Abstract

With the growing capitalist market around the world, the increasing commodification has touched almost all spheres of our socio-cultural life. Starting from the brand of mineral water like Bisleri, and Aquafina to Gayatri Mantra devotional audio CD, commodification is evident in contemporary times. Drawing upon Karl Marx's statement, a commodity has two properties: use value and exchange value. However, the increasing commodification has resulted in a market structure where the exchange value of a commodity is given precedence over its use value. Moreover, the greater emphasis on the exchange value of a commodity, sometimes, results in the loss of its use value. Nevertheless, by using the logic of use value and exchange value, music can also be considered a commodity in a capitalist market. This paper is an attempt to analyze the commodification of folk music in the context of changing dimensions of Assamese Bihu Songs. In doing so, this study is based on secondary data.