Week 2 – What are the strengths and weaknesses of Peterson’s Production of Culture Perspective on the birth of Rock and Roll?

Peterson’s Production of Culture is a useful theory that helps to define when and why the birth of Rock and Roll was. There are many strong points to Peterson’s theory such as his attention on the technical and legal issues and industry structure. He studies the technical and production details that were occurring at the time to help to clarify a reason why Rock and Roll was born. He concentrates on issues that affected the technical side of the music, however he does not include other factors such as the artists and audiences. This is where it can be argued his theory has weaknesses. He does not consider the artists making the music and also he does not take into account the fact that this music was different to any music people had heard before. Peterson’s theory is a good way to understand many reasons for the birth of Rock and Roll although he misses out some other important issues.