Recognition in Restricted and Large-Scale Fields: Nashville Songwriters' Success 1990-2012

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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the degree of overlap between peer and commercial recognition among country music songs and their writers from 1990-2012. Understanding the degree of differentiation between peer and commercial recognition will provide insight into how status is distributed among songwriters, which surely influences a songwriter’s and ultimately his or her career prospects. Though Bourdieu’s cultural fields theory does not allow for the possibility of overlap between artists who produce art for art’s sake and are for commercial consumption, critics believe that the distinctions between the two groups are somewhat fluid. Using a direct measure of peer recognition—songwriters’ votes on each year’s “Songs they wish they had written” and the list of Billboard hits in each year, I find mixed support for Bourdieu’s theory in this particular field. Broadly, this paper’s findings contribute to the study of cultural fields and the ability of cultural producers to find success both among their peers and in commercial markets.

Author

• Rachel Elizabeth Skaggs, Vanderbilt University