Museums, Music Halls of Fame and Fan Conventions

Abstract

This chapter begins by examining the relationship between popular music and the museum and specifically the museum’s role in repositioning popular music from its former status as a form of profane culture to its more recently acquired status as cultural heritage. Consideration is then made of music ‘halls of fame’ as in some ways analogous to museums in the way that popular music history is displayed and celebrated. Finally, this chapter considers fan conventions as a further aspect of popular music history and heritage. Although fan conventions are not typically associated with museums and halls of fame, their participatory nature allows for a specific kind of exhibition as many fans emulate the visual image of their rock and pop icons in a corporal display of popular music heritage.