ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of conceptual foundations and recent scholarship on the dynamics of cultural consecration and canon formation in popular music. Such processes are a key component of Pierre Bourdieu’s work on fields of cultural production, the analysis of art worlds associated with Howard Becker and sociological research on the production of culture. After introducing the conceptual frameworks provided by each of these approaches, the chapter highlights contemporary scholarship that focuses on various forms of legitimacy and consecration, the historical construction and reconstruction of the popular music canon, and the distribution of consecrated status across social boundaries based on race, class and gender. Debates about cultural globalisation and the increasingly transnational character of popular music consecration are likewise discussed. The chapter concludes by noting some recent developments and reflecting on opportunities for future research on cultural consecration and canon formation, which promises to remain a vibrant line of enquiry.
