ABSTRACT
Because of the brevity and ephemerality of its texts, television writers, producers and composers must circulate meaning to its audience by using visual, narrative and acoustic conventions that can be assimilated quickly. The most effective means of establishing this rapport with its audience is by recycling images, sounds, and music from predecessor texts in TV, but also from film, radio, and other media. The parasitic nature of television is one facet of the medium that has made it the most accessible of all media, in that it has a “pre-manufactured familiarity” that engages its audience. Music has played a role in establishing this familiarity, and is a key reason that television has been an effective communicator with its audience. Music has added to the televisual experience because composers and music editors have been able to tap into musical styles that correlate particular television genres with audience expectations and tastes.
