Tracing the phenomenon of differentiation in Turkish folk music in the historical process through the music industry (Between 1927-2000)

This study chronologically discusses the production diversity of folk music in the Turkish music industry and the influence of this industry on folk music in the historical process. In line with the problem that ensued from the transition of the resided geography concurrently with the music industry, this study initially focused on the historical context of folk music and then reviewed institutional and theoretical studies dating back to the early Republican period about Turkish folk music, whose roots originates from rural life, is one of the ancient oral cultural traditions of the nation, and eventually involves the exposition of urban life. Along with the reviewed studies, the process of turning folk music into "national music" has primarily been scrutinized through the literature of that period. The subsequent section mainly focused on a literature review in the conceptual framework, analyzing the historical development of the media tools of the music industry (radio, record player, tape machine, CD, and TV) within the culture industry in the national and international context in line with the researches and the data gathered and interpreting on a problematic critical level. The section additionally included new genres generated through the phases and evolution of the music industry in Turkey. In the section that exemplifies the study findings, the study scrutinized the impact of this institutional structure on folk music, as the radio—one of the influential mass media tools—has become institutionalized starting from the early Republican period, and the changes and evolution folk music underwent during this process. Subsequently, the section discussed the extent to which folk music has taken place in this industry and folk music productions in the record industry by the escalating activities in the Turkish music industry in the 1950s. In this direction, the study analyzed the relationship between 'popular music' and 'folk music,' which began to gain popularity in the late 1960s. The study also assessed the music productions in the genre of "Anatolian Pop"—one of the popular music genres of this period—and the musical titles produced under the influence of the political environment of the period in both musically (design, melodic) and verbally (expressive and semantic). Yet again, the same section discussed the productions in the music industry, which concurrently developed through cassette player technology, analyzing the production diversity in this technology domain. With the music industry transitioning to television via video music following record and cassette, the study attempted to disclose the influence of private TV channels opened in the 1990s on folk music through the Kral TV music awards between 1994-2000. In line with the data gathered and discussed chronologically between 1927 and 2000, the study made a comparison between all these findings related to the music industry and the productions under the umbrella of tradition and accordingly presented the identified variations. The study findings also concluded that the music industry still offers a versatile diversity in the context of Turkish folk music production, although technology and modernity lead to a change in society and tradition. Keywords: Folk Music, Culture Industry, Music Industry, Anatolian Pop, Mass Media