Popular vs. of the people vs. the masses vs. the oppressed:
Not the culture industry but the popularity industry.
"Popular" is not "of the people".
"Mass" is not "of the masses".
People are not "the people".
Masses are not "the masses".
Or could it be that there is no more to "of the people" than popular (pop music, pop art, pop
culture)?
No more to "of the masses" than mass (mass marketing, mass media, mass appeal)?
Commercialization leaves no room for imagining an anti-commercial action, nor for making a non-
commercial decision.
The commercial model holds that music is to be liked,
popular,
in,
not too far out,
not stuffy, but packaged right;
listeners are buyers, customers.
The customer is always right The listener, by contrast, is continually correcting.
In mass culture the attempt is to replace community with commodity.
