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World Music)
The term world music includes
- Traditional music (sometimes called folk music
or roots music) of any culture that are created and played by
indigenous musicians or that are "closely informed or guided by
indigenous music of the regions of their origin,"[1] including Western music (i.e. Celtic music). Most typically, the term world music has now replaced folk music as a shorthand description for the very broad range of recordings of traditional indigenous music and song from around the world.
- Other non-Western music (including non-Western popular music and non-Western classical music)
- The music of Hawaii and other Pacific islands, although it may be influenced by other cultures and other genres.
World music does not include
Terminology
The term has been credited to ethnomusicologist Robert E. Brown who coined it in the 1960s. [2] The term became current in the 1980s as a marketing/classificatory device in the media and the music industry, and it is generally used to classify any kind of foreign (i.e. non-Western) music.
In musical terms, world music can be roughly defined as music that uses distinctive ethnic scales, modes
and musical inflections, and which is usually (though not always)
performed on or accompanied by distinctive traditional ethnic
instruments, such as the kora (West African harp), the steel drum, the sitar or the didgeridoo.
There are several conflicting definition for world music. One is that it consists of "all the music in the world", though such a broad definition renders the word virtually meaningless.[3] The term also is taken as a classification of music that combines western popular music styles with one of many genres of non-Western music that were previously described as folk music or ethnic music.
However, world music does not have to mean traditional folk music, it
may refer to the indigenous classical forms of various regions of the
world, and to modern, cutting edge pop music styles as well. Succinctly, it can be described as "local music from out there",[4] or "someone else's local music".[5]
Music from around the world exerts wide cross-cultural influence as
styles naturally influence one another, and in recent years world music
has also been marketed as a successful genre in itself. Academic study
of world music, as well as the musical genres and individual artists
with which it has been associated, can be found in such disciplines as anthropology, Folkloristics, Performance Studies and ethnomusicology
Examples of popular forms of world music include the various forms of non-European classical music (e.g. Japanese koto music, Indian raga music, Tibetan chants), eastern European folk music (e.g. the village music of Bulgaria) and the many forms of folk and tribal music of the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Oceania and Central and South America.
The broad category of world music includes isolated forms of ethnic music from diverse geographical regions. These dissimilar strains of ethnic music
are commonly categorized together by virtue of their indigenous roots.
Over the 20th century, the invention of sound recording, low-cost
international air travel and common access to global communication
among artists and the general public has given rise to a related
phenomenon called "cross-over"
music. Musicians from diverse cultures and locations could readily
access recorded music from around the world, see and hear visiting
musicians from other cultures and visit other countries to play their
own music, creating a melting pot of stylistic influences.
While communication technology allows greater access to obscure
forms of music, the pressures of commercialization also present the
risk of increasing musical homogeny, the blurring of regional
identities, and the gradual extinction of traditional local
music-making practices.
Popular non-Western genres
Although it primarily describes traditional music, the world music
genre also includes popular music from non-Western urban communities
(e.g. South African "township" music) and non-European music forms that
have been influenced by other so-called third-world musics (e.g. Afro-Cuban music), although Western-style popular song sourced from non-English-speaking countries in Western Europe (e.g. French pop music) would not generally be considered world music.
World Music in France
Paris is one of the great
European capitals for world music. For many years, the city has
attracted numerous musicians from former colonies in West Africa and
North Africa. This thriving scene is aided by the fact that there are
many concerts and institutions that help promote the music.
Algerian and Moroccan music have an important presence in the French
capital. Hundreds of thousands of Algerian and Moroccan immigrants have
settled in Paris, bringing the sounds of Amazigh (Berber), rai, and Gnawa music. Algerian raï also found a large French audience, especially Cheb Mami.[6]
The West African community is also very large, integrated by people
from Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, and Guinea. They have introduced
manding jeli music, mbalax and other styles.
Cultural appropriation in western music
-
After 1987: WOMAD and beyond
The origins of the term World Music in relation to the selling of this type of music began in 1982 when World Music Day (Fête de la Musique) was initiated in France. World Music Day is celebrated on 21 June every year since then. On Monday 29 June 1987
a meeting of interested parties gathered to capitalise on the marketing
of this genre. Arguably popular interest was sparked with the release
in 1986 of Paul Simon's Graceland
album. The concept behind the album was to express his own
sensibilities using the sounds which he had fallen in love with
listening to artists from Southern Africa, including Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Savuka. But this project and the work of Peter Gabriel and Johnny Clegg
amongst others had to some degree introduced non-western music to a
wider audience and this was an opportunity which could not be ignored.
Before 1987, although World Music undoubtedly had a following and
with this potential market opening up, it was difficult for interested
parties to sell their music to the larger music stores; although
specialist music stores had been important in developing the genre over
many years, the record companies, broadcasters and journalists had been
finding it difficult to build a following because the music itself
seemed too scarce. They were eyeing the Jazz
and Classic markets, watching them develop a cross-over audience and
decided that the best way forward would be to collective strategy to
bring the music to a wider audience.
At the outset of the 1987 meeting, the musician Roger Armstrong
advised why something needed to be done; "(He) felt that the main
problem in selling our kind of material lay with the UK retail outlets
and specifically the fact that they did not know how to rack it
coherently. This discouraged them from stocking the material in any
depth and made it more difficult for the record buyers to become
acquainted with our catalogues."
The first concern of the meetings was to select the umbrella name
that this 'new' music would be listed under. Suggestions included
'World Beat' and prefixing words such as 'Hot' or 'Tropical' to
existing genre titles, but 'World Music' won after a show of hands, but
initially it was not meant to be the title for a whole new genre,
rather something which all of the record labels could place on the
sleeves of records in order to distinguish them during the forthcoming
campaign. It only became a title for the genre after an agreement that
despite the publicity campaign, this wasn't an exclusive club and that
for the good of all, any label which was selling this type of music
would be able to take advantage.
Another issue which needed to be addressed was the distribution
methods which existed at the time. Most of the main labels were unhappy
with the lack of specialist knowledge displayed by sales persons which
led to poor service; there was also a reluctance amongst many of the
larger outlets to carry the music, because they understandably liked
larger releases which could be promoted within store. It was difficult
to justify a large presentation expense if the stock going into stores
was limited.
One of the marketing strategies used in the vinyl
market at the time was the use of browser cards, which would appear in
the record racks. As part of the World Music campaign it was decided
that these would be a two colour affair designed to carry a special
offer package; to aid the retailer a selection of labels would also be
included[7]
In an unprecedented move, all of the World Music labels co-ordinated
together and developed a compilation cassette for the cover of the
music magazine NME. The overall
running time was ninety minutes, each package containing a
mini-catalogue showing the other releases on offer. This was a smart[citation needed] move as NME reader are often seen as discerning listeners[citation needed] and it was important step to get them on board.
By the time of that second meeting it was becoming clear that in
order for the campaign to be successful, it should have its own
dedicated press officer. They would be able to juggle the various
deadlines and also be able to sell the music as a concept to not just
the national stations but also regional DJs
who were keen to expand the variety of music they could offer. They
were seen as a key resource as it was important for 'World Music' to be
seen as something which could be important to people outside London
- most regions after all had a similarly rich folk heritage which could
be tapped into. A cost effective way of achieving all this would be a
leafleting campaign.
The next step was to develop a World Music chart, gathering together
selling information from around fifty shops, so that it would finally
be possible to see which were big sellers in the genre - allowing new
listeners to see what was particularly popular. It was agreed that the
NME could again be involved in printing the chart and also Music Week
and the London listings magazine City Limits. It was also suggested that Andy Kershaw might be persuaded to do a run down of this chart on his show regularly.
And so October of 1987 was designated 'World Music' month. A music festival, 'Crossing the Border' was held at the Town & Country Club, London and it was the start of the winter season for both WOMAD and Arts Worldwide. The main press release stressed the issues inherent in the campaign:
- "Since the early Eighties the enthusiasm for music from 'outside'
Western pop culture has been steadily mounting. More and more
international artists, many of whom are big stars in their own
countries, are coming here on tour. They started off, like The Bhundu Boys, playing small clubs and pubs, but now many acts are so popular that they are packing out larger venues.
- "The excitement and word-of-mouth appeal is backed up by radio - World of Music on Voice of America, Transpacific Sound Paradise on WFMU, The Planet on Australia's ABC Radio National, DJ Edu presenting D.N.A: DestiNation Africa on BBC Radio 1Xtra, Adil Ray on the BBC Asian Network, Andy Kershaw's show on BBC Radio 3 and Charlie Gillett's show[8] on the BBC World Service
to name but seven... and the demand for recordings of non-Western
artists is surely growing. This is where the problems can start for the
potential buyer of 'World Music' albums - the High Street record shop
hasn't got the particular record, or even a readily identifiable
section to browse through, it doesn't show in any of the published
charts, and at this point all but the most tenacious give up - and who
can blame them?"
Another factor to raise the profile of world music was the founding of the Real World Records label by Peter Gabriel in 1988. His well-known name brought attention of the artists whose work he released, such as Pakistani qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
A.R.Rahman, a Sony Bmg Music Artist,from India is well known World Music Artist.
Today, mainstream music has adopted many of the features of world music, and artists such as Shakira and the members of the Buena Vista Social Club have reached a much wider audience. At the same time world music has been influenced by hip hop, pop and jazz. Even heavy metal bands such as Tool and Nile
have incorporated world music into their own. Some entertainers who
cross over to recording from film and television will often start with
World music; Steven Seagal is a recent example.
World music radio programs these days will often be playing African hip hop or reggae artists, crossover Bhangra and Latin American jazz groups, etc. Public radio and webcasting
are an important way for music ent
Classical
from 
