In response to Michael Solomon’s “Perspective” (“Pop stars sell image over musical ability to teeny-boppers” March 15), I’m not sure what kind of bubble he has been living in for most of his life. Perhaps if he were to widen his musical perspective to include more than the past several years, he would realize that pop music has always been about image and corporations have always played a major roll in its development.
The majority of my friends would contend that the Beatles were pop music geniuses (which I wholeheartedly agree with), but did “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” really push the envelope? I find it hard to believe that teenage girls in 1964 were discussing the merits of Paul McCartney’s songwriting skills and not his boyish good looks. True, the boy bands of today possess no talent whatsoever, but the fact remains that the Beatles, thanks in no small part to their image, made an unbelievable amount of money (at last count I believe McCartney was dubbed the richest musician in the world).
Take a look at Berry Gordy’s domineering Motown label in the 1960s. He had number one hits coming out left and right, with over a dozen major acts.
He had such a stranglehold on the soul music genre that many other talented performers not on his label or another major label like Stax or Atlantic remained in obscurity. Fortunately for us, Gordy had some gifted songwriters (Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, etc.), but nevertheless he was very much a corporate mogul bent on raking in the green.
To go back another generation in pop music history, Frank Sinatra is one more example of image and sex appeal helping to garner sales. It’s my opinion that he was a very talented singer, but had he looked like Jo-Jo the dog-faced boy, I’m sure he would not have become the superstar we remember him as today.
As for corporations having an overbearing effect on the pop music industry (or the entire industry, for that matter), it is perhaps what can be considered a necessary evil. As long as record labels spend thousands of dollars to produce a band’s album, they are going to want to make a reasonable profit. Sometimes creativity is sacrificed to make sales, and sometimes quality songwriting sells itself without the need of modification.
The real problem today is the trend of music being written with the sole purpose of making money. This phenomenon has of course occurred in past, but not to the extent that we see today. I put most of the blame on heartless, soulless songwriters such as Max Martin, who is responsible not only for Ace of Base, but the Backstreet Boys, *N Sync, Britney Spears and countless others. Sex appeal and pop music will forever walk hand-in-hand, and greedy record label executives will exist for years to come, but the songwriters don’t have to be as formulaic, bland and bloodless as they currently are.
I want to believe that the music we are assaulted by now is only a trend and nothing more. I have my fingers crossed.
Tyler Brezler
UNI ’02
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