What is Popular Music?

The word 'popular' is one that cannot be concisely defined, this is why the term 'popular music' often means different things to different people. The word originally comes from a legal term 'popularis' meaning 'to favour the people.' The term has come to encapsulate music that is 'widely favoured' or is seen as a synonym for 'good music'; although there is an element of truth in this statement it is not always the case as many shocking examples in the UK charts will demonstrate. Burnett discusses the idea that popular music is “commercially oriented” whilst there are plenty of examples in which this is true it can't always be said that the primary intention of the artist is to make money. Popular music could be considered as music which is released to or heard by a mainstream audience often for, but not exclusively to, economic gain.