by Bobby Coles

Created on: October 19, 2009   Last Updated: May 03, 2012

The music industry has an indelible and lasting impact on teens and their lifestyle choices. Teens are a very impressionable demographic, and the music industry preys upon them with clever marketing tactics. The lifestyle choices of many teens reflect their personal likes from the music industry.

Music videos, the packaging from the CD'S and DVD'S that the musicians sell, and the actions of the band on-stage all act as a major catalyst to making definitive impressions on teens. The music industry is well versed in how to market a singer or a band, and it is all done in a very calculated manner, with maximum exposure and profit being the underlying factors. Teens tend to fall hook, line, and sinker for these marketing strategies.

The different gimmicks that a band employs, such as their clothing choices, all set the trends for many young teens throughout the world. Many teens are actively seeking out their own identity, and trying to find their niche in the crowd.With peer pressure being so rampant and damaging to the psyche of the teen-aged, many teens succumb to trying to fit in with any crowd that is currently accepting new members, many of which are music-based. Fans of certain bands that have attained a cult-status bond together, with their musical likes being the only reason that they have been brought together.

Sub-cultures exist in society, with many people occupying a wide spectrum of genres. The music industry has supplied the impetus for change and acceptance. The teen who connects with the lyrics of a certain band will begin to adopt some of their supposed ideologies, feeling a symbiotic relationship with the band. This lifestyle change can be for many reasons, but the music industry is a major influence. In today's society, with technology supplying endless opportunity to listen and watch songs and bands, the influence on the impressionable teen is massive.

A mindset can be altered from time to time, depending on the rages and fads of the day. Many singers are also crossing over into movies, which brings forth a new element. Rob Zombie has brought his morbidity into the horror genre of Hollywood, creating a new legion of adoring fans. It all depends on the individuals need for something to rail for or against. Green Day have been the typical anarchists for several decades, bringing many people together with a common cause in their mind. The music becomes an anthem that the teen will adopt and use as a mantra.

The music industry creates icons, and the media brings the different messages to the general public, and it is swallowed up be teens in particular. Many of the messages sent are negative, but those that are positive have many parents breathing a collective sigh of relief.

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