Assignment on Recognized Social Institutions

Describe how social structures limit the options available in pop music and describe how audiences can use their agency to challenge these structures. There is no specific right answer to this question, so you will be evaluated on your ability to use course concepts to put forward an argument. Your essay should be 400-500 words. Description-So social structures are both the various factors which limit what music is made and what music becomes popular as well as what leads listeners to select the type of music they listen to. Audience agency is about what freedom listeners have to select what to listen to.

Running head
Name:
Title:
Institution:

Music
2
Social structures can be defined as the stable and distinctive arrangements of organized
sets of institutions in a society where human beings live and interact together. The most essential
recognized social institutions include religion, family, media, politics, education, and the law.
(DiMaggio, 2019). On the other hand, pop music can be described is a music genre that produces
the most hits and sells most copies. However, not all popular music can be labeled as pop. Pop
music has evolved to a more defined pattern, style, and technique of music which is much similar
to jazz, rock, and classical music. (Warner, 2017).
In modern-day society, social structures have a key role in the music industry in that they
can influence the music made, popularize it, and influence the choice of music audiences to
listen to. For example, the media can popularize a certain song by playing it regularly,
advertising it, or even show casting an album which generally hypes it. Once hyped, audiences
especially the youth like to be associated with what is trending and thus will be motivated to
listen to the music. Good examples of media influencers are the USA billboard and YouTube. If
media is against a certain song, it gives the song little or no airtime thus audiences are not
acquainted with the song and end up as "underground" music.
Another good example of how social structures limit music is through religion. A
majority of people are strong believers of religion which have their cultures that clash pop music
culture. Thus, it restricts their followers form listening to such music terming it as secular or evil.
Also, the law may place a total ban on music which it feels is explicit or political. Thus, artists
are forced to walk on a thin line regarding the music to make. (Way, 2016).
Audience agency is the listeners’ freedom to choose what to listen to. Thus, audiences
can use this platform to challenge social structures on limiting of music. One option is forming

Music
3
audience unions to champion their rights as music consumers which when together are more
influential can challenge legally challenge laws that limit music. The same unions can also
boycott media outlets that limit music. Audiences can also support music artists by buying their
albums and showing up for their concert. By so doing, they popularize the music and thus
forcing the society to have a second opinion on pop music.
Finally and most importantly, audiences should be able to separate what is real, what
artists want us to perceive, and the message in pop music. They should stand firm to their core
norms rather than being influenced by music and use it for entertainment purposes. As such,
society which also has strong norms and anticipated code of conduct will thus accept pop music
and thus will not limit it in any way as it is not doing any moral harm to the society. (Calcutt,
2016)

Music
4
References
Calcutt, A. (2016). Arrested development: pop culture and the erosion of adulthood. Bloomsbury
Publishing.
DiMaggio, P. (2019). Social structure, institutions, and cultural goods: The case of the United
States. In Social theory for a changing society (pp. 133-166). Routledge.
Warner, T. (2017). Pop Music-Technology and Creativity: Trevor Horn and the Digital
Revolution. Routledge.
Way, L. C. (2016). Protest music, populism, politics and authenticity: the limits and potential of
popular music’s articulation of subversive politics. Journal of Language and
Politics, 15(4), 422-446.