In Maureen Mahon’s article Music, Power, and Practice I found it interesting to see that she finds it important that artists and their audiences use their music to express their identities. As we mentioned in class, the recording industry experts put musicians into categories they feel are appropriate and not necessarily even the category the artist wants to be in. With this you also don't tend to see artists switching categories, they tend to stay in their own genres. 

     Music is a way for people to express themselves, their identities, values, and even what they believe in, both as a musician and an audience. People connect through music and are able to unite under common interests. This is why artists should be able to freely express themselves and partake in whatever category of music they want. As an artist they shouldn't have to be fit into a certain category based on appearance or what record companies think would best fit the artist. An example that was brought up in class is that rock and roll artists tend to be white males, who play an instrument, usually the guitar.  Anyone should be able to sing in any category or genre they want to. Another example talked about in class was how T-Pain is actually a very good gospel singer but is really well known as a rapper this is because of his look the record labels put him into the category of rap. The music industry chooses the genre of the artist that they feel will make the most money and will gain the most fans instead of what the artist really would prefer to do. 

     In the music industry you don't tend to see many artists switching categories they are in, they tend to stay in the same genre throughout their careers. I find this interesting because artists like Taylor Swift, Darius Rucker, Miley Cyrus, and even Bob Dylan who have switched their genre of music have still done considerably well and still have a huge fan base. If you have a passion for more than one category of music and want to switch genres artists should be able to. They shouldn't have to be restricted to the category of music that the music industry puts them in. 

     I found that Mahon’s article made very good points, she talked about how it was important to consider the ways artists and audiences use forms like dance, literate, film, visual arts, and music to express their identities and beliefs, to advance critiques, to evoke emotion, and to encourage action. For the music industry to limit and categorize artists on their looks and what will get them and the artist the most moneys is not what music should be about . The focus should be on the passion for music and what the artist loves to do and not what category that the looks of the artist best fits .