A descriptive research on the cultural industry approaches to the use of popular music works in advertisements

Along with the industrial revolution, the change of production patterns and the increase in the production rate cause the product abundance seen in the markets. Mass-produced products require mass consumption in order to sustain the vitality of the system. In this direction, advertising is emerging as an important tool to disseminate consumption throughout the society and to create consumer societies. Advertisers use a wide variety of factors in their ads to increase the relevance of individuals to the product or brand. One of these factors is the musical works which give the feeling of familiarity to the individuals and which are in memory. This study examines the use of popular musical works in advertising and discusses the reasons for this usage. In this context, it is explained how the culture industry commodifies art works and prepares the basis for the use of popular musical works in advertisements, what factors are present in the historical background of the subject and how capitalism, which is the system that these factors serve, constantly reproduces itself. Within the scope of the study, a monthly advertisement was recorded to obtain current and original data. Later, in-depth interviews with the advertising agencies and music production companies were conducted for the field work. Interviews show why popular music works are used in advertisements and how the advertising industry is approaching this usage. By analyzing the obtained data, the causes of use of popular music works are tried to be revealed in advertisements.