The Culture Industry

On Monday 26th September 2011 we started off the lesson by watching the first auditions of some of this year's X Factor contestants. We looked at their first auditions from an industry/judge perspective and considered the following whilst watching:

• Likability
• Their potential
• Their Image
• Will they sell records
• Stage Presence
• Star-quality

We then discussed the following: Are the X Factor looking for talent OR are they just money-makers?

• What genre will the artist fit into?
• How marketable is the artist?
• What song's can they sing?
• Can they be Christmas no.1?
• What audience will they appeal to

The artist is a 'commodity' and the judges are already putting together a business plan regarding the artists; therefore the X Factor is a hegemonic institution. So to a great extent the X Factor could be seen as 'money makers'.
With reference to Production of Culture/Cultures of Production(ed)Paul Du Gay, Sage 1997.