Culture industry

The culture industry is a term adopted by Adorno & Horkheimer explaining how people are easily manipulated and results them in becoming a product rather than an artist. For example, the theory explains how every winning contestant in a talent show goes through a transformation to become someone who would be more accepted and more successful, making them the same as everyone else and resulting in no unique and separate music act in the industry. Adorno & Horkheimer criticise this themselves and due to the fact that this has been seen as the norm, in the music industry especially, we have become expectant and accepting of it.

Whilst the majority of music acts nowadays can be categorised into mainstream music, due to the X Factor being a big factor of new music acts, it could also be argued that there are still some artists who are an exception to this theory. The music act 'Brandon and Leah' could be classed as an exception to the Adorno & Horkheimer theory as they left a major record label and began to make music and release an album on their own and have become popular. Their most famous song 'Showstopper' from EP 'Cronies' could be classed as a pop/indie pop song and they haven't changed their image or style since.

 They haven't been influenced by the media or been driven to evolve into another image by a record label to keep up with the latest trends. Singer Leah said in an interview ''It's really cool to be able to do it on our own and use the people that we have, the people that we know, to gain those things'' Showing that whilst they have had help getting the attention, they have been independent and original.

However, due to the fact that they are completely independent, they haven't become overly famous and they are still not on any official record label. This could suggest why they aren't known well and their songs are never in the charts. They aren't heard of much, which could affect their popularity as they haven't branched out as much as other artists. Nevertheless, they make music videos, perform small concert sessions, and win 'rising star' awards.