Can popular music ever really be unplugged?

In 1827 Charles Wheatstone created the very first 'microphone'. Not yet called a microphone, the device was used to strengthen soft sounds and eventually became one of the main factors to change music. Until the 1920‘s music continued to thrive without the use of the microphone however since then, the benefits of using microphones led to new and exciting changes within the industry. One of the main things to evolve from this was ‘crooning’ - which was the sound that made singer Bing Crosby’s career. 

In 1904 the first amplifier was created - initially used to boost telephone signals but also used to amplify musical instruments and sounds. This was a giant leap for the industry - not only changing the sound of music but also how it could be recorded, delivered and composed. Without the use of technology I don’t think music would survive, effecting nearly every genre of music and eliminating a number of them completely, the music industry would be a very different thing to what it is today.

What is popular music?

Popular music aka ‘pop’ music is the term to describe a well known, very accessible genre of music. 

If I were to ask you to name a pop song - you’d probably say a song currently in the charts, but does this necessarily make it ‘popular’?

Over the years, the term ‘popular’ has changed its meaning and we can no longer trust if said ‘pop’ song - is actually even popular. The mass creation of pop records and artists has grown hugely over the years thanks to shows like X-factor. This quick, easy way of finding and creating a pop artist leaves less room for the genuinely talented ones.

This shift in music means that perhaps a narrower niche of music is judged as less popular when technically - that might not be the case, but while the general public crave for this mainstream profiting culture of pop music, the industry will not change.