The act of writing, selling, or promoting ballads, often carelessly or in large quantities; the commercial production of popular songs or stories.
From 'ballad' (a narrative song or poem) combined with 'monger' (one who deals in or promotes something), with the Old Norse 'ballad' meaning 'dance' and Middle Dutch 'monger' meaning 'dealer.' The term emerged in the 16th-17th centuries when street vendors sold printed ballads to common people.
In the 1600s, balladmongers were basically the music industry's equivalent of modern pop factories—printing thousands of sensational songs about murders, romances, and scandals to sell for a penny, making them the first mass-market entertainment producers in history.
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