Selling Out in the Sixties: Commercialization and Commodification in Three Musical Genres
Date
2012-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
This thesis presents three case
studies
of
American
musicians
in
the
1960s
who
worked
against
the
discourse
of
authenticity
within
their
respective
genres.
Using
different
strategies,
the
three
studies
show
how
music
can
be
commercialized
or
commodified
to
the
musician’s—and
audience’s—benefit.
All
three
cases
involve
consideration
of
audience
reception
in
the
nature
of
production,
and
all
three
creators
benefitted
from
such
consideration.
The
three
studies
represent
varied
genres:
the
symphony
orchestra,
experimental
minimalism,
and
pop/folk.
During
his
tenure
at
the
New
York
Philharmonic,
conductor
Leonard
Bernstein
incorporated
popular
music
into
the
Young
People’s
Concerts,
an
educational
series.
Experimental
composer
Steve
Reich
abandoned
political
composition
for
instrumental
music
while
gaining
popularity,
only
to
later
come
back
to
pointed
political
composition.
Paul
Simon
embraced
a
producer’s
overdubbing
of
“The
Sound
of
Silence,”
a
simple
acoustic
song,
once
the
new
version
offered
him
a
taste
of
fame
and
fortune.
Description
Keywords
American musicians, Young People's Concerts, 1960's protest music, symphony orchestra, experimental minimalism, pop/folk music, Leonard Bernstein, Steve Reich, Paul Simon, commercialization, commodification