How useful is a production of culture perspective in understanding the birth of rock and roll?

Without knowing the effects that the world as a whole had on the music industry in the 1950s, the birth of rock and roll may seem to have exploded completely out of the blue. However what Peterson's theory does is link the changes that the world was going through to the birth of rock and roll. So, in this respect, the theory is extremely useful in defining what factors played their parts in allowing this new genre of music to become what it was.

Demonstrating the social and economic factors and how cultural pillars such as music law (ASCAP) and music occupations (Radio presenters) were changing - combining to produce a platform for something new (rock and roll) - the theory stands up as workable idea that goes a long way to explaining how rock and roll came about. However, the theory is very much that - simply a theory. Complicated terminology and statistics may explain in figures why it was likely for rock and roll as a business to be successful - it does not explain why the music itself was successful.