Straddling the Cultural Chasm: The Great Divide between Music Criticism and Popular Consumption

Abstract

Although there has long been a divide in popular music between critical response and marketplace reception, never has that gulf been greater than it is now, extending well beyond musical taste to modes of consumption. As tidal waves of technology have transformed both journalism and popular music in profound and interrelated ways, journalism in general, and music journalists in particular, face enormous challenges. Radical change has created a disconnect that is as much generational as technological, a divide that music journalists must bridge in order to stay relevant.

Notes

^[1] Powers, who says she has often had this discussion with her husband, veteran rock critic Eric Weisbard, also hosted a “Death of the Critic” forum in September 2008 at the University of Southern California.

^[2] In the University of Iowa's School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

^[3] The same article referenced a study stating that the largest market for CDs is the 50-plus demographic.