Secondary Popular Culture

In the context of “primary process” assumptions concerning mass distributed culture, the idea of “secondary process” assumptions is developed. A secondary popular culture process (1) is focused on the time period after “legitimate” distribution is conventionally considered complete, (2) treats “finished” cultural materials as raw materials, (3) takes for granted the design and actualization features of “legitimate” production and distribution (which is tantamount to “sacredness”), (4) “turns over” nationally (and internationally) produced wants (“markets”) at the local level for local profit, and (5) creates localized occupational, professional, and stylistic identities which are unanticipated consequences of the centralized producer's work. The idea is then illustrated through a brief discussion of the author's research concerning local popular music performers.