Music - Social and Political Aspects, Sociology - General & Miscellaneous, Popular Music - General & Miscellaneous

Valuing Pop Music: Institutions, Values and Economics

Name: Valuing Pop Music: Institutions, Values and Economics
Author: Wilfred Dolfsma
ISBN: 9789051666823

by Wilfred Dolfsma

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Overview

"The rise of pop music in the 1950s and 1960s is puzzling. How to explain why people started consuming pop music? Why was it suddenly valued so highly? To answer these questions, we need to look at how consumption and production have mutually influenced each other. Institutional economics is used and developed to address these questions. The study contributes to what might be called a social value theory in economics. The Social Value Nexus presents a framework for explaining how socio-cultural values (VALUES) relate to an institutional setting. From an institutional setting, it is argued, emanates the value people have for a specific consumption good such as pop music. In addition to a theoretical contribution, this study presents additional information about the advent of pop music in the Netherlands. Study of archives, interviews with people involved, and a series of group interviews with fans of pop music also necessitates a more nuanced evaluation of recent history."

Synopsis

The author tries to explain why people started consuming pop music and why it was suddenly valued so highly. To answer this, he looks at how consumption and production have mutually influenced each other. The study contributes to what may be called a social value theory in economics. It is argued that the value people have for a specific consumption good such as pop music emanates from an institutional setting. In addition to a theoretical contribution, this study presents additional information about the advent of pop music in the Netherlands.