  Many women composed songs for girl groups, and some women were involved in production © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

The Negative Side:  Many girl group song lyrics were presented in passive voice:  “Won’t you say you love me?”  “My world is empty without you”  “Maybe if I pray every night you’ll come back…” © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

 Group members had almost no artistic input  Young women were sometimes financially exploited  They were quickly replaced to suit the needs of producers  The look-alike visual imagery created a system of “interchangeable parts” © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

Motown  Record company based in Detroit  Named for city’s nickname – “motor city”  Motown’s “stable” of performers  Berry Gordy - entrepreneur © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

Brill Building  Brill Building: center of Girl Group production in New York; office building was on Broadway  Team of composers  Arrangers  Studio musicians  Contact specialists  Entrepreneurs (e.g., Phil Spector) © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

Song Writers and Producers  Carole King with then husband Gerry Goffin  Carole wrote music; Gerry wrote lyrics  “One Fine Day” and “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”  Ellie Greenwich with Jeff Barry  “Be My Baby” and “Do Wah Diddy Diddy”  Cynthia Weil (lyricist) with Barry Mann  “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling” and “On Broadway” © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

 One of the reasons that there are no photos in this slideshow is that permissions are owned by recording companies, not artists © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

Television and MTV: Images on the Screen  Women continued to be musically marketed in 1970s television  The advent of the music video in the early 1980s marked a period of significant marketing change  Videos were a form of advertising  Sexual imagery helped to sell the musical product  Women were marketed very differently than men © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

Misogynist Images  The music video industry was overwhelmingly male-dominated at the outset  Many images of women displayed violence and hatred toward women  Some of this imagery was transferred into the video game industry © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

Women Behind the Lens  Images produced by women often differed, and placed women in positions of power  Nonetheless, many feminists continue to blame the phenomenon for widespread negative representations of women © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

In Summary: The Pressure on Performers and Consumers  Some talented women are unable to access the system because they lack a marketable look  Young stars often change their imagery to remain in the business. A provocative, sexualized presence is often required to maintain sales  Women fear “aging” in the industry  Women consumers who repeatedly observe these images sometimes suffer from low self- esteem © 2011 Taylor & Francis.