Date of Award

1997

Publication Type

Master Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Department

Communication Studies

Keywords

Mass Communications.

Supervisor

Ruggles, Myles,

Rights

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Abstract

This thesis is a study of Canadian government regulations and programs that support the country's domestic music industry. Specifically, this study questions if the focus of these policies favours production of "hit-makers" whose music is geared to appeal on an international level, as opposed to musicians who convey a Canadian identity (with possible "spillover" appeal in the global music market.) The cultural industries approach, as outlined by Sinclair (1997), offers a salient theoretical perspective for this study. This approach acknowledges that popular music is produced, distributed and marketed in a process wherein consumer demand is manufactured and managed. It also recognizes, however, that popular culture is manifest through a dialectic between pervasive consumer culture and localized social experience. Laba (1988) frames these ideas into a Canadian context, and in the process he positions the popular culture dialectic in the context of Canada's music industry. This dialectic reflects the struggle between Canadian independent labels (which produce local and regional sounds) and major transnational music companies (which appropriate local sounds for their international consumer base). This study uses the cultural industries approach to: (1) observe how government policies have promoted Canadian music into the late 1990s, taking into account their historical development and the various agents involved, and (2) investigate the structure of the Canadian music industry, observing its various agents and the economics of music production, distribution and promotion. A final chapter reviews the findings and proposes ways in which the popular culture of regionalism can be better promoted through Canadian music policies.Dept. of Communication Studies. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1997 .K43. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 37-01, page: 0012. Adviser: Myles Ruggles. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1997.

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