There are few things that irritate me as much as the phrase ‘World Music’. Trudging down the endless aisles of ‘Rock’, ‘Pop’ and ‘Indie’ until you reach the sorry-looking section at the back of the shop where four dusty shelves are dedicated to ambiguously-titled ‘Best Of the Continent’ compilations would be laughable if it wasn’t so totally desperate.
What, exactly, would go on a ‘Best of Europe’ compilation? Who, exactly, decides what 15 tracks best represent over ten thousand years of Africa’s rich musical history? And just when, exactly, was it decided that the music coming from the vast majority of the world’s population would be lumped together under Rest of World – as a kind of sub-category to ‘Real Music’ – as if samba players in Brazil had anything at all in common with Bangra musicians in India.
It is a desperate situation not just because of the huge sea of ignorance in which it is swimming, but also because it has the tragic result of silencing the sounds made by millions of people. How much ‘World Music’ are we actually exposed to? How many of us are guilty of buying a ‘Best of Afro-Funk’ compilation, but have absolutely no idea who Fela Kuti was? How many of us could name 10 ‘World Musicians’?
‘Western’ musical culture is but a fraction of an infinite, timeless musical pie, yet probably represents over 90% of the music and musical history we are exposed to and understand. And intentional or not, this is the direct result of the workings of the record industry, and the huge sums of money thrown at just 10% of the world’s musicians. And so those are the sounds we hear and the voices we listen to.
This is much the same problem as has been created by the media industry. I would guess that 95% of the world’s population (‘World Population’ – reduced to 4 dusty shelves in the Democracy Shop) take no part whatsoever in the conversations created by the global media, and perhaps only 12% of the population in any given country – including this one – make their voices part of their local or national media. And just as the musicians we hear help us form an opinion and understanding of what music is, the voices we hear in the media help us form an opinion of what is going on in the world.
Are we really going to rely on 5% of the world’s population – undoubtedly those with money and power and vested interests – to tell us how we should interpret things? Or do we want to make our own minds up?
The internet has done nothing less than provided ‘World Musicians’ and ‘World Population’ with a platform to shout from, and the tools with which to shout. P2P file-sharing and sites such as Last.Fm and MySpace have had a massive impact in spreading knowledge and understanding of musicians from all round the globe; social media – blogs, Facebook, YouTube, internet radio and the like – has given people an ability to take part in the conversations that are trying to figure out what’s going on in the world, and, more importantly, what we should do about it. And crucially, as long as you’ve got access to the internet, you’ve got as much chance as anyone else – regardless of money, power or vested interests – of taking part in that conversation (- for the time being at least – look up Net Neutrality – )
People’s Voice Media exists simply to teach people the skills they need to get involved. So get involved!
NB All statistics in the this article have been completely made up, but feel plausible and are based on very intelligent and educated guesses
