"Antoine Hennion, one of the foremost sociologists of music in the world, finally becomes available to English-reading audiences in this excellent and long overdue translation of his comprehensive analysis of the bewildering variety of sociological approaches to music that contemporary students of the subject have to choose from. His lucid explanations and examples are a wonderful introduction to an important and ever-growing field." - Howard S. Becker, author of Art Worlds"The arguments in this text are worth grappling with, whether or not one works in the area of culture and music. (...) English readers of sociology inhabit a richer space now that they can encounter Hennion’s book, based on his dissertation, well after its influence has reshaped the field of the sociology of music." - Shamus Khan, Columbia University"Hennion’s theory of mediation provides a comprehensive approach to the study of music, one which considers the training, production, and consumption of music, without dismissing its aesthetic dimension or the individual participant." - Thomas M. Kitts in VOLUME!