American Influence – Media and Globalization

By: Ellen Chamblee

If you read my last post, you’ll recall I talked about hearing popular American songs when in Italy. It is not uncommon for American songs to circulate virally. Many feel that Western culture is dominating.

But Why?

Four big recording companies, referred to as “The Big Four” of course, dominated 75% of the global market. The Big Four has been reduced to The Big Three– now only Sony, Universal, and Warner. The International Musicology Society refers to the music industry as an oligopoly These three recording companies produce a HUGE percentage of the music recorded and played around the world. “Globalization enables foreign companies to distribute American cultural products, including music.”

So what does this mean?

This means that branded culture is distributed in the masses around the globe via music (and through other entertainment and media forms). Third-world countries are often without the means to produce media reflective of their own culture. They are heavily influenced by the constant consumption of Western culture. Smaller countries are having harder times keeping their “cultural identity.” We can see Western music become integrated into local musical cultures, creating hybrid styles.

What’s an example of opposing cultural values through music?

Japan Times explains a scenario: Beyoncé is on TV. She is singing “Single Ladies.” But, often, Westerner’s do not realize that “Cultural contradictions eventually morph into conflicts and clashes, in figurative and real senses.

Music can be representative of cultural values. Rock music has loud dynamics, strong and percussive rhythms and promotes specific types of dancing. This is reflective of “self-expression, spontaneity, released sexuality, and perhaps most importantly, defiance of the alleged stodginess of tradition.”

Push media is defined as what is provided to the consumer by large companies like the Big Three). The ones who control push media? Those with the giant economies.

But Ellen, you just told us in your last post that we had more pull media to choose from than ever before?

Yes. In my opinion, I believe that we have more pull media than ever. But, ironically I believe we have concentrated push media. We can choose from so much media to consume via Youtube or Soundcloud, but the media produced in the masses by the Big Three is dominating, specific and limited.

I know what you’re thinking, we do have SO much push media being thrown at us, how could I possibly think this? But, we often get lost in the ocean of media and become desensitized to much of it. However, the things that go viral, are pushed at us, bigger and more specific than anything we have seen. Videos that go viral are then played on News Stations and can be found over and over again on various social networking sites. The radio stations play the few and famous top songs over and over again for months.

American music is pushed all around the globe, for everyone to hear. Because American Hollywood and Music Companies dominate the industries, American music and pop culture are pushed onto other cultures around the world. As I said before, only THREE companies dominate 75 % of the global market!! That is specific and small in hindsight!

Contrast

But in contrast, audiences can pull their own, more obscure media. This was the case for the rise of K-pop; K-pop was not being pushed out by big companies originally. Consumers chose to pull this media. However, another interesting idea arose– When indies, (lesser companies) go viral and become popular, big companies hop on it.