It is often problematic when trying to define what World Music is. The genre defines any type of ‘indigenous’ music which doesn’t fit into the ‘Anglo American nexus’. Shuker discussed how the wide distribution of popular music from dominant countries to inferior countries had led to a form of cultural imperialism, Anglo American popular music then had been established as the standard global template for music. The birth of the World Music category was then due to ‘indigenous’ artists holding onto their cultural identity and dismissing the Anglo American standards. However I agree with Smith who criticized the theory for being out dated as it relies on ‘analysis of the relationships between nation-states whereas we live in an increasingly globalized world'.
Personally I think that the reason for why do we have such a category is due to its position as a genre for music which is hard to define. Without its ability to fit into category, record labels would have problems promoting the music and so the creation of the World Music category can be seen as purely a selling device for record companies.
Personally I think that the reason for why do we have such a category is due to its position as a genre for music which is hard to define. Without its ability to fit into category, record labels would have problems promoting the music and so the creation of the World Music category can be seen as purely a selling device for record companies.
This is extremely good and cuts right to the heart of the subject.
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