This thesis is based on the research conducted by the author for the series, Richard Niles' History of Pop Arranging, seven thirty-minute documentary programmes for BBC Radio 2, researched, written and presented by the author and broadcast in 2003. It also draws on interviews conducted by the author (and other research) between 2002 and 2007 both for the radio series and for this thesis and on the author's experience as a professional arranger in popular music working with many of the genre's significant recording artists including Paul McCartney, Ray Charles, Cher, Tina Turner, Westlife, Tears For Fears, Dusty Springfield, James Brown, Pet Shop Boys, Kylie Minogue and producers including Trevor Hom, Steve Lipson, Steve Mac and Steve Anderson. It will be argued that the role of the arranger in popular music has often been undervalued and that during a critical period of popular music history (1950-2000) arrangers played a significant part in the evolution of musical content. This thesis is, to the best of the author's knowledge, the first time (apart from the above mentioned documentary) the subject has ever been examined. The arranger is "invisible" because musical arrangers are often un-credited on record liner notes or in books or articles concerning popular music. A considerable amount of research has been necessary to determine who wrote many of the arrangements considered herein. Motown's Berry Gordy purposely kept the names of musicians and arrangers off the records because he feared others might 'poach' the trademark 'Motown Sound'. Other record labels considered the job of the arranger to be reminiscent of an earlier era, diluting the Rock 'n' Roll image of emotion and spontanaeity they wished to promote. Some producers and recording artists disliked sharing credit for their work. Motown arranger David Van dePitte told the author that arranging was "thankless and anonymous - a very service-oriented profession where others often take credit for what you've done." Arranging has therefore remained an intrinsically unseen art created by 'invisible' artists. By analyzing many recordings, revealing the techniques and concepts they have used in their work to create popular records, arrangers and their art will be made more 'visible'.

Religion and music are two cultural entities that have been closely related over time (Bossius, Harris & Häger 2010:1). To investigate this close relationship the author of this paper has chosen to use two theories. The first is the secularization theory as it is presented by James A. Beckford in his book Social Theory & Religion (2003), which expresses the idea that religion will become less visible in a society as it evolves and progresses. The second theory is based on music and is brought forth by Theodor A. Adorno in his paper On Popular Music (2008); it states that popular music is highly standardized and inevitably inferior to “Serious” music. The two theories will be used in researching and trying to understand how religion and music are interrelated to each other in Fiasco’s music and to investigate if the artist uses private or public religion in his music, furthermore the standardization theory will be used to see if his music and message are standardized. The aim of this paper is use the aforementioned theories by James A. Beckford and Theodor A. Adorno and see how they work in cohesion with Lupe Fiasco.The conclusion of this paper is that religion is influential and relevant in Lupe Fiascos music. In all his songs that have been released on CD: s, a total of 54 songs; 42 of these songs contained a religious word or phrase. This shows that the secularization theory, which stated that religion, would diminish and disappear from the public sphere the more modern a society got is not the case within the investigated artist and his music. The artists’ use of religion was a mix between public and private religion depending on the theme and message of the song. The second theory, which stated that popular music is standardized, could be verified, the message in Lupe Fiascos music is not new and neither it the music that he makes use of, even though the artist tries to give it a new sound. All music is standardized within its own genre and therefore will sound similar/standardized for one who is uninitiated within the different genres. Keywords: popular music, Religion, Lupe Fiasco, secularization, standardization, rap music.

Identifying simultaneously with the cool 1950s greaser, the punk rebel, and the zombies, murderers, and monsters of horror lore, psychobillies (“psychos”) cobble together an identity that expresses their subcultural subjectivity. They construct and cultivate an alternative present, a participatory culture that offers multiple strategies for relieving the pressures of working-class life, for experiencing pleasure despite hardship. As one research participant put it, “psychobilly is a culture of survival.” This dissertation explores the interwoven, multiple reasons why musicians and fans identify with this alternative, underground culture, tracing the integral role it plays in their lives and the ways in which psychobillies creatively reconstitute aspects of the cultural past in the present. I focus on the advantages that a tight-knit social community confers and on the ways in which various fantasies and lived practices provide transcendental escape as well as feelings of control and power. My research draws both from a long line of cultural studies and from more recent trends in popular music scholarship that focus on musical meaning in everyday life. Accordingly, I employ an ethnographic writing style that privileges the multiple voices and identities of my research associates. / text

The contagious sound of Congo-Zaire's distinctive popular dance music has made it a kind of 'musica franca' of sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the music's influence outside of its country of origin, virtually no research has been done to explore the history, production and meaning of the musical style. In addition to being a privileged feature of Congo-Kinshasa's cultural landscape, this 'musique moderne' also constitutes a valuable source of information of the way that 'modernity' is ordered and understood in an African context. 'Modernity', I want to argue, is driven by 'tradition', and 'audition' pulls 'modernity' back into its sphere of utility, resulting in a never-ending, forever-changing, cultural and political spiral. 'Modernism', on the other hand, as a stance or 'way of being' in the world, is used as a means of gaining mastery over the paradoxes and pleasures of 'modernity's' condition. Findings are based on fourteen months of intensive fieldwork (1995--1996) in Brazzaville (Peoples' Republic of Congo) and Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo). I conducted research on three basic units of study relative to Congolese popular dance music: the music industry, the musical style and the audience. By comparing information from these three domains of knowledge, I have attempted to show not only how music in Kinshasa is performed, but how it is produced and understood. The 'modern' idiom through which music expresses itself is interesting in itself, but it also highlights the importance of culture and history to the study of popular culture and politics.

Though British singer Dusty Springfield had a very prominent and successful career, she is often left out of the history books. Her North American legacy has been reduced to her album Dusty in Memphis, an inaccurate and incomplete representation of Dusty Springfield’s career. Many aspects of her career are largely ignored, for scholars put her sexuality, her ability to “sound black,” and the influence of black musicians at the forefront of Dusty Springfield scholarship. The purpose of this project is to highlight influential musicians, experiences, and talents which have been left out of Dusty Springfield studies. This thesis focuses on Dusty Springfield’s performance experiences, her songwriting abilities, her audience/performer dichotomy, and various people and styles that have influenced her persona. By examining the artists and experiences that influenced her career, this thesis explores the ways in which persona is constructed and how it functions in the pop music industry.

This thesis explores the landscape of popular music culture in Accra as it is experienced by a loosely interactive group of young self-identified rastafarians. The global pop-culture idiom born of the Jamaican socio-religious movement of rastafari allows these young Accrans to articulate self-concepts vis-a-vis very current trends in local and foreign youth cultures (such as hiphop), with reference to an ostensibly ageless collective identity. Questions of authenticity are made complex by the movement's weighty historical and political roots, its nuanced symbolic bonds with "local African culture", and the semiotic plasticity of its identifying practices. Ethnographic portions of this thesis are based on three months of fieldwork in Accra, during the summer of 2004. Key theoretical points are gleaned from a critical examination of early British Cultural Studies and its theoretical progeny, including the body of recent work tentatively dubbed "post-subcultural studies".

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The task undertaken in this dissertation is to determine the extent of the challenge facing the major firms (majors) who currently control over 80% of global sound carrier and publishing revenue in the popular (pop) music industry. The aim of this thesis is to explain the disorganising effects currently being experienced. Specifically, the central question guiding this thesis asks: what will be the effect of new technologies on the future organisation of the music industry? I focus broadly on recent universally accessible digital technologies which have raised questions about the future of the industry’s current organisational structure and processes both in terms of input (creation of music products in their commodified form) and output (access and consumption of music products). The industry’s processes are highly integrated and its business model is complex because it centres around the sophisticated management and aggressive appropriation of intellectual property (namely copyright) for repeated exploitation for decades after its initial acquisition. The purpose of this research, therefore, is to examine not only the tangible aspects of the manner in which the industry’s organises its products but also the intangible dimension. Significant recent changes experienced by the industry are identified. The literature is not conclusive in terms of explaining these developments. While existing research exists on recent developments, a comprehensive analysis of the organisation of the industry both in terms of input and output remains underdeveloped in the literature. In particular, in relation to product re-organisation and consumer behaviour, copyright development and corporate restructuring, the literature is not fully developed. Current research is focused on illegitimate technological attacks – namely digital piracy. However these do not adequately or comprehensively explain current disorganisation in the industry. This dissertation remedies this deficiency by proposing four separate but interconnected factors are affecting the highly concentrated status quo. Together, the positive and negative impacts of emerging technologies have created a serious dilemma in terms of product commodification for the controllers of the industry. I argue interconnected illegitimate and legitimate technological challenges are at play suggesting re-organisation is occurring multidimensionally. The research undertaken is empirically grounded, and though primarily based on qualitative data (and subsequent quantitative data for statistical corroboration), the current work has implications for understanding the industry’s methods. Together, these approaches form the basis of the dissertation’s methodology. The research reported in this dissertation attempts to determine to what extent the use and consumption of these different technologies can be regarded as the primary catalyst for the challenge to corporate control of the music industry, and the manner in which it is structured. If the dominant few intend to identify and rationalise challenges in terms of their corporate model, then they must understand the dynamic nature of interacting technologies.

The task undertaken in this dissertation is to determine the extent of the challenge facing the major firms (majors) who currently control over 80% of global sound carrier and publishing revenue in the popular (pop) music industry. The aim of this thesis is to explain the disorganising effects currently being experienced. Specifically, the central question guiding this thesis asks: what will be the effect of new technologies on the future organisation of the music industry? I focus broadly on recent universally accessible digital technologies which have raised questions about the future of the industry’s current organisational structure and processes both in terms of input (creation of music products in their commodified form) and output (access and consumption of music products). The industry’s processes are highly integrated and its business model is complex because it centres around the sophisticated management and aggressive appropriation of intellectual property (namely copyright) for repeated exploitation for decades after its initial acquisition. The purpose of this research, therefore, is to examine not only the tangible aspects of the manner in which the industry’s organises its products but also the intangible dimension. Significant recent changes experienced by the industry are identified. The literature is not conclusive in terms of explaining these developments. While existing research exists on recent developments, a comprehensive analysis of the organisation of the industry both in terms of input and output remains underdeveloped in the literature. In particular, in relation to product re-organisation and consumer behaviour, copyright development and corporate restructuring, the literature is not fully developed. Current research is focused on illegitimate technological attacks – namely digital piracy. However these do not adequately or comprehensively explain current disorganisation in the industry. This dissertation remedies this deficiency by proposing four separate but interconnected factors are affecting the highly concentrated status quo. Together, the positive and negative impacts of emerging technologies have created a serious dilemma in terms of product commodification for the controllers of the industry. I argue interconnected illegitimate and legitimate technological challenges are at play suggesting re-organisation is occurring multidimensionally. The research undertaken is empirically grounded, and though primarily based on qualitative data (and subsequent quantitative data for statistical corroboration), the current work has implications for understanding the industry’s methods. Together, these approaches form the basis of the dissertation’s methodology. The research reported in this dissertation attempts to determine to what extent the use and consumption of these different technologies can be regarded as the primary catalyst for the challenge to corporate control of the music industry, and the manner in which it is structured. If the dominant few intend to identify and rationalise challenges in terms of their corporate model, then they must understand the dynamic nature of interacting technologies.

The task undertaken in this dissertation is to determine the extent of the challenge facing the major firms (majors) who currently control over 80% of global sound carrier and publishing revenue in the popular (pop) music industry. The aim of this thesis is to explain the disorganising effects currently being experienced. Specifically, the central question guiding this thesis asks: what will be the effect of new technologies on the future organisation of the music industry? I focus broadly on recent universally accessible digital technologies which have raised questions about the future of the industry’s current organisational structure and processes both in terms of input (creation of music products in their commodified form) and output (access and consumption of music products). The industry’s processes are highly integrated and its business model is complex because it centres around the sophisticated management and aggressive appropriation of intellectual property (namely copyright) for repeated exploitation for decades after its initial acquisition. The purpose of this research, therefore, is to examine not only the tangible aspects of the manner in which the industry’s organises its products but also the intangible dimension. Significant recent changes experienced by the industry are identified. The literature is not conclusive in terms of explaining these developments. While existing research exists on recent developments, a comprehensive analysis of the organisation of the industry both in terms of input and output remains underdeveloped in the literature. In particular, in relation to product re-organisation and consumer behaviour, copyright development and corporate restructuring, the literature is not fully developed. Current research is focused on illegitimate technological attacks – namely digital piracy. However these do not adequately or comprehensively explain current disorganisation in the industry. This dissertation remedies this deficiency by proposing four separate but interconnected factors are affecting the highly concentrated status quo. Together, the positive and negative impacts of emerging technologies have created a serious dilemma in terms of product commodification for the controllers of the industry. I argue interconnected illegitimate and legitimate technological challenges are at play suggesting re-organisation is occurring multidimensionally. The research undertaken is empirically grounded, and though primarily based on qualitative data (and subsequent quantitative data for statistical corroboration), the current work has implications for understanding the industry’s methods. Together, these approaches form the basis of the dissertation’s methodology. The research reported in this dissertation attempts to determine to what extent the use and consumption of these different technologies can be regarded as the primary catalyst for the challenge to corporate control of the music industry, and the manner in which it is structured. If the dominant few intend to identify and rationalise challenges in terms of their corporate model, then they must understand the dynamic nature of interacting technologies.