Abstract
In popular music, the concept of “musical work” is different from that of so-called “classical” music (western art music in the modern era). As music copyright shows, however, there are a number of discourses in which popular music is understood in the paradigm of “classical” musical works.
In this paper, by analyzing general discourses about popular music on a semiotic framework based on the theory of Joseph Margolis, the auther considers what logical structure maintains and produces the identity of the concept of musical works in popular music, and explains the difference from the concept of “classical” music. Then the auther discusses that the alternation of “musical work” has been generated from a new relation between musical practices and reproduction technology such as recording media.
