Question

What impact do you think music had music on society in the past? Why was music important to different societies?
What impact do you think music has on society as a whole in our modern world? Explain. Give specific examples in your explanation.

Answer 1

Short answer: music has always been central to human societies — it shaped rituals, identities, politics, work, memory and emotion in the past, and in the modern world it continues to do those things while also driving economies, technology, global culture and social movements. Below I sketch how and why music mattered historically, then give concrete ways it matters now with examples.

1) How music shaped societies in the past (why it was important)
- Ritual, religion and the sacred: music structured ceremonies, created communal atmosphere and transmitted religious texts or myth (e.g., Gregorian chant in medieval Europe, Vedic chant in India). Music made rituals memorable and emotionally powerful.
- Oral history and cultural memory: before widespread literacy, songs preserved genealogies, laws and stories (West African griots, Indigenous songlines in Australia).
- Social cohesion and identity: communal singing and dance reinforced group belonging and marked rites of passage (weddings, funerals, harvests). Folk music expressed local identity.
- Work and coordination: work songs and rhythm helped synchronize group labor (rowing, harvesting), made repetitive tasks tolerable and reinforced solidarity.
- Political communication and protest: songs could mobilize opinion, mock elites or spread political ideas (ballads and broadsides in early modern Europe; revolutionary songs).
- Transmission of values/education: lullabies and children’s songs taught language and norms; songs codified moral lessons.
- Social status and patronage: music signaled rank (court music, patronized composers) and shaped elite culture (e.g., courtly music in Renaissance Europe, imperial music in China).
- Healing and wellbeing: many societies used music in healing rituals and as a means to affect mood or trance states.

2) How music impacts modern society (today’s roles, with examples)
- Political and social movements: music remains a powerful mobilizer. Examples: “We Shall Overcome” and spirituals in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement; Bob Dylan’s protest songs in the 1960s; more recently songs and concerts raising awareness for climate change or human rights, and viral protest anthems in uprisings (e.g., during the Arab Spring artists and songs helped unify protestors).
- Identity, subcultures and youth culture: music genres help define groups and worldviews (punk in 1970s Britain expressed anti-establishment anger; hip-hop emerging from the Bronx gave voice to marginalized communities worldwide; K‑pop fandoms cultivate intense collective identities).
- Global cultural exchange and soft power: music spreads culture across borders and can be a diplomatic tool. Examples: American jazz as cultural diplomacy in the Cold War; K‑pop (BTS) boosting South Korea’s global profile and economy.
- Economic impact and employment: music is a major industry — recorded music, streaming, concerts, festivals, production, and related tourism. Live music events like Coachella or global tours generate billions in revenue; local economies (bars, clubs, venues) depend on music.
- Technology and distribution: inventions (phonograph, radio, TV, cassette, MP3, streaming) transformed access and cultural effects. Today, platforms like Spotify, YouTube and TikTok can make unknown artists global overnight (e.g., Lil Nas X’s rise via TikTok). Algorithms shape what people hear and can create filter bubbles or accelerate trends.
- Media, advertising and film: music controls emotion in movies, TV and advertising; theme songs and scores become cultural touchstones (John Williams’s film scores). Jingles make brands memorable.
- Mental health and therapy: music therapy has measurable benefits — reducing anxiety, helping dementia patients recall memories, improving mood and rehabilitation outcomes.
- Political economy and inequality: modern music’s commercialization raises issues — rights, royalties, streaming pay models, and cultural appropriation debates (export of marginalized cultures that later get monetized by others).
- Social media and participatory culture: short clips, remixes, memes and user-generated covers change how music is made and shared. Viral dances and songs can shape youth culture instantly (e.g., “Gangnam Style”, TikTok dance trends).
- Protest and censorship: music can both challenge and be targeted by regimes — artists are banned, imprisoned, or co-opted; but music can also circumvent censorship via coded lyrics or underground distribution.

Concrete examples
- Slave spirituals → blues → jazz → rock → global popular culture: shows how an art form born of oppression reshaped global music and culture.
- “Strange Fruit” (Billie Holiday) and other songs exposed racial violence and influenced public consciousness.
- Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” and other 1960s songs helped articulate and spread civil-rights and antiwar messages.
- Live Aid (1985) demonstrated music’s power to raise money and political attention for humanitarian crises.
- BTS and K‑pop: measurable economic impact on South Korea through music sales, tourism and soft power; also online fandom organizing political influence (e.g., streaming campaigns).
- TikTok: young artists (e.g., Olivia Rodrigo, Lil Nas X) used viral platform trends to launch careers quickly, altering how hits are made.
- Music therapy studies: music interventions shown to reduce anxiety in surgical patients and improve mood and memory in dementia care.

Overall synthesis
The core social functions of music — emotional expression, identity formation, storytelling, coordination and persuasion — are the same across time. What has changed are the scale and speed (global reach via technology), the economic structures (industrialization and digital platforms), and political stakes (music as both a tool of soft power and a site of conflict over rights and representation). Music remains a uniquely human technology for binding people, shaping meaning and moving society.

If you’d like, I can expand one of these examples into a short case study (e.g., the role of blues/jazz in American society, or how TikTok reshapes the music industry). Which would you prefer?