The New Culture Industry

Augie Waaktaar-Savoy

In the past few decades, the music industry has undergone a seismic shift. The advent of social media, easy-to-use production software, and global distribution at the click of a button has revolutionized the way artists exist within capitalism. But are there pitfalls to this newfound democratization? Nowadays, mainstream music is culturally incoherent and schizophrenic. There's no longer a dominant narrative in ubiquitous music, but a set of splintered and distinct genres that no longer effectively communicate with each other. These differences foster a digital isolation for consumers that is emblematic of our time. Cultural bubbles that are exceedingly divorced from the reality they attempt to portray. While literature from decades prior predicted these developments, it's all taking shape in our contemporary music landscape.