Musical culture of the post-industrial society: on the problem of analyzing basic definitions

The article deals with the problem of definitions and boundaries of concepts widely used in modern postindustrial culture, scientific and public discourse: «mass», «popular», «academic», «classical», «elite» music. Mass music has several features that are largely determined by the specifics of the socio-cultural and technical development of society in the post-industrial era. However, the loosely applied term «popular» in relation to this direction of music is inaccurate, since not only the works of mass music become well-known, but also classical, academic. In the conditions of post-industrial culture, works of not only mass, but also academic, elite music are used as entertainment, and as a commodity of «organized consumer culture», receiving, among other things, the status of «popular», which is not identical in essence to the concept of «pop music», which is one of the directions of mass music as a cultural phenomenon of the XX century. The consideration of the essential aspects of the musical directions of mass and elite music leads to the conclusion about the social conditionality of the vector of development and their demand in the conditions of modern culture.