Musicians, like most artists, hate genre labels. Genres imply limitations and limitations imply restrictions. Artists like to feel they are free of restrictions; that their creativity should be constrained by arbitrary boundaries.
Journalists like genres because it enables them to classify and group artists to distinguish say a rock band from a soul group.
The wider the category the easier it is to make uncontroversial distinctions.
Few are likely to confuse rock music with opera, yet when Pavaroti performed with Elton John, should this be called pop, rock or opera. Is it a mongrel breed that needs another label – rock opera for example . But then that would put it in the same category with The Who’s ‘Tommy’ and ‘Quadrophenia’.
Record shops (ones that still survive!) place albums into sections on the grounds that a customer would otherwise have to sift through all the items to find music that they are looking for.
Even if you go into a store or want to browse online you don’t normally do so in a random way.
If you like Bob Marley you’ll look in the reggae section, if you like Son House you’ll go to The Blues, if you like Rihanna you’ll find her in Pop.
Most music magazines operate within limited genres, like Kerrang for heavy metal or Folk Roots for World Music. The Wire magazine prides itself in being different.
