Thursday, 28 February 2008

What are the strengths and weaknesses of Peterson's production of culture approach to the birth of Rock n' Roll

Peterson makes reasonable arguments on how the music industry changed dramatically after the end of the monopoly of the main four record companies. However, he makes the whole phenomenon sound too much of a techinical revolution rather than stressing the Rock n' Roll music itself or the formation of the rebellious new youth subculture. Peterson notes six key factors that are vital in the development of the style; law, technology, industry- and organisation structure as well as occupational career and market. Peterson's theory of the industry structure could probably be applied for other cultural industries as well. The cultural environment at the time and the commercial industry changes that happened conveniently, ensured an excellent timing for a new style to emerge. The rise of the independent record companies and the alternative music on 7inch formats did change the industry substantially, but whether it was really that technical as Peterson suggests may not be entirely true.

1 comment:

Scaletlancer said...

As you suggest, Peterson does an excellent job of explaining why the market for a new style of music emerged, but he makes little attempt to understand why that music was rock and roll. Overall, a reasonable attempt at the question.