Marxism, Music, and Modern Pop: The Case of Tate McRae

 There are many ways to analyze Tate McRae. Using a Marxist lens is a great way to analyze the commodification of popular culture. It highlights exactly how the culture industry operates within a capitalist economy. From a Marxist perspective, Tate McRae is merely a product of the entertainment industry. She has been engineered, marketed, and manufactured by a dominant controlling power.

    The controlling power of the music industry has influenced the way McRae has been marketed. The way McRae has been made a star is as a result of the four main components of the industry: record companies, streaming services, social media platforms, and advertising/marketing. McRae has been altered to fit a specific image, sound, and musical style because it is what the industry prefers. Because of this, McRae's authenticity has been lost and is nothing more than a manufactured product. McRae may be a talented songwriter and performer, but because she is working within a capitalist society, it prevents her from reaping the benefits of her work

    Equally important, McRae's story could reflect the notion of false consciousness, where audiences recognize only the achievement of individual members of a group and ignore the performance of the system as a whole, and therefore miss the inequalities that stimulate and sustain the system. McRae's narrative as a ``made" young artist reinforces the belief that working hard is a thing that is likely to be successful, and that, because of the barriers that exist for aspiring artists in breaking away to the mainstream, it disregards the barriers that exist for aspiring artists. Most aspiring artists do not have the industry contacts, monetary resources, and presence to be successful, yet pop culture universally constructs the notion that success is within reach for everyone. In that regard, McRae's story is a reflection of the story of capitalism and the myths of meritocracy.

    On the other hand, McRae's story may reflect the notion of pop culture as a place to break the mold. Although his pop culture music may not reflect hyper productivity, and maybe even reflect the struggles with the mental, emotional, and identity self, all of which are well aligned with McRae's pop culture music, it does reflect the values of the culture that dominate capitalism, with all of its health and emotional values. Nevertheless, it is a material reflection of the system of the culture of capitalism, hard, emotionless, and impenetrable. There is both a symbiotic and contradictory nature within a reflection system.

    Ultimately, Tate McRae exemplifies the intersection of personal artistry and commercial pop culture production. From a Marxist perspective, while we can appreciate her talents, it is important to analyze her artistry and the system of production and consumption that economically profits from it. Can pop artists meaningfully resist capitalist systems if their success depends on the same structures they might critique?