This book introduces the music's cultural background how it was composed the studio production techniques & the performance styles of the artists involved in order to enhance the listening experience Hit songs have been unpicked to explain the different components that come together to form a pop song to demonstrate the evolution of the various musical styles over the decades & to inform your own music-making i Tunes Spotify & You Tube playlists have been created to accompany the book & original video is available on a companion website to illustrate the various techniques & musical elements discussed Accessible & engaging this book will be an invaluable resource for musicians writing their own songs & will prove a fascinating analysis of the genre for students & teachers of music performing arts & music technology courses that include popular music