The Thai popular music industry: industrial form and musical design

Popular music, as it is generally defined in its commercial existence, originated in the West and has been widely discussed in Anglophone academia. One of the key means of approaching it is in terms of political economy, by viewing the culture industry essentially as a model of capitalism, with the purpose of maximizing profit [Bumett, 1996; Frith, Straw and Street, 2001]. The debates between political economists and other popular music scholars have predominantly taken as their subject Western popular music. Yet it is important to point out that whilst studies focused upon cultural industries outside of Western contexts have been few and far between, many have proved extremely fruitful and enlightening, exploring issues not considered in Western-centered accounts. This dissertation will attempt to examine and describe the causes and effects of corporate control over the major labels, which have been influential in the Thai popular music industry since 1982, when the first major label was established. Furthermore, this dissertation will argue that the popular music industry in Thailand presents something of a variation on Adorno's theme of mass culture, replicating certain aspects of his description while also diverging in important ways. The study of the development of Thai popular music in this dissertation can be divided into five important periods: the Pre-pop Era (from the emergence of The Impossible to 1982) and the Pop Era (1982-1994), the Indie Phenomenon (1994-1997), the Major Retum (1997-2002) and the present day (2002 to today). These terms were used to emphasis the most prominent event happened in each period