TMN Weekender

Making Sausage

The media clutched its collective pearls last week when the news emerged that pop star Beyoncé had lip synced the national anthem at President Obama’s inauguration. (TMN’s Kevin Fanning had some deliciously choice words—not for Beyoncé, but for the people who felt it was a topic worthy of breathless, extensive discussion.)

But as justifiable as lip syncing was in Beyoncé’s case—hell, I would have lip synced to Beyoncé’s voice, too—it can still be hard to reconcile the ineffability of enjoyment with the nuts and bolts that enable us to consume it reliably. That’s what makes the following five pieces, looking at the business behind the stuff we like, so interesting. Ready to read here on TMN or in an e-book you can export to your Kindle, iPad, iPhone, etc.