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2.1Origin of Popular Music as an Industry2.1.1What Is Pop Music? Did Anyone Invent It?
What is pop music, or if you prefer, popular music?
No single person invented it, of course—people have created music and lyrics for tens of thousands of years, passing songs on—usually altered—from generation to generation. The oral tradition. Folk music.
Popular music as we know it today in the West originated In the late 1700s. The Industrial Revolution took hold in England and Western Europe. Millions migrated to the cities for factory work. They brought their folk songs with them. At first, the only places factory workers could go for entertainment were ale houses. They’d get smashed and sing their songs and try to forget their miserable factory lives.
Soon they noticed that other musical entertainment alternatives existed around them in the big city. For instance, the merchant classes attended operas. Staged in actual opera houses. So urban workers started demanding more and better entertainment for themselves. By the middle of the 19th Century, various types of music halls were springing up to meet the demand.