Is Rock Music Increasingly Being Marketed to White Men?

[ScarletMacaw]

This is a rant.

I receive promotional emails from Earache Records, Rival Sons' label, which started out as a metal label but now includes rock. Recently they were promoting some band that plays "spit on the floor" rock music. I don't know what that is, but it sounds like their press person thinks the consumer is a high school dropout white male.

I'm going to the Rival Sons show this Friday in New York, and looked up one of their opening acts. There's a quote on their website (Big Jon and the Wreck or something like that) from some media outlet:

“Live, their set is derived in a way that makes you want to jump up & down, grow a beard, and close-knuckle-punch a bear in the jaw.”

I don't want to grow a beard; I get facial hair removed by South Asian women who rip it off my face with sewing thread. Nor do I want to "knuckle-punch a bear in the jaw" as I am not a mentally retarded person with anger issues.

It kind of makes me feel alienated that these bands, their labels and their publicity people don't seem to acknowledge fans might be 1. college educated, 2. female, 3. not complete f*%#ing idiots with warrants out for their arrest.

Isn't it kind of stupid to market yourself to a shrinking demographic?

[Strider]

And the sun rises in the east and if you put your hand in the fire you'll burn yourself.

In other words, none of this is surprising news.

[IpMan]

This is a rant.

I receive promotional emails from Earache Records, Rival Sons' label, which started out as a metal label but now includes rock. Recently they were promoting some band that plays "spit on the floor" rock music. I don't know what that is, but it sounds like their press person thinks the consumer is a high school dropout white male.

I'm going to the Rival Sons show this Friday in New York, and looked up one of their opening acts. There's a quote on their website (Big Jon and the Wreck or something like that) from some media outlet:

“Live, their set is derived in a way that makes you want to jump up & down, grow a beard, and close-knuckle-punch a bear in the jaw.”

I don't want to grow a beard; I get facial hair removed by South Asian women who rip it off my face with sewing thread. Nor do I want to "knuckle-punch a bear in the jaw" as I am not a mentally retarded person with anger issues.

It kind of makes me feel alienated that these bands, their labels and their publicity people don't seem to acknowledge fans might be 1. college educated, 2. female, 3. not complete f*%#ing idiots with warrants out for their arrest.

Isn't it kind of stupid to market yourself to a shrinking demographic?

Well, maybe not surprising as Strider said but funny as hell. What asshole comes up with this stuff, "knuckle-punch a bear in the jaw." That would have to be one of the stupidest things a person could do unless it was a pigmy bear, or a dead bear, or a wombat in a bear suit. Maybe this is a government conspiracy to weed out the chaff in society. Something like, "...hey Roger, I have an idea for locating the demographic for the depopulation program the chief was talking about..." Anyone who shows up they bust a tranquilizer dart in them, sterilize them while out, then release in the wild to find a bear to punch. If they don't find a bear and live their bloodline dies out, if they find a bear, well, problem solved.

[Ross62]

I receive promotional emails from Earache Records, Rival Sons' label, which started out as a metal label but now includes rock.

I'm going to the Rival Sons show this Friday in New York, and looked up one of their opening acts. There's a quote on their website (Big Jon and the Wreck or something like that) from some media outlet:

“Live, their set is derived in a way that makes you want to jump up & down, grow a beard, and close-knuckle-punch a bear in the jaw.”

I don't want to grow a beard; I get facial hair removed by South Asian women who rip it off my face with sewing thread. Nor do I want to "knuckle-punch a bear in the jaw" as I am not a mentally retarded person with anger issues.

It kind of makes me feel alienated that these bands, their labels and their publicity people don't seem to acknowledge fans might be 1. college educated, 2. female, 3. not complete f*%#ing idiots with warrants out for their arrest.

Isn't it kind of stupid to market yourself to a shrinking demographic?

Well yeah,I hadn't given this much thought before but judging on the email that you received it does seem stupid.

This is a rant.

Recently they were promoting some band that plays "spit on the floor" rock music. I don't know what that is, but it sounds like their press person thinks the consumer is a high school dropout white male.

The consumer could also be a high school dropout - insert any race here - female who happens to spit on the floor at rowdy rock concerts,considering she has the appropriate footwear ie:gumboots and I hope for her sake she doesn't slip and fall!

Seriously though,more likely to be a male.

No punching!

[zooma]

It's kind of silly to be influenced at all from marketing once you recognize it as such. If you enjoy the music then listen, if not turn it off.

[geekfreak]

Well yeah,I hadn't given this much thought before but judging on the email that you received it does seem stupid.

The consumer could also be a high school dropout - insert any race here - female who happens to spit on the floor at rowdy rock concerts,considering she has the appropriate footwear ie:gumboots and I hope for her sake she doesn't slip and fall!

Seriously though,more likely to be a male.

No punching! CE76yEiWMAIhhdn.jpg

its not news sadly...

[Charles J. White]

That's just a bunch of idiots who think their marketing idea is cool. I have never listened to a song and ever wanted to punch someone. That just seems stupid me.

[TypeO]

I am reminded of the saying, when you're a hammer, EVERYTHING looks like a nail. And yes, I'm pointing out your demonstrated tendency towards radical liberal views.

There are also those in this world who don't take everything so fucking literally.

My guess is you've never read anything by The Oatmeal, who specializes in hilariously exaggerated rhetoric to make his point.

I don't know what spit on the floor rock is, but that descriptive label gives me a fairly decent clue of what it is, much like the term shoegazer rock.

And "Live, their set is derived in a way that makes you want to jump up & down, grow a beard, and close-knuckle-punch a bear in the jaw" is a mildly humorous description that further allows me to deduce the type of music this band plays.

Also, while perhaps technically accurate, I'm not sure SHRINKING is a great description of the white male demographic, particularly in the context of the lifespan of the average upstart rock band.

If long-term demographic trends were what dictated musical tastes, there would be very little of the sub sub-genre heirarchy that defines music today.

EDITED to correct spelling / ease OCD tendencies, LOL.

[ksgemini]

It also just further worsens the anti-bear sentiments that seem so prevalent these days. paddington..pooh...what did they ever do to anyone but yeah let's use violence against their species Makes one sick...

[Strider]

I am reminded of the saying, when you're a hammer, EVERYTHING looks like a nail. And yes, I'm pointing out your demonstrated tendency towards radical liberal views.

There are also those in this world who don't take everything so fucking literally.

My guess is you've never read anything by The Oatmeal, who specializes in hilariously exaggerated rhetoric to make his point.

I don't know what spit on the floor rock is, but that descriptive label gives me a fairly decent clue of what it is, much like the term shoegazer rock.

And "Live, their set is derived in a way that makes you want to jump up & down, grow a beard, and close-knuckle-punch a bear in the jaw" is a mildly humorous description that further allows me to deduce the type of music this band plays.

Also, while perhaps technically accurate, I'm not sure SHRINKING is a great description of the white male demographic, particularly in the context of the lifespan of the average upstart rock band.

If long-term demographic trends were what dictated musical tastes, there would be very little of the sub sub-genre heirarchy that defines music today.

EDITED to correct spelling / ease OCD tendencies, LOL.

If you've read much of the OP's posts, you'll discover that, like Ted Wells, "sense of humour" is not a strong suit.

[ScarletMacaw]

I am 99.99 percent sure the publicity people were not being ironic. Publicity people get paid to sell stuff, not to make fun of it. Maybe if they wanted to get fired...

That baby bear is pretty cute I have to admit.

[Strider]

I am 99.99 percent sure the publicity people were not being ironic. Publicity people get paid to sell stuff, not to make fun of it. Maybe if they wanted to get fired...

That baby bear is pretty cute I have to admit.

Do you live in a bubble? Most rock and roll publicity in the post-grunge era has been based on hipster gibberish and totally ironic...like reading The Onion or Vice magazine.

Not to be taken seriously.

[ScarletMacaw]

Do you live in a bubble? Most rock and roll publicity in the post-grunge era has been based on hipster gibberish and totally ironic...like reading The Onion or Vice magazine.

Not to be taken seriously.

I don't know what your problem is. The point of my post was to poke fun at this idiocy. You are the one who mysteriously is taking it seriously. You obviously don't understand my sense of humor and are unable to grasp that we just have different senses of humor. You seem to have a gigantic chip on your shoulder.

[Electrophile]

Well, to be fair, you phrased the title of the thread "Is Rock Music Increasingly Being Marketed Toward White Men," which is a valid question and could probably be an interesting thread of conversation, then opened it up with a rant about why you didn't agree with how this particular band's music was being sold to you, considering you're not the probable demographic for it. None of it read, to me anyway, like you were just being funny and cracking a joke.

[Strider]

I don't know what your problem is. The point of my post was to poke fun at this idiocy. You are the one who mysteriously is taking it seriously. You obviously don't understand my sense of humor and are unable to grasp that we just have different senses of humor. You seem to have a gigantic chip on your shoulder.

Great. Another one who either doesn't read or understand their own posts. Your own words make it clear to most everyone else except yourself, I guess.

No matter...I'm done with this topic. TypeO said it better anyway. Have at it freely.

[TypeO]

Well, to be fair, you phrased the title of the thread "Is Rock Music Increasingly Being Marketed Toward White Men," which is a valid question and could probably be an interesting thread of conversation, then opened it up with a rant about why you didn't agree with how this particular band's music was being sold to you, considering you're not the probable demographic for it. None of it read, to me anyway, like you were just being funny and cracking a joke.

Been meaning to address you since I've seen your new posts the last few days - Welcome back!

Great to see you back, it's been a while.

I always enjoy seeing your Dave Mason signature line - one of my favorite songs.

[Electrophile]

Thanks. It's one of my favorite songs as well, which is why I put that lyric in my signature. The first time I ever heard that song on the radio, it made me sit up and take notice; I liked the message that was being said with it, the story that was being told. Probably because we've all been there ourselves at least once, I think, if not with a lover than with a friend or a family member.

[Marmalade_Skies]

Rock has definitely become an old/white/suburban thing.  When rock came out, it was subversive.  Rock just isn't subversive anymore.  It's become formula.  I think acts like Slipknot and Marilyn Mansion pushed the limits, and it was just impossible to get filthier and nastier than they were.

It may come back, but right now, the genre has shown little evolution in the past 10 years.

[Strider]

21 hours ago, Marmalade_Skies said:

Rock has definitely become an old/white/suburban thing.  When rock came out, it was subversive.  Rock just isn't subversive anymore.  It's become formula.  I think acts like Slipknot and Marilyn Mansion pushed the limits, and it was just impossible to get filthier and nastier than they were.

It may come back, but right now, the genre has shown little evolution in the past 10 years.

Pushing the limits doesn't necessarily have to mean getting "filthier and nastier". That's an out-moded concept. David Bowie pushed the limits and broke barriers without the cheap vulgarity and idiocy of the likes of MM and ICP and Slipknot.

In addition, there have been plenty rock concerts I have been to recently that weren't populated by old, white, suburban dudes. 

[Marmalade_Skies]

Bowie, as I've noted in his respective thread, is a rare exception of a classic rockstar who pushed new boundaries in 2015 rather than merely performing live hits from the 70's.

[Disco Duck]

On 3/30/2016 at 6:14 PM, Marmalade_Skies said:

Rock has definitely become an old/white/suburban thing.  When rock came out, it was subversive.  Rock just isn't subversive anymore.  It's become formula.  I think acts like Slipknot and Marilyn Mansion pushed the limits, and it was just impossible to get filthier and nastier than they were.

It may come back, but right now, the genre has shown little evolution in the past 10 years.

IMO, the suits who run rock music began marketing it exclusively to young white Americans during the mid-1960's.    Never mind that  many of the genre's pioneers were African-Americans like Chuck Berry and Little Richard.   Once the British Invasion bands began performing in the U.S., African-Americans were gradually pushed to the sidelines both as performers and fans.  I  liked many of the British Invasion bands (The Beatles, The Animals, etc.) but their popularity in the U.S. during this era helped split American popular music along racial lines.  Up until the British Invasion, rock-and-roll, was multiracial.  From the mid-Sixties on, it became overwhelmingly white.

I can hear some posters thinking: "There she goes again, making everything about race."  These posters should ponder the following question:  Of all the American rock bands that produced at least one hit song during the classic rock era (1964-1979) how many had at least one black musician?  When I write musician I don't mean a sideman who occasionally works with the band, I mean a actual band member.   I can only think of two: The Jimi Hendrix Experience and The Doobie Brothers.   This didn't just "happen".  It was the result of decisions record industry executives made during the Sixties and Seventies.  There is an excellent book, Pop Standards: Music and Commerce In The Age of Rock, that explores how popular music was marketed during the classic rock era.   

So to answer the original poster; you probably aren't imaging things.  The band's management has probably decided that boorish teenage boys and young men are its core fan base.  Of course, they'll happily sell music and concert tickets to people outside their core demographic.  I guess it all comes down to whether your enjoyment of their live performances outweighs any discomfort you feel while attending them.  

[reswati]

 

Just in case white metal gets overrated, these is always black metal from Botswana..............

[Strider]

3 hours ago, Disco Duck said:

These posters should ponder the following question:  Of all the American rock bands that produced at least one hit song during the classic rock era (1964-1979) how many had at least one black musician?  When I write musician I don't mean a sideman who occasionally works with the band, I mean a actual band member.   I can only think of two: The Jimi Hendrix Experience and The Doobie Brothers.

Love. Sly & the Family Stone (multi-racial and multi-gender!). Allman Brothers Band. Santana. Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention. Stevie Wonder. Curtis Mayfield. James Brown. Mother's Finest. Ohio Players. Earth, Wind & Fire. David Bowie post-1973.

[JTM]

6 hours ago, Disco Duck said:

 Of all the American rock bands that produced at least one hit song during the classic rock era (1964-1979) how many had at least one black musician? 

I wouldn't call the Hendrix Experience an American band seeing as they were put together in London England. Even when Noel Redding left and it was Hendrix, Mitchell and Cox, that still makes them one third British.

[Badgeholder Still]

19 hours ago, Disco Duck said:

IMO, the suits who run rock music began marketing it exclusively to young white Americans during the mid-1960's.    Never mind that  many of the genre's pioneers were African-Americans like Chuck Berry and Little Richard.   Once the British Invasion bands began performing in the U.S., African-Americans were gradually pushed to the sidelines both as performers and fans.  I  liked many of the British Invasion bands (The Beatles, The Animals, etc.) but their popularity in the U.S. during this era helped split American popular music along racial lines.  Up until the British Invasion, rock-and-roll, was multiracial.  From the mid-Sixties on, it became overwhelmingly white.

I can hear some posters thinking: "There she goes again, making everything about race."  These posters should ponder the following question:  Of all the American rock bands that produced at least one hit song during the classic rock era (1964-1979) how many had at least one black musician?  When I write musician I don't mean a sideman who occasionally works with the band, I mean a actual band member.   I can only think of two: The Jimi Hendrix Experience and The Doobie Brothers.   This didn't just "happen".  It was the result of decisions record industry executives made during the Sixties and Seventies.  There is an excellent book, Pop Standards: Music and Commerce In The Age of Rock, that explores how popular music was marketed during the classic rock era.   

So to answer the original poster; you probably aren't imaging things.  The band's management has probably decided that boorish teenage boys and young men are its core fan base.  Of course, they'll happily sell music and concert tickets to people outside their core demographic.  I guess it all comes down to whether your enjoyment of their live performances outweighs any discomfort you feel while attending them.  

Inflammatory race baiting.

Fayne Pridgon would be the first to confirm Jimi Hendrix was roundly rejected by African-American bluesmen all over New York before he was famous. Because of the color of his skin? He was, however, discovered and given the opportunity to create and succeed by Chas Chandler, Kit Lambert, Chris Stamp and Eddie Kramer (all white). Style was why more African-Americans went to see James Brown than went to see Jimi Hendix. To suggest that record industry executives made that decision for generations of music lovers is insulting. Today, why are there more African-Americans at a Rap concert than a Rock concert? Because they've been brainwashed?  Many rock pioneers were African-American because Rock was born of RnB and Blues. if anything, the taming of Rock by the music industry with teen idols turned African-Americans off to something they new in it's pure form. I wouldn't consider that a conspiracy against an entire race.

On the flipside, why weren't there more white artists on the Motown label or at Wattstax? Couldn't be cultural differences. Must be a conspiracy...