What are the uses and implications of genre for producers and audiences?

Producers-

In regards to producers, genre gives them a marketing angle, for example, if someone ordinarily listens to pop music, they’re most likely looking for music in keeping in that genre as they know that they will like it. In addition, another use is that it provides the producers with a set of codes and conventions, guidelines in which they should keep to achieve success. A quote by Nicolas Abercrombie supports this; “Television producers set out to exploit genre conventions.” This implies there is a specific formula that producers follow to guarantee a successful profit. However, an implication of this is that due to having theses codes and conventions, creativity is stifled creating less innovative ideas as it would mean breaking out of their genre, possibly into a hybrid genre.

Audiences-

A main use of genre for an audience is the fact that it gives them something to identify themselves with, allowing them to feel integrated in the community of the genre in a tribal sense. This allows them to fit in and follow current music trends. Furthermore, it enables them to navigate similar content through the use of genre. It also aids the predictability of products due to the stifled creativity which is a downside to genre conventions. Denis McQuail says that genre is “a practical device for helping any mass medium to produce consistently and efficiently and to relate its production to the expectations of its customers”. This suggests that artists create generic, mass produced music that lacks originality yet aids predictability.

As well as this, genre is also shifting and permeable. This occurs through innovation and experimentation, artists want originality to provide them with a unique selling point setting them aside from other music making less competition. This is also supported by Nicolas Abercrombie; “the boundaries between genres are shifting and becoming more permeable”. This happening widens audiences due to this new hybrid genre they create. Finally, it allows more variety of products in the music industry.