ABSTRACT
Popular music is like a unicorn: everyone knows what it is supposed to look like, but no one has ever seen it. The more things change, the more they remain the same. The components of popular music are in constant flux. Different sounds, personalities, and favorites dart on and off the music charts. Quantitatively, popular music is a recognized product. The number of records sold is measurable and observable. Popular music is not just the sum total of all musical styles. It does not include all forms of music. If it reflected all the people's tastes, it would then have to include a multitude of styles and all of the esoteric genres enjoyed by hundreds of taste publics. Prior to 1979 the volume of product had been a historic problem in the record industry. The National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM), which reported its sales figures in 1981, found rock and "pop" constituted nearly half the market, 49.8 percent.
