Music boxes: The process of categorization and commodification in music production.

摘要

Sociologists have long studied the social aspects of music. In the body of existing literature, sociologists have often used the terms musical genre and musical styles interchangeably, yet a distinction can be made between the two. Musical styles are shown to be subordinate to musical genres. The process of categorization of contemporary American popular music of the twentieth century is considered and an analysis of emergence, duration and demise of both styles and genre is made. Six methods used to label musical styles were discovered and are described. During this time frame, a shift in labeling is shown to occur due to commodification of music in the latter half of the twentieth century.