Tragic Consequences of Black Noise in White Spaces

By Erin May

The 1989 film Do The Right Thing by acclaimed African American director Spike Lee portrayed the life and conflicts of a multi-racial and multi-ethnic community in Brooklyn. In the final segment, a young black man named Radio Raheem walks into an Italian-owned pizzeria playing his boombox loudly. When he refuses to turn down the music, a fight breaks out. The altercation ends in Radio Raheem being killed by police officers, who then try to cover up the murder. Do the Right Thing was a commentary about its time, we see race and music coming together with fatal consequences. This film pushes uncomfortable questions upon audiences: Why is what scholars have called “black noise” so troubling to some, and is there a way to prevent these types of conflicts?

This phenomenon of black noise creating tension in white spaces is not new, originating with segregation. White and black spaces had been separated for so long that people didn’t know how to deal with noise in shared spaces. Overall “white noise” has always acted as the norm; other noises are considered disturbing. One example is the sound of language. In her article  White Noise and African American Linguistic Discrimination in the American Soundscape, the anthropologist Skylar Clark uses linguistics to describe this relationship. She writes that “[w]hite speech variation is viewed as being geographically distributed, while oftentimes Black speech is perceived as a universal racial marker, since people are reported as “sounding black.” […] Sounding white as a white individual is unlikely to result in linguistic discrimination, since sounding white is often equated with standard speech.  […] the racialization of the Black voice stems from the disappearing quality of whiteness, as it fades into the standard of normality like background static”. Black noise, in this case, vernacular, has a uniqueness to it that is frequently left unacknowledged in white spaces. The ethnomusicoclogist Ronald Radano notes in his article Black Noise/White Mastery that “noise owes its power not to difference, as such but rather to the fear of what difference brings.” If people in white spaces feel that black noise poses a threat to them, they are often scared of transgression.

One historically significant and complex example of such a transgression is Elvis Presley, whose music was deeply influenced by black musical styles, and whose success was famously ascribed to having “a black voice in a white body.” Some felt that he was exploiting Black artistry, while others saw him as someone who brought Black music to the forefront of American society. The latter is an example of the transgression of bringing Black noise into white spaces. For many critics, Elvis had the rhythm and blues reminiscent of African American music, and at the same time was appreciative of Black artists and considered them as equals. Invoking a columnist for the Michigan Chronicle , Michael Bertrand writes in his essay Elvis Presley and the Politics of Popular Memory” that the hip-swiveling rockabilly came under the influence of rhythm and blues as a teenage consumer, took it seriously, studied it arduously, perfected it diligently, applied it artfully and used it to make himself famous, rich, and highly honored in life and death.”’ Bringing Black music into white spaces, however, Elvis’s success was also enabled by his whiteness.

The 1957 film Jailhouse Rock illustrates this by telling story of Vince Everett (Presley), who serves jail time after accidentally killing a man in a brawl. Vince learns the guitar while in prison and later becomes a star following his release. In a striking scene, Vince accompanies music promoter Peggy Van Alden to a social gathering at her parents house. Learning about Vince’s interests, Peggy’s dad (a college professor) puts on a new jazz record, and a conversation ensues among among the guests how the artist has “gone overboard on the altered chords” and “reached outer space” wondering whether “atonality is just a passing phase in jazz music.” Being asked what he thinks about the song, Vince responds “Lady, I dunno what the hell you’re talkin’ about”. The satirical take of the white middle class, clearly meant to set Elvis apart as a lower-class outsider to an educated elite analyzing jazz like classical Western music. If some viewed the music as being too experimental and outlandish, Elvis is portrayed as having more intuitive affective access to black music.

This deeper affinity is borne out in a striking scene where audiences are meant to see the “real” Elvis in the penitentiary where Vince and other inmates are working in a Coal Yard, their bodies covered in black dust. This could be seen as showing the toughness and dirtiness of the penitentiary, but context is everything. The image of dirt-covered skin is a not-so-subtle way of authenticating Elvis’s black voice within a —figurative—black body. Elvis’ place within the culture of R&B music remains controversial; he is seen by some as “taking advantage of” or “appropriating” black brilliance. Tricia Rose’s book Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America details the same situation within rap music today, noting that “some rappers have equated white participation with a process of dilution and subsequent theft of black culture.” If Jailhouse Rock pushed the other side of the argument—Elvis’s authentic appreciation of Black music—he could do so safely because he was white.

Do The Right Thing was a fictional film that was a commentary on ongoing racial prejudice during the 1980s, but unfortunately, it also predicted its persistence in the future. Jordan Davis was 17 years old when he was shot and killed because his music was “too loud”. In November of 2012, Davis was just going about his day with three of his friends, Tevin Thompson, Leland Brunson, and Tommie Stornes. They went to school and planned on stopping at a gas station on the way home. While at the gas station with his friends, the man in the car next to him rolled down his window and asked them to turn down their music, saying “I hate that thug music,”. This man was Michael Dunn. He would spend his life in prison because of what he did next. When Jordan refused, Dunn got out his gun and shot him. Jordan died later that day. When Dunn was arrested the following day, he ended up claiming self-defense, Florida’s Stand Your Ground law. When asked why he shot the teenager, his response stated that he “felt threatened by the boys.” How is it that music can make people feel threatened enough to pull out a gun and kill someone? What music could be so offensive? The truth is that this incident wasn’t just about the music, it was also about how some still hear black music heard as black noise.

Fair creation in the age of sampling

by Marcos Cisneros

Copyright has become a controversial topic in today’s society resulting from the growing usage of one’s property without permission, especially in the music world. When artists create songs that skyrocket in sales and online listens, making famous and recognizable in their countries and around the world, the success can quickly evaporate if they wrongly created their piece with a snippet of another artist’s music. So what is copyright? Is it fair-usage or fair-game? What is the process of sanctioning someone who intentionally uses a snippet of another person’s song in their own work?

Let’s consider the Estate of Smith v. Graham case as an example. Based on Marissa Brown’s article, rapper Aubrey Drake Graham released a song a part of his released album in 2013 titled “Pound Cake.” Aubrey opens with a 35-second sample of “Jimmy Smith Rap.” Smith’s group decided to file for a copyright infringement against Drake. In order to understand the legal implication, we need to know the process the court follows with a copyright infringement case. 

Let’s start with Copyright Act of 1976 which is the current law that protects all “original works of authorship” when they are contained in a medium of expression, which means that the author will immediately have rights to the medium. If you were to write a book, you would immediately own a copyright to that book. The Copyright Act may not always be valid, however, since the Fair Use Doctrine, allows the unlicensed use of copyright-protected property under certain conditions. The following four factors can be used to determine if the use of the copyright-protected property is fair:

1. Purpose and character factor. The main question or concern is whether the new medium contributes  an aspect with a purpose or character with the addition of the original medium. Other aspects are analyzed within this factor including whether the original medium was used for commercial reasons and if the new medium is “transformative.” 
2. The nature of the copyright factor. At issue here is whether the work is the type intended for copyright protection, which can make fair use more difficult to settle. Within a copyright infringement case, the aspects that determine the nature of the work are whether the work is creative or factual and whether the work has been published in the past. 
3. The “quantity” factor. There are two aspects within this factor: the amount of the medium taken and the quality of the amount taken. Within these aspects, the court will attempt to determine whether the person taking this amount took more than necessary and if for any reason it is considered an excessive amount under the purpose and character of use factor.
4. Value and promotion factor. This is determined based on whether the snippet competes against the original medium in the marketplace. The court will examine whether the new medium would relieve the original artist’s revenues because the public purchases the new medium over the original medium. In addition, the court would also see whether other works using the original medium are impacted. 

These four factors may seem simple for the U.S court to follow when approached with a copyright infringement case. However, are these factors fair when they can be interpreted differently by everyone?

Going back to the Estate of Smith v. Graham case, the court decided that the usage of Jimmy’s piece was fair since the use was transformative, which was determined through the purpose and character factor. But the settlement raises the question “What sounds transformative?” The sample in Aubrey’s song may sound transformative to certain audiences. But it can become controversial when other individuals do not hear a difference in the sample between the original and new medium. This is where rulings can become questionable and seemingly arbitrary. In fact, the court did not spend a sufficient amount of time with the other three factors. Overall, Drake ended up taking the case home. But this does not mean that the decision was fair.

There are cases where the artist using the new medium pleads guilty to copyright infringement. In Pharrell Williams v. Bridgeport Music Marvin Gaye’s family sued Pharrell Williams, Robin Thicke, and Clifford Joseph Harris claiming that their produced song “Blurred Lines” copied Gaye’s song “Got to Give It Up.” Based on Sonia Seeman’s case study, the court ruled in favor of Gaye’s because “Blurred Lines” may not have sounded exactly like “Got to Give It Up” but still had a similar “feel.” Again, one could ask whether the dating of these pieces contributes to what is considered the same feel since the genres of these pieces can vary over time. In addition, if the court settled this decision based on the first two factors of nature, purpose, and character, then the question arises whether “Blurred Lines” was intended to be creative and transformative.

This brings us to the problem of sampling: is a right to create and use samples? Are samples even a form or expression of art? Sometimes these questions are handled differently in different countries, depending on their traditional understanding of art. According to an article by Chenguo Zhang, Germany’s Constitutional Court requires sampling to be seen as an “artistic expression and creation” so that it does not interfere with the rights of the original artist. Kraftwerk v. Moses Pelham would be an example for this. When Moses Pelham used a 2-second sample from Kraftwerk’s “Metall auf Metall,” the complaint filed against him became a landmark case that had to settle the question whether sampling was an infringement of an individual’s right since they found sampling to be a freedom of art. The court’s finding could mark a push towards a potential lift of sampling restrictions, yet individuals may still face difficulties sampling as it may not be considered a form of art in other countries. Questions about the reason behind laws regarding intellectual property still linger.

It can be simple and direct to view copyright as a monetary issue with the usage of one’s medium being less a aesthetic question of originality than one about profit. Moreover, this issue becomes even more complex when the right to free expression and artistic intention enters the picture. Is the court’s settlement of Aubrey being transformative with his sample justified in an appropriate manner regardless of his criticism of Jimmy’s message about Jazz? Is it appropriate for Pharrell and other artists on the song “Blurred Lines” to continue to obtain revenue when the song technically takes away credit from Gaye’s creativity in his piece? It seems likely that the current practice sampling will continue to be protected for the time being. That said, there won’t be a hold on the controversies that will continue to arise from artists taking the risks to use another artist’s medium.

TikTok’s role in shaping music production and consumption

by Chiwetara ‘Tara’ Igwe

With the rapid use of social media today, a popular app known as TikTok has become the new go-to platform for any information ranging from news to entertainment. Formerly known as ‘musically,’ Tiktok began gaining popularity in 2019, averaging 1.1 billion users per day since then. The app operates on an algorithm dependent on a user’s preferences, and their interaction with trending content.

The multipurpose app has transformed the entertainment industry, revolutionizing the distribution and consumption of music and making it a tool for potential success. Nowadays, upcoming artists resort to TikTok to share snippets of their songs in hopes of achieving recognition and stardom. This was the case for British alt-pop singer PinkPantheress when a snippet of her debut single “Just for Me” gained traction on TikTok in August 2021, where users utilized the song in their videos. The song’s catchy beats drew people to her works, and the more engagement the song got, the more exposure she gained. This eventually contributed to her success in the music industry as she has won several awards including nominations for MTV Europe’s Best New Act and BET award’s Best Collaboration award for her song “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2” featuring American rapper Ice Spice. PinkPantheress now averages 25 million listeners on the music platform Spotify.

Observing the success of similar figures like Doja Cat, Olivia Rodrigo, and Jack Harlow, aspiring singers yearning for their big break have taken note of the favorable impact TikTok has had on these artists’ songs. Desiring recognition, these emerging singers resort to the app to share their music, in hopes of algorithmic support. However, their expectations do not always come to fruition.

From Passion to Popularity: The Clickbait Pandemic

When popularity becomes a prominent factor in the production of music, the validity of an artist’s motive for pursuing the craft is questioned. The quest for virality and fame has increasingly become the driving force of the creative process, which sometimes overshadows the traditional drive of making music purely out of passion or striving for artistic excellence. This is due to the way Tiktok is programmed, and its effect on users’ attention spans.

TikTok’s programming has instigated a pattern where viewers swiftly decide a video’s worth within mere seconds. The app’s bite-sized content format and absence of buffering between videos contribute to a shorter attention span among users. Consequently… if the first few seconds of a music promo fail to captivate them, it becomes harder for the users to stay engaged through the entire promotion. The average viewer continues to watch a video they find interesting after rolling for three seconds. This pattern is one that upcoming artists take advantage of: They strategically craft and post a catchy 15-second snippet in hopes of catching the eye of the algorithm and gaining recognition. More often than not, they succeed and embark on the journey of a music career. But the unlucky ones face criticism from the media after the song is streamed and it ends up not living up to the hype. Various users have started to pick up on this penchant for fame in the music industry since it affects the quality of produced and consumed music. A user named Ava Allan made a TikTok video with over 600k likes and 1000 comments, reflecting shared sentiments. One comment: “You can definitely tell when a song is built around a TikTok snippet” summarizes the observation that these snippets often precede the song itself– designed primarily to capture viewer attention.

But what do the successful videos have that the unsuccessful ones don’t? Jungle’s “Back on 74” became an instant TikTok hit with its infectious funky beat and accompanying disco-dance choreography, evoking a nostalgic summer vibe. The upbeat rhythm, catchy bassline, and a 58-second promotional video drew users in, while the engaging choreography made them stay. The song’s promotion struck a balance, inviting users to enjoy it without overwhelming them. Jungle’s success showcased that artists can market their music authentically while staying true to their artistic vision.

TikTok star Charli D’Amelio’s “If You Ask Me To” however, faced a lukewarm response from the TikTok community due to the lack of effort put into her promotional video. Critics noted Charli merely spinning in the video, drawing accusations of originality as it resembled pop singer Olivia Rodrigo’s “Driver’s License” visuals and overall vibe. Complaints also surfaced about Charli’s muffled vocals and the lack of depth and passion in the song’s lyrics, which are elements often sought by users for a more engaging musical experience. 

The rapid growth of trends on the app separates genuine fans from those latching onto viral sensations. Alternative pop artist Steve Lacy expressed his frustration with this during his 2022 “Give You The World” concert, when fans could only sing the viral segment of one of his most popular songs, “Bad Habit.” The ‘TikTokification’ of his works had him visibly upset because although the surge in newer fans led to sold-out tickets, they did not hold the same energy as old fans. According to Lacy, it has made him hesitant to share or promote any of his upcoming songs on the app.

Influence on the Music Industry

The future of the music industry following the massive impact of TikTok has sparked concerns among artists including Halsey, Trevor Daniel, and Charlie XCX. Since record labels recognize the platform’s power in propelling songs to virality, they have adopted a purely profit-driven approach in guiding how artists promote their music. These labels often demand the artists to tease upcoming tracks on the app as a test to see which one gains more traction. The song’s release then becomes dependent on how the audience reacts to the 15-second snippet. However, if the song fails to obtain enough engagement during this ‘teasing stage,’ artists are instructed to persistently promote the single until it magically they were told to keep promoting the single until it magically takes off.

Trevor Daniel expressed his dismay for this in a 2022 Rolling Stone interview, stating “It’s just been pretty much impossible to put out music… It’s just really disheartening, to be honest with you.” He further elaborated on the situation, acknowledging that despite his label’s denial, there is a clear desire for his tracks to go viral before their official release. This places a significant amount of pressure on him, especially following his experience with the immense success of his 2018 single “Falling” after gaining traction on the app. 

Music industries and record labels are often in a haste to secure deals with aspiring TikTok sensations, rapidly offering contracts to artists regardless of their experience or quality of music. Their desire to capitalize on the ‘TikTok wave’ “solidifies their treatment of musical works as a commodity, and music artists as money-making tools,” (uchscommander.com) which underscores a shift in the industry’s perception as they essentially exploit musical talents and view them as money-making machines. Moreover, artists may find themselves compelled to tailor their music according to the platform’s trend, ridding themselves of any creative liberty in favor of trends that yield virality. This trend highlights the connection between artistic expression and commercial success in the TikTok music scene, changing how people distinguish authenticity from imitation.

Musical preferences may change with age

by Jacob Freeman Nkouka

In a recent conversation, one of my fellow freshmen at Notre Dame noted that their parents do not enjoy listening to newer pop music. Later, at lunch, my dormmates commented that songs their grandparent listened to were too “dull.” Why do these differences in preferences? Surprisingly, or perhaps not surprisingly, researchers have found that there are multiple reasons.

In a larger metastudy, looking at 21 prior studies of this issue, the psychologist David J. Hargreaves and colleagues discuss several theories that might explain why and how musical preferences change for children and adolescents.  As a guiding principle, Hargreaves introduces the concept of  “open-earedness” to describe the phenomenon that children are “more readily able to listen to and maybe also enjoy unconventional or unusual (e.g., ‘avant garde’, aleatory, or electronic) musical forms.” This may be due to them not fully acculturating to the normative standards of “good taste” compared to older children.

Following Hargreaves, Albert LeBlanc proposed that younger children are more open-eared which declines upon adolescence, even as it slightly rebounds in young adults and declines again in old age. This hypothesis is supported by most studies examined in Hargreaves’s metastudy.  For example, LeBlanc and colleagues compared art music, traditional jazz, and rock, and found preferences to be greater in adulthood compared to adolescence and old age for all genres. Another example is Sam Taylor’s finding that preferences for twentieth-century composers were greater with age (12-20 years old) but less for later baroque composers.

Another researcher, Daniel Ellis Berlyne, claimed that continued exposure to a particular piece of music makes it easier to understand, less erratic, and less complex. This, in turn, increases liking that piece. According to Hargreaves, this theory suggests that aging leads to a greater preference for complex music. As modeled in Hargreaves’s Figure 16.3 a, children would perceive a simple Song B as moderately arousing but more complex Song C may be uninterpretable. However, the graph shifts from right to left for older people (Figure 16.3 b) as Song C is moderately arousing but Song B becomes simplistic.

Yet data from another study reported by Adrian C. North and Morris B. Holbrook suggest a difference with Berlyne’s theory. In that study, participants aged 9-78 were asked to nominate their most renowned pop musicians. In the top 10 list for each group, the nominated artists were those who peaked in fame during the participant’s adolescence/early adulthood. As North puts it, “what constitutes as ‘music’ does not evolve over time, and instead becomes fixed during the adolescence/early adulthood ‘critical period’.” This may explain why some musical preferences remain consistent throughout life.

In a different study Arielle Bonneville Roussy and colleagues offer another explanation of trends in musical preference across the ages. A music personality test collected data from volunteers between 2003 and 2013 and respondents were evaluated on their likeness of 21 musical genres. This was then analyzed in three age groups (age 12-19, adolescence, age 20-39, young adulthood, and age 40-65, middle adulthood) under a MUSIC model: “mellow” music included new age, electronica/dance, and international/world music since they were viewed as relaxing. Religious, pop, and country music was characterized as “unpretentious” due to their simple nature. Jazz, bluegrass, folk, opera, classical, and gospel were considered “sophisticated” as attributed to their deepness and inspiration. Heavy metal, punk, and rock were categorized as “intense” since they were perceived as aggressive. Lastly, “contemporary” music encompassed rap, soul/R&B, reggae, and funk.

As shown in Figure 1, Roussy found an upward trend for the preferences of unpretentious and sophisticated music from adolescence to middle adulthood. However, intense and contemporary music indicated the opposite effect as there is a steady decline from young adulthood to middle adulthood. The mellow category differed from these two trends with a rapid increase in preference from adolescence to young adulthood which then declines in middle adulthood. This resurfaces near the end of middle adulthood.

One way to analyze why preferences change with age is to use Erik Erikson’s model of the psychosocial stages of development : since adolescents are struggling to develop a coherent identity, they resonate with the rebellious connotations of intense music seeking to “establish a sense of independence or autonomy.” Once self-identity is formed in early adulthood, the focus is on creating intimate bonds of love. Contemporary and mellow music are considered “romantic, emotionally positive, and danceable,” reinforcing intimacy. This shows why young adults prefer these types of music. Middle adulthood is marked by challenges of maintaining friendships, raising a family, and developing a career. Preferences for unpretentious and sophisticated music peaked during this stage. Unpretentious music has themes about love and family which may appeal to adults raising children. Sophisticated music is associated with high culture which attracts those establishing social status and career success.

Another factor to consider is the development of changes in auditory perception. Roussy explains that with age, people lose the capacity to hear high-pitched and soft sounds and may develop hyperacusis, a decreased tolerance to certain sound frequencies. Since intense and contemporary music tend to have high intensity and volume, it may be painful to hear and less enjoyable for older listeners.

Something to keep in mind are social factors can influence one’s taste in music. A study by Tom F.M. ter Bogt and colleagues found that an integrational continuity of musical preferences may exist between parents and adolescents. In this study, two-parent families were randomly selected to answer a Music Preference Questionnaire on a scale of 1 (very bad) – 5 (very good) about their likeness to musical genres.

Parents were asked about genres that were popular during their adolescence such as Pop (top 40, soul, disco), Rock (rock, alternative), and Highbrow (classical music, jazz). Adolescents were asked about the same genres that were mainstream to them. This included: Pop (top 40, R&B, hip-hop), Rock (rock, heavy, metal, punk), Highbrow (classical music, jazz), and Dance (house/trance, club/mellow). Interestingly, mothers and fathers liked Pop which is also shown by boys and girls. Rock and Highbrow were liked less in comparison to Pop but their children demonstrated this preference to a significantly lesser degree. Another striking finding was a higher correlation between mother and daughter preferences for Pop compared to the father-daughter relationship. However, for Rock and Highbrow, the difference is not as significant between the mother’s or father’s influence on the daughter. Sons displayed a weaker correlation for Pop and Rock in relation to either parent. Interestingly, there was a stronger correlation for Highbrow music for both the mother-son and father-son relationship relative to the daughters.

Ter Bogt suggested that these intergenerational similarities likely stem from parents playing music around their children or persuading them to engage in musical activities such as attending concerts, playing instruments, or singing together. Perhaps this could be intentionally done to influence children to favor one genre over others.

Thus, musical preferences can change not only because of our developmental stages in life but also because of our predisposition and environment. It’s imperative to keep in mind, however, that there are instances when musical preferences may not change due to stagnant tastes. The various influences on musical preferences require a multi-faceted approach that needs to be analyzed through different lenses, just like how we interpret music from different perspectives.