Mixtapes vs. Podcast
In 1979 popular music culture was dominated by disco music, rock n roll, R& B, and funk bands that were entering the 80s with a gumbo mixture later known as hip hop. The culture of hip hop began as a subculture for young people who were not old enough to get into the late night disco clubs and could not afford the many instruments of a rock band. Instead they developed a form of art that intertwined music, fashion, art, and dance that grew from Jamaica sound systems to American Latino and black communities in the inner city.
Hip hop as a culture in the beginning was underground and often criticized by the older generation as a fad that would not last longer than a few years. This avoidance became a growing epidemic that eventually stretched to the west coast, suburbs and all across the world as a dominant youth expression. Building from the rebellious music of Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Funkadelic, The Rolling Stones and Led Zepplin hip hop began to express the anger of American ghettos in a form of poetry that required blunt verbal sentencing. Mixing this lyrical format with modern technology instruments like the turntable, keyboards, and drum machines the rhythm reflected a new sound that allowed boys and girls to dance in style called B-boying or B-girling. The usage of new technology became crucial in hip hop’s early stages as more producers and writers were able to make an album without the large budget spending of a six piece band.
Record companies saw this evolution as a great opportunity to make profits without big investments. The only problem was to convince the radio stations and TV networks to allow hip hop to perform in the mix of their traditional playlist. There was no “hip hop” hour for DJs to play unlike a blues show, rock show, or R & B show in regular broadcasting radio stations. Once the underground demands for this new form of music out grew the resistance, hip hop finally entered mainstream media. Commercialization became part of the marketing of the record companies and profit was the only concern which in return choked artist from expressing themselves honestly. The mainstream music became a negative reflection of the communities that vibrantly birthed hip hop providing radio programs the power to choose what people should hear.
Why Should Businesses Podcast?
As more applications are developing each year changing the way we communicate with each other one of the most relevant forms is podcasting. Since the rise of itunes grew rapidly other directories compete with the giant Apple in both audio and video formats. With podcasting the dialog is changing from media companies and corporations telling us what they “want” us to hear to the consumer “creating” their own demands. According to a UK survey over 80% of listeners will seek the products and services they hear about in a podcast.
In the beginning, podcasting was not fully understood from a business perspective instead it was very selective. Only technology influencers followed this new form of audio communication until the ipod was saturating the globe and itunes directory dominated the downloading of paid music. This new medium created a platform for podcasters to begin a new revolution while reaching larger audiences. Without the constraints of major radio broadcasting, listeners can enjoy personalized talk or news programs unlike other traditional media outlets.
