A művelődési tárca és a könnyűzenei élet kapcsolata 1956–1972 között
The relations of the pop music scene and the ministry of culture between 1956 and 1972

Summary/Abstract: The paper focuses on the first fifteen years of the Kádár regime from a cultural and political historical perspective, and describes some of the elements with which the power machinery of the single-party state tried to control pop music. It claims that the emphases in the supervision of the Hungarian pop music scene changed slightly during the period, and consequently examines the controlling strategies by the establishment in shorter periods of time, namely between 1956 and 1963, between 1963 and 1968 and between 1968 and 1972. The author also touches upon the three “F”s of the Kádár regime: fostering, forbearing and forbidding (three T-s in Hungarian: támogatás, tűrés, tiltás), the various manifestations of this policy as well as how it was applied in practice. It specifically discusses the information collected for one of the high-ranking officials in the ministry of culture, Görgy Aczél, and the records of the government office on pop music (eg. on the wage categories for professional entertainer musicians; the problems of issuing license for them and the questions of their management). The records on the state of vinyl record production, the case of the foundation of the National Center for Entertainment Music (Országos Szórakoztatózenei Központ, OSZK) and the measures concerning pop music taken by the National Radio (Magyar Rádió) all ended up in Aczél’s office. The OSZK functioned as a national authority: it was responsible for broadcasting music events, exercised control over musicians and singers, issued, supervised and, if needed, revoked their licenses, and organized the categorization exams, which directly affected the artists’ life standards. The OSZK received less funding from the ministry of inland commerce than its predecessor in the Rákosi era. The relation of the government and dance schools between 1963 and 1967 is also of interest. The paper takes a look at the individual lives of some dance teachers as well as at the case of the council of Komló that requested advice from the ministry on the group dances of ballroom dancing courses. The chapter on licensing of performances, programs and shows between 1968 and 1972 describes, among other things, the government's opinion about such popular musicals as Jesus Christ Superstar and An Imaginary Report on an American Pop Festival.

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