The Oxford Brookes Popular Music Research Unit (PMRU) and OxPAN (the Oxford Pop Academics Network) present:

A Postgraduate Popular Music Study Day

Richard Hamilton Building, Oxford Brookes University

Thursday 25 May 2017, 9.30am – 4.30pm

Free to attend; all welcome

Oxford Brookes’ PMRU and OxPAN are holding a postgraduate study day at Oxford Brookes on Thursday 25th May 2017 particularly aimed at universities regional to the Oxford area but open to all. The day will feature paper sessions presented by local students, and a discussion panel.

The panel will bring together experts from academia and the music industry to discuss syncing – the process of connecting a musical composition with a moving picture. The topic continues the ‘Shifting Ground’ theme of Oxford Brookes’ PMRU group. Dr Dai Griffiths (Brookes) will introduce the Study Day and also present Shifting Ground’s current research in the area of music and copyright.

This Study Day is a fantastic opportunity for students from across the region to present their current research, meet and network with fellow students and academics, and watch academics and music industry professionals discuss issues current to popular music studies and the music industry.

All are welcome; if you would like to attend, please contact Kirsten Etheridge (16035461 (at) brookes.ac.uk) to book your place. Coffee and tea will be provided, and there are catering outlets on campus for lunch.

Programme

• 9:30: Registration, tea and coffee

• 10am: Welcome from Dr Dai Griffiths of the Popular Music Research Unit

• 10.15: Papers (Chair: Dr Dai Griffiths):

  • Jacob Bird (University of Oxford): Becoming (S)He: Drag Lip-Sync Performance

  • Joe Turner (Oxford Brookes University): One Man Metal: Authenticity and the Romantic Genius in Black Metal

• 11.15: Tea and coffee

• 11.30: Papers (Chair: Dr Jan Butler (Oxford Brookes)):

  • Karlyn King (University of Birmingham): Vinyl Records Vs Digital Ephemera: Does the Medium of Music Matter?

  • Olivia Gable (Open University): ‘Emerging’ Popular Musicians and the Value of Public Funding

• 12:30: Lunch (we will walk over to the main campus John Henry Brookes Building)

• 2pm: Panel:

  • Syncing: Why is it Such a Big Part of the Music Industry Now?

  • Angela Penhaligon (freelance music supervisor and producer)
    Dr Freya Jarman (University of Liverpool)
    Dr Catherine Haworth (University of Huddersfield)

• 3:30: Tea and coffee

• 3.45: Current work of the Popular Music Research Unit with Dr Dai Griffiths

• 4.30: Adjournment to the pub for informal discussion.

Abstracts

Becoming (S)He: Drag Lip­Sync Performance

Jacob Mallinson Bird (University of Oxford)

We all lip­sync, whether in the car on the way to work, or perhaps in the shower: but what is it about the synchronous movement of our lips with the voice of another that we find so enticing? Within this paper, I will explore these questions through the lip­syncer par excellence, the drag queen, who holds lip­sync at the very foundation of her craft. Through an analysis of drag lip­sync performance, I will show that lip­sync is far from an act of passive ventriloquism, but rather a process through which the drag queen finds a voice of her own. Drawing upon voice theory, I will explicate how the drag queen invites the voice of the Other into her very being through a process of Lacanian identification. I will corroborate my claims through an analysis of a particular drag routine.

One Man Metal: Authenticity and the Romantic Genius in Black Metal

Joe Turner (Oxford Brookes University)

The phenomenon of the single­member ‘band’ is common in black metal, far more so than in other genres of extreme metal. Some of the most influential and well­regarded names in black metal are the works of solo musicians performing all of the roles of a conventional rock band by themselves in the studio, and rarely performing to a live audience. This challenges the established concept of the rock band as a collaborative group, as well as having implications on the perception of authenticity by fans of a genre in which live performance is often the most effective way of establishing authenticity. 

Gracyk has identified a 19th century Romantic ideology of authenticity in rock music, and this paper proposes that the single­member black metal band is the most effective example of this ideology. I explore the Romantic archetype of the artist as creative genius whose art is a direct expression of their personality, and examine the ways in which some black metal artists embody this archetype. I also examine Auslander's suggestion that live performance is the primary way of authenticating rock music for fans, exploring the ways in which some black metal bands establish authenticity without performing live.

Vinyl Records Vs Digital Ephemera: Does the Medium of Music Matter?

Karlyn King (University of Birmingham)

In an era when music is considered a utility rather than a possession, this research considers the theory of technological advance shaping our musical consumption culture with a potential reversal at play, initially conceptualised by McLuhan in 1988. McLuhan theorised that when a technology, or medium, is overwhelmed due to its own nature, it can cause a reversal back to older mediums. 

In December 2016, vinyl album sales outsold digital downloads for the first time. This is also the year that vinyl sales made more money for British artists than streaming services. The goal of this research is to compare the artistic exchange between consumer and product, focusing on the current monopolised product format of iTunes and the resurgent vinyl record.

Actor network theory will be applied to the current status quo, alongside theories of nostalgia, fidelity of sound and an anti­digital backlash. In addition, my own primary pilot research will be explored, conducted via semi structured interviews and case studies, to investigate how ‘inscribing and incorporating practices’ are producing ‘heterogeneous spaces of postmodern technologies and cultures’ amongst those interacting with vinyl records. Such a study is useful for developing an understanding of the ideology of meaning associated with music consumption, to inform technological endeavours and music economics in relation to practices and formats. In addition, there is a lack of discourse contrasting perceptions of both formats amidst a plethora of literature on vinyl history.

Emerging’ Popular Musicians and the Value of Public Funding

Olivia Gable (Open University)

Right now, across England, there are popular musicians playing gigs, rehearsing, writing music and even working other jobs – all with the aim of building successful careers in music. While these musicians may have different ideas about what they want to achieve and what it means to be ‘successful’, some of them have sought public funding to help them accomplish their goals. Since 2013, over 180 artists have received publicly funded grants of £5­15k from the Momentum music fund, which helps them with recording, touring, marketing and other costs. The Momentum fund, set up by the Arts Council England and run by PRS for Music Foundation in partnership with Spotify, targets ‘emerging’ popular musicians in England and aims to help them move up to the next level. This paper draws from interviews with funded musicians to explore the different ways popular musicians value the funding they receive and how it does or does not help them move up. The transitional process where musicians ‘emerge’ from littleknown artists to become successful ones has not received much scholarly attention. This paper therefore seeks to develop a clearer understanding of this process by outlining what it means to be an ‘emerging’ popular musician and considering how differences in genre and the size of the act are reflected in the definitions.