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First 12" LP
Followed by the first 7" single introduced in 1951 by RCA. Vinyl records made music much more accessible to many more people. They also brought illegal vinyl pressing about - it is a misconception that music piracy is a new thing, although it was much more rare in the 1950s. -
Period: to
Music Industry Over Time
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Baby Boom
The post-WW2 period saw a baby boom in many Western countries. This meant that in the 1950s there was a larger population of young people, perfect for institutions to aim music at. Rock 'n' Roll became a part of their generational identity. -
Elvis Presley Rock n' Roll is released in the UK
Rock 'n' Roll, a combination of blues, country and jazz, emerged in the 1940s and started to gain popularity in the 1950s through artists such as Elvis Presley, Bill Haley and The Everly Brothers. Rock n Roll is what allowed teenagers to be rebellious. Most older people were shocked by it, especially its references to black culture. -
Beatlemania
By 1962, John, Paul, George & Ringo had formed the Beatles and had enormous success with their first single 'Love Me Do'. They gained international popularity, toured excessively until 1966 and are the best-selling band in history. The Beatles started as a skiffle group, soon started to play rock 'n' roll, and later made pop songs which became more psychadellic and drug-fuelled. They shaped the music of today. Although, their fan base was largely young girls who liked them for their good looks. -
Bob Dylan goes electric
Folk musician Bob Dylan shocked everyone, including his fans at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival by deciding to play with an electric amplified band. This signified an intertwining of folk and rock n roll music, as well as the increasing heaviness of popular music. -
Quadrophenia
The 1960s saw clashes between subcultures like the MODs and rockers. Other subcultures included hippies who were about love and peace and bikers. -
Other popular artists
The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Doors, The Animals, The Beach Boys and The Zombies. -
"I'm Black and I'm Proud"
A growing number of black artists entered the mainstream in the 1970s due to the civil rights movement in America. Artists included Jame Brown, Stevie Wonder and The Jackson 5. -
Rock Against Racism
A campaign was set up against the National Front in 1976 in order to discourage young people from having racist views. The campaign fitted with the problem of racist skinheads. The anti-Nazi league was supported by ska bands and non-racist skinheads (SHARP skinheads, for example) such as The Specials. The Rock Against Racism concert featured The Clash and Buzzcocks. -
Sex Pistols perform at the 100 Club
Punk rock and the subculture associated with it developed between 1974 and 1976 in cities such as New York and London. It involved bands such as The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Black Flag and Bad Religion. These bands carried anti-establishment, anti-authoritarian and anarchist views. -
A wider range of genres and subgenres
Hard rock (Deep Purple), country rock (The Eagles), prog rock (Rush), new wave (Talking Heads), punk rock (The Ramones), blues rock (Eric Clapton), soft rock (Fleetwood Mac), R&B (Stevie Wonder), country (Willie Nelson), and pop (Elton John). -
MTV is launched
MTV brought about a new way for artists to target their audiences. Suddenly it was important for a single to have a promotional video and for the artists to look good, as so many more people would be seeing them. It began with the video for 'Video Killed the Radio Star' by The Buggles. A song title that is explanatory of the effect that it had on artists and the industry. -
Walkman
Both the more compact Walkman II and the CD walkman were released in the 1980s. This meant that audiences could listen to music more often and outside of the house, leading to more demand for cassette tapes and compact discs. -
Synthpop and New Romanticism
Bands like Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran started to incorporate synthesisers into popular music. Synthpop became related to the new romantic fashion and music movement in the UK which declined by the time Live Aid came around in July 1985. -
Hair metal
Named so after the typical long hair styles of its artists, hair or glam metal bands included Def Leppard, Motley Crue and Whitesnake. Other popular genres included pop (Madonna), alternative rock (Pixies), hip hop (Public Enemy), post punk (New Order - remaining members of Joy Division), heavy metal (Iron Maiden), synthpop (Human League) and new romanticism (Adam and the Ants). Genres were constantly branching out and artists continued to break music boundaries. -
MP3
The internet and MP3 gave people much greater accessibility to music. -
Kurt Cobain dies
Seattle band Nirvana pioneered a new subgenre of alternative rock in the 1990s called grunge. Bands such as the Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Hole also became involved with the genre. After Kurt Cobain's suicide, some grunge bands continued to work to little success. -
The Battle of Britpop
In 1995 the British tabloid press went britpop crazy when Blur and Oasis had set coinciding release dates for their singles 'Country House' and 'Roll With It', a battle of the bands which Blur won after britpop fans rushed out to buy either single. Other britpop bands included Suede, Pulp and Elastica.
