The term ‘culture industry' was coined by the scholars Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno. Though the idea that culture is an industry had existed before, Horkheimer and Adorno used the term ‘culture industry' in the essay “Culture Industry: Enlightenment as mass deception” (1944).

Culture may also be considered as an economic good. The discourses on development and globalization lay emphasis on culture as a part of the market and as an industry. Adorno and Horkheimer attempted to analyze the impact that the industry of producing cultural goods for mass consumption has on the consumers. It is important to mention at the outset that culture industry is analogous to ‘mass culture' or ‘popular culture'. They wanted to highlight the fact that culture functions as an industry and hence they used the term culture industry.