This week, both the lecture and seminar covered the topic of ‘audiences’ and in particular the different theories such as the hypodermic needle and Stuart Hall’s reception theory, both in which I’ve covered previously.
Applying both theories to a media text more convenient to myself, aka music, I strongly feel like Hall’s reception theory is more engrossing in the fact that in the music industry all readings (preferred, negotiated and oppositional) are present, dependent on how the listener tends to decode / interpret what a specific song or lyric is trying to convey within its message. For example, Calum Scott’s “What I Miss Most” is a dedication to his hometown of Hull, and I know this because not only am I from Hull myself, but one of the lyrics reads “under three crowns when I’m far away” which is Calum paying dedication to the city’s coat of arms.
Personally, I do believe traditional audience theories still apply as all media texts will continue to demonstrate passive and active audiences, however due to the vast increase of technology and social media, they become unnoticed.
Most media texts allow audiences to engage, however the one most renowned I believe is radio and this is because the listeners can interact in a number of ways:
- Social Media
- Online
- Text
- Landline
