The developments of various genres of music greatly influence on the manner by which they are judged and the relative contribution to the music industry at large. The best way to investigate a particular music genre precisely is through definite exploration of it roots especially its aesthetic form. Rock music has always been of great interest to me and arguably it has made considerable contribution to the music industry over the years. Essentially, it has a remarkable history whose audit expresses how it has impacted both cultural and social change (Wenner, 1986).
Rock is such an exceptional genre of music that does not directly influence other genres of music, but goes beyond the indefinite musical boundaries and somehow take over these genres. In fact, the establishment of definite objective structure of the rock genre is a failed attempt as it has been an autonomous form of music. Thus, throughout history rock music has reflected the society from a musical point of view. In quintessence, the 1950s marked the advent of labor division in the music-making process. Nonetheless, such technical changes were dependent on technological advances (Tom, 2004). For instance, the rise of Elvis Presley to stardom in the music was an explicit illustration of the distinctive separation of roles that each stakeholder has his own unique piece of work. This was divided as follows, the performer, the session musician, the writer, the sound engineer as well as the record producer. Thus, music production assumed a new modern system. In fact, distinction was evident from both ends as performers got on with writing music, arranging musical elements and creating their own materials whereas engineers assisted greatly by carrying out the work of sound engineering (Piero, 2005).
This novel trend was adopted in other genres of music and was synthesized to a great extent that they incorporated a vast variety of musical instruments. The use of technological gadgets such as amplifiers, synthesizers, multitrack recording tapes and digital equipment, no doubt, had a substantial impact on definition of musical instruments and the distinction between the production and reproduction of music. This altered the perception of music the difference of noise and music was redefined from the listener’s standpoint (Dunbar, 1994). Subsequently, music became quite ubiquitous in almost all social amenities and featured in most activities. Thus, it was used in public places and houses as well, hence music was no longer perceived a special element for certain occasions, but a sound driven moment. Rock music became a cultural practice and a form of human interaction. Thus, broadcasting agents such as radio and television stations through their professionals mediate music to people (Simon, “rock”). Rock music has steadily endured the ever evolving centralization in music production and costs associated with it. In fact, rock music has been a democratic form of music and a mass media channel that voices perspectives from the margins of the society and attained great attention (Harris, 1993).
Nonetheless, the 21st century came with a lot of hard to crack challenges that rock music as well as the entire music industry had to face. In essence, development of digital technology brought about the storage of music simple digital files and transferred them via the internet to personal computers. In addition, the advent of file sharing service raised the alarm on the commercial platform since music could be downloaded with payment to the music producer or the artist. Although this was an opportunity for music producers it threatened the copyright protection hence such parties had to sue violators through the courts to prevent illegal distribution of music (Michael & James, 2008).
The steady fight against illegal distribution of music through the internet has led to the development of commercial music distribution applications such as iTunes. In spite of its success, iTunes contribution to this fight amongst other commercial music applications has been dwindled by the rampant file sharing sites, which allow free downloading music from the internet (Dirk, “Evolution of Rock and Roll”).
Fans of rock music have embraced social sites such as Napster, YouTube and MySpace which were drawn from the DIY rock ideology. Thus, as the fight against illegal distribution of music progresses, rock music will remain central. Rock music is definitely a reflection of social and cultural change in the music industry (Pielke, 1998).
