This glass represents the career you are going for, and this paper represents the barrier to entry. For years, artists will build up their skills and experiences to break this barrier, but it is not as easy as it seems. For the longest time, specifically for classical musicians, major competitions were a way to break through. In the present day it can be having the right connections or if you are economically stable, giving out money can sometimes pull the right strings.
The truth is no matter how great you are, you are not guaranteed an audience, there may be some exceptions, especially if you are some sort of genius nevertheless not all geniuses are discovered, this is why becoming a great musician and building an attractive image to start a music career are two separated aspects.
This leads me to our very first question “Is image as important as the music?” and if it is “Has the importance of an artist’s image overtaken the quality of their music?”
Good morning, my name is Carla Rengifo and today’s topic is how the 80's changed forever the way we see, feel and hear music.
Did you know the best decade for music was the 80’s?
With the creation of MTV (Music Television), a channel dedicated to streaming music videos all day long, we went from vinyl records to CDs in the blink of an eye. Back in the 80’s the creative image of an artist was part of the “New wave”. A great example of this is the "King of Pop" Michael Jackson. His bold fashion made him an icon and his attitude became symbols of the decade years later. That is what we consider a part of the "New wave" this term originally referred to a genre that emerged from late in the 70's to early in the 80's characterized by a distinct sound and style.
Image can be great to really stimulate the beginning of a career, In modern day society, we assume an artist is good if they have great marketing, and it's incredible how with not much information we can already identify an artist, if I show you these three images, one of the first things that comes to your mind is Feid, famous singer known for basically owning biker glasses, caps and the color green, we get so hypnotized with a good image we forget about the importance of good music.
One of the ways the 80's changed the world was with the introduction of new music styles, it gave people an opportunity to explore themselves, and change point of views for the better.
"Music can change the world because it can change people" -Bono
Music in the 80’s was diverse, we could see how a lot of things changed after the past decades, there were more genres and styles that became musical quality. A good artist is not just known for its image yet for its music and that is what makes them immortal. The melody is so important that with just five seconds of a song, you can already identify what song it is and who is the one singing. As an example, I will play some seconds of a song, and you will have to guess what song it is. I can see by the look on your faces, you already identified what song it is, so the point I'm trying to make here is show you how easily get caught up by sound so quickly; on the other hand, let's just clear this up, what is more appealing? Image or sound?
First, let’s talk about balance, without it not everything works as expected. If you want something to be well done, you need to find the balance between things and make it work.
A great example of balance is Luis Miguel, better known as "El sol de México", he started his music career as a child and has had great success ever since, he counts with great marketing skills and even though he is not what he used to be, he still manages to have sold out concerts, so to answer the question…yes, he is one of the few artists that has mastered the balance between sound and image. After all this deliberation, I believe we can say, although the image is important, and it manages to make a society move in favor of the artist and their desires, sound is more important. A musician withstands for future generations based on how they sound, not on how they look.
Thank you for your time.
By Carla Rengifo, Step 9
