Paradigms and theoretical approaches in sociology of music

The aim of this paper is to present the state of affairs on the theoretical currents in the sociology of contemporary music. Internationally, the sociology of music has been productive in empirical research, especially in the European tradition. The theoretical scenario found in the sociology of music is based on a pluralistic paradigm which follows general trends in sociology. This shows in a variety of approaches, which we will present here, which differ according to the plane in which they operate: macro, meso and micro. We provide a summary of classic proposals like Weber, Adorno, Bourdieu and DeNora, and include new methodological proposals from social network analysis, ethnography and cultural studies. We consider that in order to consolidate a theoretical framework we must avoid the postmodern trap, which avoids sociological criticism, and recognize the need for doing true social theory.