Media Theorists

All the Theorists we're using for the Music Industry (Component 2)

Blumler & Katz (L)

The Uses and gratification theory is applied to the Media Industry as active audiences seek out artists/music, not only for information or entertainment, but also to use it for personal identity and to seek out others for social interaction.

Curran & Seaton (L)

The Big 3 conglomerates seek to expand their reach to ultimately restrict what can be consumed. Through vertical and horizontal integration conglomerates build up their profit and power at the cost of restricting what media is available. They invest solely in things that they know will work meaning there’s no room for innovation or creativity.

Hesmondhalgh (L)

Record Labels use their back catalogue to fund and produce new talent who in turn add to their back catalogue.

Shirky (L)

Audiences have shifted from passive consumption to active participatory interaction - the end of audience. The audience now has a lot of power and influence in the media industry. Gives rise to amateurisation as audiences can join the industry as DIY artists.

Gauntlett (L)

The boundaries between producer and audience have eroded as everyone becomes prosumers. The music industry offers many different models of behaviour and interaction.

Jenkins (L)

Technology has enabled audiences and fandoms to have a deeper connection with media and the use of democratised media can affect/change the industry.

Dyer (L)

Selling music and the artists. ‘Star images’ as products and commodities, both ordinary and extraordinary (Paradox of the Star). Artists can adopt narratives to better appeal to their target audiences.

Blumler & Katz (S)

P.I.E.S.

Curran & Seaton (S)

Conglomerates expand to restrict media

Hesmondhalgh (S)

Use established artists to prop up new talent

Shirky (S)

End of audience

Gauntlett (S)

Prosumer

Jenkins (S)

Deep connections through digitisation and fandoms

Dyer (S)

Star Image

Barthes (S)

Coding (Action, Symbolic, Semic, Cultural, and Enigma)

Levi Strauss (S)

Binary Opposition

Hall (S)

Encode and Decode

Hall (L)

Producers encode details like mise-en-scene (clamps) into media for the audience to then decode, hopefully achieving preferred reading.

De Saussure (S)

Signify