Celebrity fame now functions as a loss leader for other products

Evidence

This all had a major effect on the cultural ecosystem: pulling people known for their artistic craft into unambiguous business roles, and pushing fans to spend their money not just on media but across a wide range of premium mediocre commodities. In this new paradigm, the culture industry could no longer sustain itself on culture alone. Personal fame was a loss leader to sell stuff. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 656

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: A dense reversal: the culture industry can no longer profit from culture itself — fame is commoditized infrastructure for selling stuff. This is a core mechanism of the omnivore monoculture thesis.
• XREF: The ‘premium mediocre’ concept ties into the reader’s counter-case about mass spectacle being the era’s signature. — connects to: Fame has become a purchased product of the cultural system. — Theodor W. Adorno, Minima Moralia: Reflections from…, 114; Meme celebrities institutionalize their viral fame into sustained commercial businesses. — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame…, 172; Celebrities transformed fame from by-product into their own professional capital by the 1970s — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 778 (+3 more)