Sociological Approaches to the Pop Music Phenomenon

Abstract

Social scientists have long theorized about &dquo;mass society&dquo; and &dquo;mass culture&dquo; and, generally, are appalled by the frightening images brought to mind by these concepts. A wide-ranging debate over their validity, a concern about the &dquo;functions&dquo; of the mass media in modern society, and their &dquo;effects&dquo; on the general public have been major subjects of mass communications research for the last two decades.1 Studies of popular entertainment too often are based exclusively on these concerns. American mass entertainment has undergone an extraordinary set of transformations in recent years. Several revolutions in communications technology, shifts in program content, altered audience composition, and public opinion have received widespread attention. A related transformation, less widely discussed, has occurred in the organization of mass entertainment. Today's entertainment industries bear little resemblance to their namesakes of twenty years ago. This paper will discuss four sociological approaches to the study of popular culture and relate each to a set of radical changes that have Author's Note: 7?!M pope~ M pay o~M o~o~ ~Md~ c/c/M~~ poptà uthor's Note: This paper is part of an ongoing study of changing popular song styles, adolescents' musical taste preferences, and the structure of the pop music industry conducted at

Prestige Effects and Aesthetic Experiences: Adolescents' Reactions to Music

“…The latter are defined by sex (boys, girls) and educational streaming (Grammar, Secondary Modern). Sex has already been revealed as an important variable in teenage music preferences (Baumann, * While rhythm and beat are generally the most important features of 'popular' music, an emphasis on structure and development is characteristic of ' classical' music (Hirsch, 1971 ;Robinson & Hirsch, 1972). However, such differing emphases are not apparent in contemporary ' serious ' and ' progressive pop ' music.…”

Sex, violence and rock ‘n’ roll: Youths’ perceptions of popular music

“…Hirsch's (1971) review of research on this subject, from the 1940's to the 1970's, traces a shift away from traditional values regarding love and sex. Later popular music, according to Hirsch's analysis, tended to portray two independent partners in a relationship and extended to such new topics as social protest and drug use.…”

Critical response and reply

“…Similarly, Irvine and Kirkpatrick identify the lyrics of music as a "variable that can potentially produce a rhetorical impact" (1972, p. 275). Indeed, Cole has directly reported that the lyrics of a song constitute "an important portion" of "a song's total impact" (1971, p. 390; see also Hirsch, 1971).…”