Review
"Through an examination of topics such as the gramophone, radio, and dance halls, Nott convincingly documents the influence of the burgeoning music industry. In this way, the book complements recent scholarship on other facets of interwar mass entertainment. Nott relies on a wide range of archival and periodical material from the music industry, and as a work of business history the book is quite useful." --HISTORY: Reviews of New Books
"Nott makes excellent use in his book of the Mass Observation files, the back issues of
The Melody Maker magazine and the archives of the Performing Rights Society to provide primary source material on which to base his analyses. It fills a gap in the scholarly literature and will need to be read by anyone interested not only in the popular music but the popular culture of interwar Britain."--
Albion
Book Description
Popular music was a powerful and persistent influence in the daily life of millions in interwar Britain, yet these crucial years in the development of the popular music industry have rarely been the subject of detailed investigation. For the first time, here is a comprehensive survey of the British popular music industry and its audience. The book examines the changes to popular music and the industry and their impact on British society and culture from 1918 to 1939. It looks at the businesses involved in the supply of popular music, how the industry organised itself, and who controlled it. It attempts to establish the size of the audience for popular music and to determine who this audience was. Finally, it considers popular music itself - how the music changed, which music was the most popular, and how certain genres were made available to the public.
