The Changing Concepts of ‘World Music’: A Historical Perspective

Sweers, Britta (2024). The Changing Concepts of ‘World Music’: A Historical Perspective (In Press). In: Lied und populäre Kultur / Song and Popular Culture 68. Lied und populäre Kultur / Song and Popular Culture: Vol. 68 (pp. 28-46). Waxmann

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When the expression “world music” was coined in 1987 by predominantly independent labels and promoters, it had been out of an attempt to provide space and visibility to musics that did not fit into the then established Western mainstream categories. Yet, from the very beginning, this was intertwined with colonial perspectives. In the new millennium, “world music” took on such a variety of meanings that it could hardly be understood without a clear definition anymore. This included equations with unrecognizable fusion musics as well as its understanding as an othered “musics of the world” or as musics played by migrants. The increasingly negative connotation was also evident in calls for the term to be avoided. The article not only provides an overview of the historical development of the term, but also examines the handling of “world music” in the present: What influence have postcolonial debates had on the conceptual handling? Are there possible alternatives?

Item Type:

Book Section (Book Chapter)

Division/Institute:

06 Faculty of Humanities > Other Institutions > Walter Benjamin Kolleg (WBKolleg) > Center for Global Studies (CGS)
06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of Art and Cultural Studies > Institute of Musicology

UniBE Contributor:

Sweers, Britta

Subjects:

700 Arts > 780 Music

Series:

Lied und populäre Kultur / Song and Popular Culture

Publisher:

Waxmann

Language:

English

Submitter:

Britta Sweers

Date Deposited:

19 Mar 2024 12:40

Last Modified:

19 Mar 2024 12:40

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/194206

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