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Popular Music and Mass Media
Popular music is, by definition, music that is disseminated widely. As such, it became particularly significant with the twentieth-century proliferation of recording technologies and mass media. Before recording and playback technology allowed music to spread through records in the 1920s, a tune had to circulate through word of mouth, traveling performers, or music notation. Printed music might appear in a music magazine or newspaper, or as sheet music purchased through general stores, catalogs, and music stores.
The Popular Music Industry
The success of a popular music artist has often been measured by how many songs or recordings they sell. In the past, that meant record and CD sales; with digital distribution, downloads became another important measure. Recording industry executives determine which artists to record and distribute largely based on their perceived ability to sell units.
Popular Music and Cultural Memory
Popular music is also often thought of as ephemeral, meaning that it may remain in the consciousness of a group of people for only a limited time. For this chapter, we have chosen popular music that has either transcended that boundary or was so important in, or exemplary of, its time and place that its discussion helps us understand music, history, and culture more broadly.
These examples represent only a sampling of the enormous body of popular music that has existed in the United States since roughly the Colonial period. As you listen, consider whether you can think of similar examples of popular music that you know.
This page titled 5.5.1: Introduction to Popular Music in the United States was last modified on Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:46:00 GMT and is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Clark, Heflin, Kluball, and Kramer (GALILEO Open Learning Materials) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.
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