According to Theodore Adorno popular music is a mass produced commodity, for he states that the 'fundamental characterisitic of popular music is standardization.' He also states that 'regardless of what aberrations occur, the hit will lead back to the same familiar experience, and nothing fundamentally novel will be introduced.' Whereas what he calls serious music; namely classical music, he states that 'every detail derives its musical sense from the concrete totality of the piece which, in turn, consists of the life relationship of the details and never a mere enforcement of a musical scheme.' Serious music then, is a serious business, where the music is above the simplicity of a musical scheme or format 'In Beethoven, position is important only in a living relation between a concrete totality and it's concrete parts. In popular music, position is absolute.' However just because a song has a framework, does not necessarily mean it is automated and devoid of art or creativity. Mozart still created music for money, just as popular music does. And even where music does use standardised forms and types, it can still express rebellion against standardization and commodification.
If one accepts that art then is one person's appreciation for, or one person's expression of creation; popular music can still be seen as a genuine art form; albeit for the want of money, everybody has got to live. Business is born out of all art forms in the society we live in today, money creates the drive for most things; popular music can be seen as something which is more geared up towards money-making, but in the example of the Arctic Monkeys, public demand was so great that they had to be signed because they were going to make money; but their music still had that combination of catchy tunes for the masses and a social commentry for people who like some depth to their music.
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A rather informative piece that is argued in a lively manner but at over 300 words it is much too long.
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