Creativity Versus Talent in the Music Industry of UK: Adele

This essay conducts a secondary research on the creativity versus talent debate in the UK music industry, using Adele as a case study. It explores the significance of creativity in enabling musicians to effectively utilize their talent to compose appealing music, as appreciated by audiences and critics. The research highlights the connection between creativity and talent, emphasizing the former's importance in musicians' success. It also discusses factors influencing musicians' creativity, such as past experiences and audience. The study reveals ways musicians like Adele can leverage their creativity and talent to thrive in the UK music industry, including fusing musical genres and seeking inspiration. The study uses Adele as a case study to examine the role of creativity and talent in the success of musicians in the UK music industry. The research delves into the various factors influencing the creativity of musicians and how they can use this creativity and talent to compete in the industry. This essay is available on Desklib, a platform offering AI-based study tools.

Running head: CREATIVITY VERSUS TALENT IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
CREATIVITY VERSUS TALENT IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY OF UK: A CASE
STUDY OF ADELE
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1CREATIVITY VERSUS TALENT IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study is to conduct a secondary research on the creativity versus talent debate
in the particular context of the music industry of UK. Furthermore, for the effective conduct
of the study, the researcher had used the case study of Adele who in the recent times had
emerged as one of the most important singers of UK. Moreover, the researcher also tried to
highlight the manner in which the concept of creativity enables the musicians to effectively
use the talent that they have so as to compose the kind of songs or music which would not
only be appreciated by the audiences but also by the music critics. In this regard, it needs to
be said that the researcher had found that there exists a profound connection between
creativity and talent and creativity is more important since it not only enables the musicians
like Adele to effective use the talent that they have but also to compose compelling songs as
well. More importantly, the researcher had found that there are various factors which
influence the creativity of the musicians like their past experiences, their upbringing, the
audience that they catering to and others. The research after the completion of the study
found that there are various ways through which musicians like Adele can compete in the
music industry of UK through the usage of their creativity and talent like the fusion of
different musical genres, finding new sources of inspiration or drives, visiting some peaceful
picturesque locations so as to ignite their creativity and others.

2CREATIVITY VERSUS TALENT IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like thank all the people who have directly and indirectly helped me in the
completion of this research. Firstly, I would begin by thanking my Supervisor Mr.
……………for giving me the opportunity to complete my dissertation on the topic
“Creativity Versus Talent in the Music Industry of UK: A Case Study of Adele”. I would also
thank my adviser for being patient with me and also for helping me during all the stages of
the study. Moreover, I would also like to thank my family members and friends without
whose support I would never have been able to complete this dissertation.
Thank you,
………………………………………
(Signature of the Researcher)

3CREATIVITY VERSUS TALENT IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................6
1.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................6
1.2 Background of the Study..................................................................................................6
1.3 Adele and her musical compositions................................................................................6
1.4 Research Aim...................................................................................................................7
1.5 Research Question............................................................................................................7
1.6 Research Objectives.........................................................................................................7
1.7 Rationale of the Study......................................................................................................8
1.8 Significance of the Study.................................................................................................8
Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.........................................................................................9
2.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................9
2.2 Music industry of UK.......................................................................................................9
2.3 Overview of the concept of creativity............................................................................10
2.4 Importance of creativity.................................................................................................11
2.5 Factors affecting the creativity of a musician................................................................12
2.6 Talent and its role...........................................................................................................13
2.7 Ways in which musicians can effectively use creativity and talent...............................13
2.9 Summary........................................................................................................................14
Chapter 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...........................................................................15
3.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................15
3.2 Research Philosophy......................................................................................................15
3.3 Research Approach........................................................................................................16
3.4 Research Design.............................................................................................................16
3.5 Data Collection Method.................................................................................................17
3.6 Data Analysis Method....................................................................................................17
3.7 Ethical Considerations...................................................................................................18
3.8 Research Limitations......................................................................................................18
3.9 Summary........................................................................................................................18
Chapter 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION...........................................................................19
4.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................19
4.2 Findings..........................................................................................................................19
4.3 Discussion of Findings...................................................................................................22
4.4 Summary........................................................................................................................24
Chapter 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS...................................................25
5.1 Conclusion......................................................................................................................25
5.2 Linking with Objectives.................................................................................................25

4CREATIVITY VERSUS TALENT IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
5.2.1 Linking with Objective 1........................................................................................25
5.2.2 Linking with Objective 2........................................................................................26
5.2.3 Linking with Objective 3........................................................................................26
5.3 Recommendations..........................................................................................................26
5.3 Future Scope...................................................................................................................27
References................................................................................................................................28

5CREATIVITY VERSUS TALENT IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
In this chapter, the research will highlight the aims, objectives, question and other aspects
of the research work. More importantly, the researcher also intends to lay the groundwork on
the basis of which the entire research work will be completed.
1.2 Background of the Study
McRobbie (2018, p.117) is of the viewpoint that the creativity versus talent debate is
perhaps one of the oldest ones within the musical industry and the people are curious to know
which one is more important for the musician, creativity or talent. As opined by Smith (2015,
p.183), creativity refers to the usage of original ideas or thoughts that the musicians use not
only for the composition of their songs or albums but also the manner in which they sing the
same. On the other hand, talent is generally seen as a quality with which an individual is born
and in the cases of some of the individuals it had attained through lifetime of hard work and
practice (Faulkner 2017, p.157). Needless to say, the budding artists are curious to know
which attribute they should focus on and this accounts for the wide popularity gained by the
debate.
1.3 Adele and her musical compositions
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, born in UK in 1988, is one of the most famous contemporary
singers and artists who had been highly acclaimed for the originality of her musical
composition and also the unique manner in which she sings them (Newkey-Burden 2015,
p.131). In this regard, it needs to be said that the majority of her songs have been composed
by her and in these songs, she tries to depict her own personal emotions and the things that
she herself faced. This is perhaps one major reasons for the highly personal nature of her
musical compositions and some of the most important ones in which regard are “Hometown

6CREATIVITY VERSUS TALENT IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
Glory”, “Someone like You”, “You Played it to the Beat” and others (Adele.com 2019). In
addition to this, because of the originality as well as high quality of her compositions she had
also received numerous awards like the Brit Awards Critics' Choice award (2007), 51st
Grammy Awards in 2009, Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and others
(Adele.com 2019). Furthermore, she had also composed the background musical score for
various movies like the James Bond series movie “Skyfall” (2012) and others (Adele.com
2019). It is because of the accolades as well as critical appreciation that she had received
within a very short time that the researcher had selected her for the purpose of the study.
1.4 Research Aim
The aim of this research is to understand the manner in which creativity and talent
helps the singers in the creation of their musical compositions in the particular context of the
UK singer Adele.
1.5 Research Question
The research question had been formulated for the study is-
1. How talent can be considered as one of the important aspects of creativity in the case
of Adele?
1.6 Research Objectives
The research objectives that have being formulated for the study are listed below-
1) To evaluate the different aspects of creativity focusing on music industry
2) To understand the role of talent of Adel in building her creativity in music
3) To find out the ways in which Adele can compete in the music industry with her talent
and creativity

7CREATIVITY VERSUS TALENT IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
1.7 Rationale of the Study
The issue that had been selected for the study is to understand the creativity versus talent
debate within the music industry of UK. This is an issue because of the fact that over the
years it had seen that numerous artists despite have talent and creativity have failed to attain
success (Cloonan 2016, p.176). This is an issue presently because of the fact that in the
present times a large number of people are trying to become musicians or trying to get into
the music industry (Kjus 2017, p.1017). However, at the same time it is seen that there are
musicians like Justin Bieber who shot to fame at the age of just 15 years yet failed to hold on
to the success (Stone and Stone 2019). Thus, by focusing on the attributes of talent and
creativity this study will show the attribute on which the budding artists or the musicians
need to focus on.
1.8 Significance of the Study
This will be an important study from the perspective of the music industry because of the
fact a large number of budding and even the famous successful artists or the musicians even
after getting success have failed. Thus, this research in a succinct manner will show the
budding artists and also the successful ones the attribute, namely, creativity or talent, on
which they need to focus so as to gain popularity and also to maintain the same.

8CREATIVITY VERSUS TALENT IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
In this chapter, the researcher will discuss the different theoretical concepts and
perspectives related to the concept of creativity and talent within the particular context of the
music industry of UK and the different artists related to it. Furthermore, the researcher for the
purpose of this analysis had taken the help of past literature on the concepts of creativity and
talent in the particular context of the musicians and the concepts, theories, models and others
propounded by them.
2.2 Music industry of UK
Thomson and Jaque (2016, p.94) are of the viewpoint that the UK music industry is
one of the very few industries of the world wherein it is seen the process of
commercialisation is adequately supported by the concepts of creativity and talent. As a
matter of fact, it is seen that the music industry of the United Kingdom is one of the most
creative industries of the world wherein it is seen that the musicians as well as artists like
break the common established stereotypes as well as norms or rules of musical composition
and singings. As opined by Halstead (2017, p.99), this is primarily done so as to cater the
demands or the expectations of the large number of musical lovers that the concerned
industry services. In this regard, it needs to be said that the music industry of UK boasts of
some of the major musicians or the artists of the world like Adele, Ed Sheeran, Pink Floyd,
Cold Play, Elton John and others (Barrett and Limb 2019, p.86). In addition to this, it is seen
that the music industry of UK generated a gross revenue of more than £4.5bn in the year 2017
(9% increase in profitability in comparison to 2016) and also offered employment to more
than 145,000 people of the concerned nation (Irishnews.com 2019).

9CREATIVITY VERSUS TALENT IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
As argued by Cropley (2016, p.241), the different technological advancements have
positively affected the music industry of UK and it is seen that the different artists or the
musicians are actively taking the help of diverse advancements like digitalization, video
recordings, social media and others for the purpose of appeasing the musical needs of a large
number of people. In this context, mention needs to be made of the 70 downloading,
streaming and cloud base services which had revolutionized the festival businesses and
concerts within the nation of UK (Irishnews.com 2019). This in turn had significantly
contributed towards the success attained by the different online music streaming apps like
Spotify, Google Play Music, iMusic, Pandora and others in the recent times (Irishnews.com
2019). Needless to say, within a very short span of time the music industry of UK had
become an integral part of the economic wheel of the concerned nation and also the musical
compositions created by the musicians or the artists of UK have become a part of the daily
life of the common people of the concerned nation.
2.3 Overview of the concept of creativity
Teramoto and Jurčys (2017, p.140) have articulated the viewpoint that the notion of
creativity can be defined as the ability of the individuals to use original or imaginative ideas
for the creation of something new or original in nature. On the other hand, Mills and Horton
(2016, p.114) have stated that the creativity can be seen as the phenomenon through which
the artists create something new as well as valuable and the entity created by them can be
something tangible or intangible. This becomes even more important from the perspective of
the music industry of UK which is often considered to be one of the most creative industries
of the world. More importantly, in the present times it had been seen that because of the
insistence of the music listeners to have original compositions, the different musicians or the
artists related to the concerned industry are increasingly restoring to the usage of the concept
of creativity (Drai-Zerbib 2016, p.91). The resultant effect of this is that through the effective

10CREATIVITY VERSUS TALENT IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
usage of the concept of creativity have not only been able to create musically pleasing
compositions but at the same time satisfy the different needs or the requirements of the music
listeners (Bennett, D., 2016, p.390).
2.4 Importance of creativity
Williamson and Cloonan (2013, p.11) are of the viewpoint that the effective usage of
the concept of creativity by the different musicians or the artists offers wide ranging benefits
to them not only from the perspective of satisfying the needs of the music listeners but also
for the composition of unique music as well. As opined by Boehm (2016, p.91), the
musicians or the artists rather than primarily focusing on the needs or the expectations should
try to take the help of the concept of creativity and try to create original musical
compositions. This is important because of the fact that in the majority of the cases the
listeners are themselves not sure regarding the music that they would and thus it can be said
that the desire of the artists or the musicians to satisfy the desire of the listeners can
significantly limited their creativity ((Cohen 2017, p.67).
As argued by Bennett (2018, p.35), over the years it had seen that different artists or
musicians taking the help of the concept of creativity have been able to create original
compositions by fusing various genres and intermingling diverse styles. In this regard,
mention needs to made of the song “Bohemian Rhapsody” by the famous music band of the
20th century named “Queen” which fused different musical genres like opera, pop music and
others for the composition of this song (Barrett and Limb 2019, p.89). Furthermore, the
critical acclaim as well as appreciation that this song had received over the years clearly
points to the fact that the listeners are ready for different kinds of creative experimentation.
Moreover, the effective usage of the concept of creativity is also likely to help the musicians
as well as artists to create different kinds of innovative kinds of music or songs and thereby
gain commercial and critical success on the basis (Cloonan 2016, p.79). This becomes

11CREATIVITY VERSUS TALENT IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
especially important from the perspective of the music industry UK wherein it is seen that
over the years the artists or the musicians are taking the help of the same age-old musical
genres and even the audiences are getting bored by it (Mills 2016, p.161). Thus, the success
attained by the ‘death rock metal’ and others clearly points towards the urge of the audiences
to listen to new kinds of music or songs. On the score of these aspects it can be said that the
concept of creativity is an important one from the perspective of the music industry of UK
and it is likely that the artists or the musicians would be able to attain a higher level of critical
as well as commercial success through the effective usage of the same.
2.5 Factors affecting the creativity of a musician
There are various factors which affect the creative abilities of the artists or the
musicians in the present times and thereby the musical compositions or the songs created by
them. Toynbee (2016, p.98) is of the viewpoint the upbringing of the individuals is one of the
most important factors which affects the creativity of the individuals and as a matter of fact it
is seen that if the individuals have been brought up in an environment wherein music is being
supported or they are being encouraged to indulge in different kinds of musical endeavours
then this is likely to positively affect their creativity. Another important factor which affects
the creativity of the artists or musicians is audience that they are catering to (Hartley 2017,
p.70). For example, it is seen that if the artists or the musicians are catering to an audience
base which appreciates innovation or creativity then it is more likely that the artists or the
musicians would take the help of creativity (Thorley 2018, p.165). The past experiences of
the artists or musicians is another important factor which fosters creativity on the part of the
artists or the musicians (Burnard 2016, p.40). Other important factors which affect the
creativity on the part of the artists or the musicians are desire, fearlessness, space and time,
the attitude of the artists or musicians and others (Boehm 2016, p.91).