Fyra av fem stjärnor

Abstract

Aim of thesis: The purpose of this study is to explore how today's music criticism is expressed in Swedish media and whether the geographical proximity to musical acts can influence the character of the music review. To do this, we looked at different aspects such as the content, the grading and the overall tonality in reviews of records. We also examined the role and influence of the cultural journalist and discussed what factors may contribute and affect a cultural journalist's music criticism. The material that was examined and analyzed included record reviews from Aftonbladet, Svenska Dagbladet, Dagens Nyheter and GAFFA. The total number of reviews was 25 reviews from each newspaper. Theoretical framework: The theoretical framework of this study mainly focuses on Bourdieu's concept of field and Florida’s “creative class” as well as theoretical aspects regarding objectivity, framing and commercialization. These theories have been applied to understand, analyze and possibly explain the results of the study. Methods: The method used was a qualitative content analysis. Results: Our findings show that the majority of the published reviews have informative and biographical content and less reviewing elements. The study also shows that there is a difference in tonality towards international music acts that often receive a much more negative tonality than Swedish music acts. In addition, the majority of the grades that were given were very intermediate grades.