cultural sociology 2010 haynes 81 100
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/22/2019 Cultural Sociology 2010 Haynes 81 100
1/22
http://cus.sagepub.com/Cultural Sociology
http://cus.sagepub.com/content/4/1/81The online version of this article can be found at:
DOI: 10.1177/17499755093568622010 4: 81 originally published online 4 March 2010Cultural Sociology
Jo HaynesIn the Blood:The Racializing Tones of Music Categorization
Published by:
http://www.sagepublications.com
On behalf of:
British Sociological Association
can be found at:Cultural SociologyAdditional services and information for
http://cus.sagepub.com/cgi/alertsEmail Alerts:
http://cus.sagepub.com/subscriptionsSubscriptions:
http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.navReprints:
http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.navPermissions:
http://cus.sagepub.com/content/4/1/81.refs.htmlCitations:
at Flinders University on April 20, 2013cus.sagepub.comDownloaded from
http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/content/4/1/81http://cus.sagepub.com/content/4/1/81http://cus.sagepub.com/content/4/1/81http://www.sagepublications.com/http://www.britsoc.co.uk/http://cus.sagepub.com/cgi/alertshttp://cus.sagepub.com/cgi/alertshttp://cus.sagepub.com/subscriptionshttp://cus.sagepub.com/subscriptionshttp://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.navhttp://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.navhttp://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.navhttp://cus.sagepub.com/content/4/1/81.refs.htmlhttp://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/content/4/1/81.refs.htmlhttp://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.navhttp://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.navhttp://cus.sagepub.com/subscriptionshttp://cus.sagepub.com/cgi/alertshttp://www.britsoc.co.uk/http://www.sagepublications.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/content/4/1/81http://cus.sagepub.com/ -
8/22/2019 Cultural Sociology 2010 Haynes 81 100
2/22
What is This?
- Mar 4, 2010OnlineFirst Version of Record
- Mar 25, 2010Version of Record>>
at Flinders University on April 20, 2013cus.sagepub.comDownloaded from
http://online.sagepub.com/site/sphelp/vorhelp.xhtmlhttp://online.sagepub.com/site/sphelp/vorhelp.xhtmlhttp://online.sagepub.com/site/sphelp/vorhelp.xhtmlhttp://cus.sagepub.com/content/early/2010/02/25/1749975509356862.full.pdfhttp://cus.sagepub.com/content/early/2010/02/25/1749975509356862.full.pdfhttp://cus.sagepub.com/content/4/1/81.full.pdfhttp://cus.sagepub.com/content/4/1/81.full.pdfhttp://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://online.sagepub.com/site/sphelp/vorhelp.xhtmlhttp://cus.sagepub.com/content/early/2010/02/25/1749975509356862.full.pdfhttp://cus.sagepub.com/content/4/1/81.full.pdf -
8/22/2019 Cultural Sociology 2010 Haynes 81 100
3/22
In the Blood:The Racializing Tonesof Music Categorization
I Jo Haynes
University of Bristol, UK
ABSTRACT
This article examines the categorization of world music and how vexed and
contentious issues pertaining to ideas of difference are navigated within processes of
production and consumption of world music. By drawing on a study of British world
music, it highlights the ambivalence expressed towards ethno-cultural hybridity and
the way that racialized pathologies can be challenged or created and reinforced. Itexplores ideas about musicality and cultural expression that underpin the musical
preferences and cultural values of consumers, musicians and professionals as a man-
ifestation of the cultural logic of differentiation. It highlights the ongoing difficulty of
explaining social and cultural phenomena without recourse to the idea of race, in
contexts shaped by antiracist and cosmopolitan ideals. By illustrating how world
music categorization does not erase race or nation, but instead recontextualizes
both, this article provides an helpful insight into the changing dynamics of race.
KEY WORDS
categorization / ethno-cultural hybridity/ global music industry/ musical genres/
racialization/ racism/ world music
Introduction
T
he central theme dominating a recent discussion forum, A Jazz Odyssey:
Music and Migration,1 was the connection between the historical and exclu-
sionary contours of migration and jazz in relation to the taxonomy of con-temporary European jazz, the essence of which was encapsulated in a question
posed by Kevin LeGendre;2 namely, is the constitution of European jazz refer-
ring to jazz made by Europeans or jazz made in Europe? This belies the more
81
Cul tural SociologyCopyright The Author(s) 2010, Reprints and permissions:
http://www.sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
BSA Publications Ltd
Volume 4(1): 81100
[DOI: 10.1177/1749975509356862]
at Flinders University on April 20, 2013cus.sagepub.comDownloaded from
http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/ -
8/22/2019 Cultural Sociology 2010 Haynes 81 100
4/22
substantive question of who is/can be European and, indeed, the discussion
forum attempted specifically to address this throughout the day. However,
according to the musicians present, many of whom were recent migrants to
Europe from Africa and the Middle East, although they considered their music
to be a form of jazz, it was often perfunctorily categorized as world music bythe music industry and media. Moreover, they believed that this default catego-
rization derived from longstanding racialized boundaries operating within
Europe. Thus, while the discussion forum grappled with the notion of who is
European and what constitutes European jazz, the industry expediently assigns
the musical output of groups constituted as Other, i.e. not European, to the
world music category. Given that Europe is still accused of sanctioning an ide-
ological construction of itself that remains racially exclusive (Gilroy, 1993;
Kushner, 2005) and of failing to come to terms with race itself (Goldberg,
2006), the question posed and left unanswered by the discussion forum pro-vides a useful starting point for further interrogation of world music catego-
rization in relation to the idea of race.
The tenor of the discussion and the negative perceptions of the classifica-
tion of their jazz as world music could be perceived as both insightful and yet
banal. Musicians are renowned for their complaints of being pigeon-holed
into stereotypical musical categories by the industry. All categories, even cate-
gories of music, valorize certain points of view at the expense of others, and
while categorization is an inevitable facet of social life, there are consequences,
as they reflect a political or ethical choice (Bowker and Leigh Star, 2000). Whilethere are no agreed definitions of what constitutes world music, and in fact a
level of arbitrariness to its classification dependent on where you are in the
world (Inglis and Robertson, 2005), there are several familiar schemas that are
used to define the limits of its heterogeneity. The first of these schemas, popu-
lar within contexts such as Britain, one which was found to be dominant in the
research this article draws on, is where world music is largely defined in oppo-
sition to what are mainstream (Guilbault, 2001) or European (and Anglo-
American) musical formations (Pacini, 1993; Taylor, 1997). This is despite the
fact that the term world music also incorporates music from Europe, Australia
and America, albeit music from oppressed or aggrieved minorities such as
Australian Aboriginals and Catalans. Thus another important classification
schema used by those in the British context is that the term refers to music from
(some) minority groups within European and (North) American geographical
areas (Guilbault, 2001). The final schema of significance in the British context
is the result of processes of globalization and attendant forms of ethno-cultural
hybridization that have mainly taken place from the latter portion of the 20th
century (Bohlman, 2002).
Central to the aesthetic and political debates about world music, especially
with respect to its commodification in a global music industry, is the fact thatit is music simultaneously renowned for innovative forms of ethno-cultural
fusion but also believed or, in some instances, expected to remain true to or
reinforce cultural traditions and a fixed sense of place or racial/national identity
82 Cultural Sociology Volume 4 I Number 1 I March 2010
at Flinders University on April 20, 2013cus.sagepub.comDownloaded from
http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/ -
8/22/2019 Cultural Sociology 2010 Haynes 81 100
5/22
(Haynes, 2005). On the basis that world music is expressive of both of these
tendencies, there are obvious dilemmas confronting those who consume, cre-
ate, produce and distribute the music in relation to whether the music should
be lauded for its authenticity or celebrated for its hybridity. Indeed, this is one
of the major fault lines in evaluations of world music by those involved in itsproduction, distribution and consumption (Inglis and Robertson, 2005: 162).
It is my further contention that the operationalization of authenticity and
hybridity in this context can be traced through the idea of a one race one
nation/culture or place one music rule which underpins the explanations not
only of the musical ability of some ethnic groups operating within the world
music context, but also of their musical affinity. Moreover, in extension of the
significance of the one race one nation/culture or place one music rule to
the categorization of world music, the cultural value believed to be derived
from it and evidenced throughout the interviews in the research this articledraws on is based on its symbolic currency as a blueprint for a multicultural
world (Jowers, 1993); or as representing a form of one-worldism (Erlmann,
1996) or a post-race (cosmopolitan) world (Haynes, 2005).3 In the UK, where
world music was developed as a marketing category and where companies like
WOMAD (The World of Music and Dance)4 are located, world music is linked
to antiracist and cosmopolitan ideals and has an academic and leftist geneal-
ogy (Frith, 2000). Indeed, the web site for WOMAD as one of the major world
music organizations, if not the major world music organization, quotes Peter
Gabriel, who claims that music proves the stupidity of racism.
5
The processof musical categorization in relation to the presentation of ideas of culture,
race and nation is complicated by this politicized discourse and from a socio-
logical perspective is therefore of paramount importance. An empirical insight
into the processes of production and consumption in the British world music
scene from within can make a unique contribution to the world music debates
which to date have been largely theoretical.
This article unites three objectives in its approach to world music. The main
objective is to examine how people in the world music industry discursively and
practically navigate vexed and contentious issues of race (that world music is
presumed to disrupt) in the production of world music. Second, it traces the pro-
cess of racialization through ideas about musicality and cultural expression
which underpin the musical preferences and cultural values of musicians, con-
sumers and professionals. Finally, in doing so, it assesses world music as an
attempt to challenge racism through the equal valorization of culture and respect
for difference and thus contemplates the possibility of being able to move
beyond the categorization and explanation of social phenomena without
recourse to ideas of race.
The next section provides some relevant methodological background to
the research, including an overview of the categories of people participating inthe study (professionals, musicians and consumers), as well as a discussion of
access and the extent to which the views expressed are an artefact of the
research process.
83The Racializing Tones of Music Categorization Haynes
at Flinders University on April 20, 2013cus.sagepub.comDownloaded from
http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/ -
8/22/2019 Cultural Sociology 2010 Haynes 81 100
6/22
Setting the Scene
The research took place between 1999 and 2001 and included interviews with
32 people, many of whom were instrumental in the development of the world
music phenomenon in Britain from the 1990s and are responsible for its currentorganization and promotion today. Their roles within the world music industry6
incorporated a range of creative, managerial, pedagogical and administrative
activities. They included: writers and critics for music magazines, newspapers,
journals and books such as the Rough Guides;7 creative directors of world
music organizations, marketing personnel and A & R (artist and repertoire)
representatives from world music labels; music producers; musicians from
critically acclaimed and amateur bands; and BBC radio and TV producers.
Additionally, consumers of world music constituted another category of inter-
viewee. Categories of people are clearly not always mutually exclusive. Forinstance, many musicians were also producers or promoters and vice versa; and
clearly all were consumers of world music and/or claimed an affinity to world
music. However, the professionals and musicians are analytically distinct from
those who only occupy the consumer category. The social positions of the par-
ticipants therefore relate to managerial, professional and associated profes-
sional occupational categories.8 The majority of people that participated in this
research were white (notably English) and between the ages of 29 and 55,
although there were seven people who identified as mixed race, African-
Caribbean, Pakistani, Argentinean or Nigerian.Previous involvement within the local Bristol music scene, closely connected
to aspects of the world music scene, provided an insight into the organization
of festivals and gigs, an awareness of the terminology and references used and
initial key contacts. In order to gain access to specific people within the world
music scene I utilized these existing contacts and adopted the strategy of snow-
ball sampling as one of the methods of recruitment of research participants.
However, given that the parameters of the research were also defined by the
development of world music within Britain, specific professionals were tar-
geted.9 These people played significant roles within the industry since its incep-
tion in the 1980s and thus with respect to world music discourse and practices,
such as music producers, promoters, creative directors, journalists and DJs.
Hence, key people whose views were important because they had been instru-
mental in getting the world music scene developed within Britain, and continue
to have an influence, were part of a purposive sampling strategy.
Bennett (2002) argues that popular music research often complicates
researchers position due to their insider knowledge or because they are or
have been aficionados of the music. Moreover, he argues that the methodolog-
ical advantages of such knowledge and issues around access to particular music
scenes need to be evaluated within the research process, but seldom are. In theresearch on which this article draws, the importance of having a degree of
insider knowledge and prior contacts was beneficial for theoretical as well as
obviously practical purposes. The impetus for the research hinged on the fact
84 Cultural Sociology Volume 4 I Number 1 I March 2010
at Flinders University on April 20, 2013cus.sagepub.comDownloaded from
http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/ -
8/22/2019 Cultural Sociology 2010 Haynes 81 100
7/22
that although the dominant political views and cultural values expressed by
musicians and consumers alike (with whom I had previously come in contact)
displayed an antiracist political sensibility, their aesthetic values and musical
preferences revealed traces of biological racism and fixed notions of cultural
difference. Moreover, unlike other contexts for the study of racism as typicallycentred around explicit processes of exclusion, the world music context sug-
gested a social space shaped by racialized processes of exoticization that were
ambiguous and less explicit. Therefore, while an insider knowledge of the
world music scene provided access and familiarity with world music discourse,
a critical distance was emergent at the outset of the study due to the theoretical
impetus to explore the contours of the racialization process in this context.
The study incorporated participant observations and qualitative interviews
with industry professionals, musicians and consumers. The semi-structured in-
depth interviews explored a range of topics, including their knowledge aboutworld music and its categorization; their musical preferences; attitudes towards
ethno-cultural hybrid musical forms; and details either of their professional
roles or experiences as musicians within the world music scene. In any research
it is important to interrogate the extent to which the responses given are arte-
facts of the interview setting and to what extent this can be controlled for. For
example, in this research did the questions elicit responses that are more explic-
itly and determinedly antiracist than the interviewee might actually be? The
questions in the interview were oriented towards explaining tastes and under-
standing of the music and attitudes towards ethno-cultural hybrid music forms,rather than explicitly targeting views on race and ethnic difference, although at
the end of the interview respondents were asked to describe their ethnic back-
ground and to discuss whether they thought racism was more or less endemic
in the UK than 10 years ago. However, it is arguable that the particular cultural
capital at their disposal would suggest awareness that certain kinds of social
and political discourse associated with ideas of race are unacceptable generally.
In this sense they would always monitor their own expressed views and
responses to questions, but they may be more sensitive to how they portray
themselves when participating in an (academic) research context. Most of the
participants across all categories were educated to degree level and many of the
world music professionals were multi- or bi-lingual, and had either studied lan-
guages at university and/or had spent time in their childhood in other countries
because of their parents occupations in the foreign/diplomatic or armed ser-
vices. A lot of their jobs entailed travel, especially for the purposes of music pro-
motion or production, writing about the artists/music and/or they were avid
world travellers in their leisure time.
Racializing Tones
Despite its spurious scientific basis and the persistent calls to erase the term from
everyday usage (see, for example, Gilroy, 1998), race still plays a significant role
85The Racializing Tones of Music Categorization Haynes
at Flinders University on April 20, 2013cus.sagepub.comDownloaded from
http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/ -
8/22/2019 Cultural Sociology 2010 Haynes 81 100
8/22
in explanations of individual and group differences and the nature of how
people live. Ideas of race specifically have an extensive historical connection to
explanations of the ontology of music and its social and political significance.
Indeed, from an academic perspective, the idea that each race has its own
manner of musical expression (cf. Kunst, 1950) used to be a pervasive feature ofethnomusicology. Radano and Bohlman (2000) also argue that historical musi-
cology is committed to what is and is not racial, which in turn means adhering
to the distinction between what is and is not European music. Thus, racialized
discourses can be traced through aesthetic criteria used to evaluate and explain
music that draw on binaries of modern/traditional, intellectual/embodied,
sophisticated/primitive, and civilized/natural, whereby European forms tend to
be modern, intellectual, sophisticated and civilized. Such binaries not only under-
pin the categorization of music, they also reinforce symbolic boundaries between
Europeans and Others, which ultimately portray both groups in ways that havenothing to do with any objective qualities. For those at the forefront of develop-
ing the world music scene in the UK in the 1980s and world music aficionados
today, it is hoped that the category of world music disrupts these binaries and the
notion of racialized inferiority formerly associated with music from traditional
non-Western musics compared to European music (Bohlman, 2002). However,
this article demonstrates the way in which ideas of race not only permeate the mar-
keting strategies of the world music industry in terms of situating the music nation-
ally or geographically and with respect to distinct ethnic groups, but also how they
underpin aesthetic criteria used to evaluate and explain musicality. The logicunderpinning these aesthetic and organizational processes arguably reflects salient
aspects of the discourse of differential racialization (or new racism) (cf. Barker,
1981; Taguieff, 1990), characterized by the notion that the cultural expressions of
national or ethnic communities are neither superior or inferior, but different
(Wieviorka, 1995: 42). To this end, the concept of differential racialization is use-
ful in elucidating the perceptions and opinions of the interviewees.
The concept of differential racialization (see for example Balibar, 1991;
Murji and Solomos, 2005; Taguieff, 1990) refers to the process of situating or
defining individuals and groups (and by corollary, ourselves) in cultural terms
(Rattansi, 2005). Although it centralizes culture as the main determinant of dif-
ference, this does not preclude race, nor indeed biological factors. It simply
allows scope for complexity, especially given the widespread conflation of the
terms ethnicity, culture, race and nation, and in the case of world music pro-
duction and consumption all three are significant. As Gunaratnam reminds us,
processes of biological and cultural differentiation through the categories of
race and ethnicity are not two separate systems of meaning (discourses) but
are racisms two registers (Gunaratnam, 2003: 5, citing Hall, 2000: 223).
Moreover, social divisions such as gender, religion and class also intersect with
the process of racialization. Brah (1996) for instance uses differential racializa-tion to analyse processes of relational multilocationality within and across for-
mations of power marked by the articulation of one form of racism with
another, and with other modes of differentiation (1996: 196). In this way,
86 Cultural Sociology Volume 4 I Number 1 I March 2010
at Flinders University on April 20, 2013cus.sagepub.comDownloaded from
http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/ -
8/22/2019 Cultural Sociology 2010 Haynes 81 100
9/22
differential racialization can capture the uneven and contingent processes of
naming and categorizing individuals and groups in specific social contexts, and
does not conceive the power to do so as all or nothing. In turn, this circum-
vents the deployment of the racist/non-racist grid to understand social con-
texts and the conceptualization of difference (Rattansi, 2005).This is particularly significant for the description of processes and expla-
nations of contexts which often escape sociological attention because they do
not immediately raise the same level of political concern in relation to issues of
social equality; in other words, contexts where there is no obvious inferioriza-
tion or exclusionary logic at work on the basis of perceptions of racialized dif-
ferences.10 However, contexts like the British world music scene, which is
characterized as having an ideological commitment to antiracism and where
ethnic diversity is valorized, can also objectify and exoticize individuals or cul-
tures. Such contexts are important for sociologists, for while the negotiation ofdifference in processes of production and consumption may objectify racially
constituted categories, difference is also portrayed as desirable through the cel-
ebration of heterogeneity in music. In understanding the contours of such
ambivalence, rather than branding world music or even the wider music indus-
try as monolithically racist, differentialist racialization functions to open up
other avenues of inquiry and understanding that the blunt attribution of racism
has a tendency to close down (Rattansi, 2005: 271).
In the Blood
In this section the views and perceptions expressed mainly by musicians
and consumers,11 rather than industry perceptions and practices, will be dis-
cussed in relation to the categorization of music. The discussion begins by
examining explanations for musicality which also allude to the perceptions
of the relationship between music and normative racialized identities and
whether they provide a set of musical tastes that represent an authentic iden-
tity. It then examines the contours of ethno-cultural hybridity, both in relation
to the syncretic process of musical change, which musicians and consumers
are intellectually predisposed towards, and their aesthetic perspective on
musicians who attempt to play music not normally associated with their
ethnic background.
Radano and Bohlman (2000) argue that the racialization of musicality or
musical expression is a familiar feature of the everyday vocabulary of race, inas-
much as musical creativity and skill, as distinct forms of cultural expression, are
often attributed to biological differences such that a group or individual has
musicality in the blood. In many instances across all of the categories of par-
ticipants, musical affinities and ability were explained by a conflation ofnational identity, race, and culture, but within many of these explanations bio-
logical markers of difference were also utilized. In the following remark,
Pauline, a musician, explains her musical affinity by saying it is in the blood,
87The Racializing Tones of Music Categorization Haynes
at Flinders University on April 20, 2013cus.sagepub.comDownloaded from
http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/ -
8/22/2019 Cultural Sociology 2010 Haynes 81 100
10/22
as her parents are Jamaican, as well as being due to the cultural influence of
being born and having grown up within England:
Well obviously coming from a Caribbean or Jamaican family then reggae is just in
the blood, anything out of Jamaicas in there, obviously a lot of funk and that sort
of thing but having been born in England I actually love English music, I mean when
I was at school we sang a lot of English folk songs and so on we didnt just do
classical music we did folk music in general and songs by Joni Mitchell and stuff like
that and so in the music that I listen to is a complete reflection of the fact that I was
born black in this country. I mean I love Fairport Convention and people like that
and theyre as much as a part of my life as Bob Marley is and obviously having done
the classical music12 thats a massive influence. (Pauline, musician; emphasis added)
While this signifies the diversity of subjective positions, social experiences
and cultural identities of black people (Hall, 1992: 254), it also presents ethno-
cultural hybridity as a positive discourse to define her experience. However, thisis conceived in such a way as to suggest that normative racialized identities pro-
vide an obvious musical affinity, i.e. Jamaica and reggae; England and folk. The
idea that culture and therefore musical ability and rhythm are in the blood is
drawn on throughout the interviews not only to explain the sublime qualities of
certain music, but also to explain the difficulties that people have in playing
music of a cultural tradition other than their own.
The phrase in the blood is clearly a popular way of suggesting that a char-
acteristic or skill such as musicianship or sporting excellence is innate, and some
usage of the term may appear innocuous. For example, it is often used whencomplimenting abilities such as cooking or knitting or DIY. In other words,
someones skill is so impressive it is as if the individual does not have to try as it
is an aspect of their being; i.e. they cannot help it. In sport, which is often
described as in the blood, a specific type of natural sporting ability is ascribed
to black footballers, i.e. they are regarded as strong, instinctual and often aggres-
sive, whereas white players are strategic and intelligent (Ismond, 2003). In light
of the historical continuity of stereotypes about black people and cultures in
relation to having an affinity or closeness to nature and instinct, rather than
being of a civilized, cultured and intellectual disposition, the phrase in theblood is therefore problematic because it reinforces symbolic boundaries upon
which such racialized distinctions are based. In this research, the tendency to use
the phrase in the blood to explain the immutable musical and rhythmic skill of
musicians of African and South American descent is notable. Although this is
meant to constitute high praise for musical talent and thus act as a positive rein-
forcement of cultural difference, nevertheless it is articulated through a biologi-
cal discourse whereby musicality of some ethnic groups is immutable.
Affinities for musical genres and musical ability were for the most part
perceived as an embodied aspect of identity and thus acted as a symbolic
boundary between racially constituted subjects, as shown above. However,
when interviewees were asked whether they thought musicians shouldbe able
to play whatever music they desired, there was unanimous agreement across all
categories of respondents that musicians should play whatever they want and
88 Cultural Sociology Volume 4 I Number 1 I March 2010
at Flinders University on April 20, 2013cus.sagepub.comDownloaded from
http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/ -
8/22/2019 Cultural Sociology 2010 Haynes 81 100
11/22
that musical creativity did not need to be stifled by arbitrarily ascribed social
boundaries pertaining to racialized identities. Hence, from an abstract or intel-
lectualized perspective, it is apparent that the process of musical change and
development is understood by all categories of interviewees in more fluid terms
to reflect an inevitable musical syncretism. On the other hand, there was anoverwhelming individual aesthetic preference for music that actually reflected
the opposite; namely, music by artists that were perceived as having remained
authentic or true to their nation, race or cultural group.
The following account by Mary suggests that an English person cannot
play Cuban music very well because the music is not in the blood, although
through a process of acculturation one can become somewhat more adept. The
results, however, will not be as intense or as deep:
A: Well you wouldnt be able to play it as well because you havent got it in your
blood.
Q: What do you think you need to be able to play Cuban music then?
A: Well you need to grow up with the music around you I think. I mean there are
some musicians that enter into it and they really study it and they become part of it
but I mean they would have to be the only one I think within a Cuban band for a
number of years before you could set up a Cuban band here I think There are a
couple of bands in London that play salsa but I dont think theyre quite as
intense is probably quite a good word actually, its not as deep. (Mary, consumer;
emphasis added)
This type of explanation of the limits of ethno-cultural hybridity that shifts
between blood, culture and nation or place is surprisingly common across the
categories of respondents, but it is always portrayed as a positive feature of the
specific ethnic group perceived as responsible for the music, rather than signify-
ing or implying inferiority. It also extends to how consumers assess the aesthetic
quality of music in relation to the one race one nation/culture or place one
music rule and thus the degree to which the music is authentic or real.
Despite the many assertions that musicians should adopt and adapt the
sounds and styles of any musical form if they so choose, as an inevitable aspect
of creativity, there is, as mentioned above, a notable level of resistance to cer-tain forms of ethno-cultural hybridity on an aesthetic level, in relation to their
own and the consumers musical affinities and preferences. This is evidenced by
the following:
I like Latin music played by Latins. I like reggae music played by Jamaicans. I dont
like African reggae for example [I like] the jazz played by the black jazz musicians
from America, although theres many skilled jazz musicians in Britain, but there is
a sort of heart behind it obviously its great still played by other cultures, but I
prefer for example the African people playing their music the best because it stems
from their culture, their roots are there, so the initial feeling is there, once it comeshere it gets a bit transformed. (Elisa, musician; dance instructor)
Again, statements like this were surprisingly common across the categories
of respondents. The following articulation of this perspective is made by a
89The Racializing Tones of Music Categorization Haynes
at Flinders University on April 20, 2013cus.sagepub.comDownloaded from
http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/ -
8/22/2019 Cultural Sociology 2010 Haynes 81 100
12/22
professional in relation to his own musical preferences, but as someone who has
a developed theoretical insight into the complexity of social and cultural iden-
tities, his views suggest that there is an irreducible consumer logic that will
always prefer it when musicians stick to their own music:
I would never say youre Cuban youve got to be playing Cuban music, musicians
of course are free to do what they like, I dont always like it and I dont always like
the fusions that occur because I think actually people playing in a tradition outside
of their own on the whole tend to play less well than playing their own stuff and
very often you can hear that but there are some that are fantastic Youve got a
much harder time in a way if youre playing music from another tradition, its obvi-
ous if youve got a CD or a concert by a white sitar player and an Indian sitar player,
which one are you going to go and hear? The Indian player. (Sean, editor of world
music magazine and TV producer)
In this case, not only was there a professional understanding that habits of con-sumption and audience expectations placed restrictions on how successful such
hybrid performances and recordings were going to be; it also reflected Seans
own individual musical affinities and taste.
One of the ways in which world music is consumed is through the notion
of it as ethnic or roots music and as representative of an alternative to main-
stream Anglo-American music that has lost a sense of authenticity (Taylor,
1997). However, within this perception there are certain minority ethnic groups
or aggrieved minorities that have and will always retain their musical authen-
ticity, notably black groups whether of African or Caribbean descent locatedin the projects of South Bronx or the estates of East London. Blackness remains
the currency for authenticity and is virtually synonymous with musicality and
specific musical genres, as the following account demonstrates. This next quote
summarizes many of the participants views about blackness:
I think that when it comes to performers and musicians I think that blacks are quite
revered you know its as though theyre often like the authentic source of it,
well not entirely. I mean say if you had a black Jamaican playing jazz you might not
think so, but almost every black group has got their authentic music, even if theyre
Jamaican theyve got their reggae or dub or whatever and if theyre this or thattheyre always walking in the door with some authentic thing that theyve got, so
theyve come to be revered. I think its almost a bit like in sport in the way if hes a
football star you forget that hes black and when hes back out on the street its a
problem again. (Bruce, musician)
This portrayal of blackness as synonymous with musical authenticity exoti-
cizes and objectifies all black people. Although this is common across all of the
categories of interviewees to varying degrees, some also adopt critical perspec-
tives. While the following comment is articulating a political distance from
racism by highlighting the positive social consequence of world music the resultis again a confirmation of the exoticization of specific social groups:
World music makes it totally unacceptable to be prejudiced Because those other
cultures are made to look kind of cool and sexy arent they, and it breaks away
90 Cultural Sociology Volume 4 I Number 1 I March 2010
at Flinders University on April 20, 2013cus.sagepub.comDownloaded from
http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/ -
8/22/2019 Cultural Sociology 2010 Haynes 81 100
13/22
certain stereotypes that we might have about blacks, South Americans and Latin
American people theyre all made to be really cool, theyre party people and
really cool so we dont think of them as guerrillas in the jungle or something like
that or Communist nutters out in the jungle. (Bruce, musician)
That all black people are assumed to be cool and/or to be the performersin certain contexts was also illustrated by Elisa, a musician, who recounted that
while at Glastonbury festival13 her black friends were treated with reverence by
white people around them because they assumed that they were musicians.
Despite having a social critique of this type of interaction, Elisa suggests that
sport and music are two of the best skills to excel in:
I think black people dont want to be stereotyped as either good sports people or
musicians you know they dont want that, they want to feel like they could be a doc-
tor or a lawyer because they are clever people just by listening to the music you
know that they are clever people that they have less brains is rubbish its just thatits a different culture and they have been oppressed thats all you know and their
language is a different language but now they live in Britain they want to integrate
so they dont want to be stereotyped as musicians or good runners or whatever you
know although they know that they are, they reign in that really all over the world
really. I say to them myself you should be proud of it that youre good at that its
the best thing to be good at you know but they dont like it, they want to feel that
they can do anybodys job. (Elisa, musician; dance instructor)
This type of comment alludes to the dilemmas of social explanation in this
cultural and political context. On the one hand, there is a need to challenge dom-inant racialized representations, in this case the natural musical and sporting
ability of black people, but, on the other, an acknowledgement of the social world
produced by such representations, where the logic of differential racialization can
also lead to forms of exclusion from and under-representation within certain pro-
fessions such as medicine and law. However, the implication of acknowledging
the positive aspects of musical and sporting achievement reinforces the racialized
embodiment of musical skill. Hence, although the desire to combat racism is of
paramount importance to the consumers of world music interviewed in this
research, the insistence upon the valorization of all cultures and respect for theirdifferences, without exorcizing the idea of race itself, creates untenable positions
in relation to musical preferences and explanations of musicality.
Categorizing World Music
The framework for the production of culture utilized in the analysis of inter-
view data reflects world musics constitution as a cultural product with form,
meaning and content shaped by creative practices and consumer expectations
that are in turn shaped by wider cultural and social processes (see for example
Fabbri, 1982; Frith, 1996; Negus, 1999). As a cultural product, it is also orga-
nized and shaped by a commercial industry. The previous section explored
some of the dilemmas relating to the musical preferences and expectations for
91The Racializing Tones of Music Categorization Haynes
at Flinders University on April 20, 2013cus.sagepub.comDownloaded from
http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/ -
8/22/2019 Cultural Sociology 2010 Haynes 81 100
14/22
consumers, as well as their explanations for musicality. This section will utilize
interview data from world music professionals to examine world music as a
genre shaped and determined by the instrumental values and practices of the
industry professionals.
Most world music professionals (and many others interviewed) acknowl-edged the marketing origins and the potential difficulties associated with the
term world music,14 given its all encompassing nature:
When you start categorizing world music, which involves the musical aspirations
and expression of 150 plus countries into one term and youre talking about it in
terms of history, in terms of movements, in terms of technologies it [the term
world music] doesnt really do much justice. (Peter, world music promoter)
Despite this, and in line with previous studies (see for example Taylor,
1997), many of the interviewees endorsed a broad definition of musical styles
under the aegis of world music, from the very pure tribal traditions to con-
temporary fusion stuff (Sean, editor of world music magazine). While there are
no specific sounds and styles that constitute it as a genre in the same way that
one would be able to identify what constitutes the instrumentation or chord
progression for blues or reggae music for example, underpinning all of the per-
ceptions of world music for the professionals interviewed in this research was
an acknowledgement of the significance of a sense of place and/or origins.15
Moreover, for the majority, although world music potentially does include all
music from everywhere, the dominant image of its constitution reinforces the
first schema; namely, a division between what is Anglo-American or Europeanand what is non-mainstream or non-European music.16 It is also thought mainly
to represent music created by minority ethnic groups, thus reflecting the second
schema, although that is not to say that all of the professionals were comfort-
able with this portrayal. Some professionals believed that the vast amount of
fusion of styles constituting world music also challenged racialized boundaries
associated with music and thus that the label was a positive step towards
improving the nomenclature for categories of music, and by extension people.
Louise, a veteran in the world music industry in the UK, supported the category
of world music for this reason:
Its awful to call something non-Western. I mean you wouldnt call a woman a non-man.
Do you know what I mean? Or a white a non-black or a black a non-white so give
it a positive name. I think that was a very positive step. (Louise, music producer and
radio DJ/producer)
Although the categorization of world music is viewed as a way of bypassing
negative labelling as non-Western, non-European, and so on, nevertheless
such divisions still underpin and determine the categorization process itself.
Hence, the recent complaints by the jazz musicians at the discussion forum
mentioned above.
Frith (2000) has argued that given the importance of the sense of place and
origins to the musics cultural and political value (reflecting a combination of cos-
mopolitan, multicultural and antiracist ideals as evidenced in the interview data
92 Cultural Sociology Volume 4 I Number 1 I March 2010
at Flinders University on April 20, 2013cus.sagepub.comDownloaded from
http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/ -
8/22/2019 Cultural Sociology 2010 Haynes 81 100
15/22
drawn on for this article), those specifically working on the production of world
music have to draw on a level of ethnomusicological expertise. In providing bio-
graphical details and histories of the musics evolution on sleeve notes and in fes-
tival programmes, they are ostensibly required to situate the music and therefore
perform calculations of where music belongs in the world. In fact, this type ofethnomusicological expertise is invaluable within the world music industry
because often the music acts as a vicarious substitute for travel or as reminders of
time spent in remote or distant places, as suggested by a former employee of an
international world music organization now working in music retailing:
I do think its like that sort of feeling like youre in that country you know, you get
people coming in here a lot and theyve been on holiday somewhere and they want
something to remind them of that holiday thats why they buy world music thats
how they start off. (Valerie, former marketing/publicity officer; music sales)
The association between world music and travel was a common perception
of all of the professionals. One professional who has been involved in the devel-
opment of world music in the UK since the late 1980s suggested that back-
packing tourism was an appropriate metaphor for world music:
Ive thought about world music over the past 15 years and I think if you could
get sort of models from other things like say anthropology or Orientalism or colo-
nialism as ways of looking at world music, and I think one of the most apposite
appropriate metaphors for it is backpacking tourism, because on the one hand peo-
ple go abroad, I went to India, I came back, I thought when I get back Im going to
go to HMV and look at what theyve got or buy the cassettes while Im here, but
theres also the fact that world music is a kind of tourism in its own way and I think
theres an illusion that you can get involved in other cultures through backpacking
tourism. (Martin, world music critic and journalist)
Due to its vicarious association with tourism, world music is used to rep-
resent fixed relationships between specific locations and national/cultural iden-
tities. Sometimes this entails representing the music in an ahistorical and/or
apolitical fashion where the complexity of ideas of race, culture and nation are
diluted, as asserted by the following comment:
I think that there are people who have got a vested interest in selling world
music in a particular way and they dont engage with those complexities There
are people whove got a vested interest who have seen the complexities and they
want to keep it as a simple thing where they understand it and they will tell you
what its all about and Ive never wanted to put myself in that position, although
I have done that by writing for the Rough Guide [see endnote 5] but that was like
very late on, and I thought well somebodys got to do it. (Martin, world music
critic and journalist)
Martins comments provide a critical insight into the world music business,which other professionals also expressed but less overtly. Indeed, most of the
professionals were certainly aware of the potential discursive traps surrounding
world music and were eager to correct what were believed to be misperceptions
of their professional practices as exploitative or racist.
93The Racializing Tones of Music Categorization Haynes
at Flinders University on April 20, 2013cus.sagepub.comDownloaded from
http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/ -
8/22/2019 Cultural Sociology 2010 Haynes 81 100
16/22
Given the antiracist sensibilities of many people working within the world
music industry, there was a degree of self-consciousness and ambivalence expressed
in relation to the way musicians were marketed and portrayed at festivals, aspects
of which ultimately reflected wider social and political processes that normalize
whiteness and the constitution of European music. Douglas explained this discom-fiture when witnessing a performance at a WOMAD festival:
Sometimes it doesnt work sometimes you get a band and itll just reinforce a stereo-
type and it wont break down racial stereotypes it will reinforce them. I know a lot
of people felt that about the South African band that were on last year [at
WOMAD], the singer and the dance moves that they were all doing, I mean if you
dont know anything about South African music and the township thing, Im sure it
had its own discrete context explanation, but for the uninitiated it must have looked
just like youd expect it to and it didnt challenge stereotypes and I remember hear-
ing people saying something to that effect, but you know they were fantastic dancersit was a spectacle, they were great singers, I enjoyed it for its own sake and I think
thats what comes out of WOMAD at the end, the commercial aspect of it aside, I
mean it has to make money (Douglas, journalist and travel writer)
The explanation of the dynamics of performance, audience perception and
expectation is compelling in this example because, while demonstrating aware-
ness that an opposing political value is being reinforced, it also suggests that
ultimate responsibility for racialized representations lies in the musical perfor-
mance, not in the imaginings and ideas of spectators. Some performers, not nec-
essarily those discussed above, are encouraged by the industry to perform theirmusic to a global (not their local/home) audience in ways that may reflect
overtly exotic, sexualized stereotypes and a more authentic or primitive
sound (see also Haynes, 2005; NDour, 1992). However, regardless of the
agency and responsibility of the musicians here, by taking a position affirming
that in fact they were good dancers, they were great singers Douglas is sug-
gesting that the stereotypes can be true, that performances that do reinforce
embodied racialized pathologies also retain an aesthetic value.
Despite the discomfort created by the fact that the world music industry
perpetuates stylized versions of ethnicity to present and categorize the music
(Taylor, 1997), which can reinforce the idea of it being embodied by non-
white/ethnic musicians, there was resigned acceptance in relation to the typi-
cal British world music audience characterized as 30 plus white middle class
rather than broadly based (Sean, editor of world music magazine). Indeed,
many interviewed in this research across all three categories (consumer, musi-
cian and professional) identified liking world music and therefore possessing a
broad ranging curiosity as a white European thing (Sean, editor of world
music magazine). The dominant portrayal of musicians as ethnic or non-
white or Other and the audience as predominantly white does tend to propa-
gate a familiar paradigm of white appropriation of indigenous musical formsand thus asymmetrical power relationships based on exploitative exchange.
However, the following quote illustrates how for some key people involved in
the organization of music festivals, promotion of artists and music production
within the world music industry, this is not an issue to be concerned with:
94 Cultural Sociology Volume 4 I Number 1 I March 2010
at Flinders University on April 20, 2013cus.sagepub.comDownloaded from
http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/ -
8/22/2019 Cultural Sociology 2010 Haynes 81 100
17/22
To be quite honest, as organizers, we just really appreciate the people who pay
because thats how it works, thats how the musicians are paid, thats how we make
our living whether they are black or they are white. Now all of these angst ridden
questions Oh you know if theres all of this music which is mixed why isnt the
audience as mixed as that? Well should I really be worrying about that? The eventsthat I help to organize are open to everybody and I feel that there are terrible prob-
lems of separation in this society and that our festival is a reflection of that, its not
a reflection of our festival, its a reflection of the country that we live in. (Tony,
director of world music organization)
This suggests that despite the cultural and political value thought to be associ-
ated with world music, there is a simple commercial litmus test underpinning the
logic of classification and presentation of music. This is further evidenced by an
explanation for the world music audience by another music promoter and events
co-ordinator:I dont think people at the festival organization ever went out to say Lets have
a white middle class event. It was never like that, you know they must have had all
the best intentions in the world you know but the truth is that those that can afford
it will obviously go to that event. One cannot even begin to even apportion any
blame to the organizers. I think it would be highly unfair to begin to think its the
organizers, the truth is people sit down and organize things, have ideas, put it
together with all the best intentions. Without you knowing it, a certain class or
group of individuals find themselves are beginning to love what you do. (Terry,
music promoter and event co-ordinator]
Neither the normative expectations of music organizations nor the level of
social responsibility of professionals within the sector is the issue here. What is
of interest is how the world music audience is imagined as separate to the pro-
duction of it as a cultural form, which is contrary to the idea that the produc-
tion of music is generally linked to a potential consumer base (Frith, 1996) to
ensure music sells. Thus, the attendant political or cultural value of world music
for its ideal type consumer arguably is a factor that the industry must integrate
into its production choices and marketing styles because it is clearly of the
utmost commercialimportance.
Conclusion
This article has examined the categorization of world music and how people in
the world music industry discursively and practically navigate vexed and con-
tentious issues to do with race. It emerged from the reflections on the racialized
aspects of the process of genre classification alluded to by many musicians at a
recent discussion forum on music and migration in Europe, where they disclosed
their frustration about having their jazz music categorized as world music on thebasis of their ethnic background. One aspect of the interpretation of this process
is that this is the industrys way of minimizing commercial risk, that the under-
lying motive to rationalize the classification of music is because, as world music,
it is more successful and profitable. However, it is arguable that this operates as
95The Racializing Tones of Music Categorization Haynes
at Flinders University on April 20, 2013cus.sagepub.comDownloaded from
http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/ -
8/22/2019 Cultural Sociology 2010 Haynes 81 100
18/22
a profitable categorization because it reflects wider cultural formations and
practices, including consumer expectations that are dependent upon the idea of
a fixed relationship between music and normative racial identities and cultural
differences. By drawing on the findings of a study of British world music, the
article has explored how the racialized pathologies and ambivalence towardsethno-cultural hybridity are challenged or created and reinforced through pro-
duction and consumption of world music
First, while there is an acknowledgement that the creative development of
individual musicians and musical forms should not be hindered by arbitrarily
ascribed cultural boundaries that reflect the idea of normative racialized identi-
ties, the dominant preference of world music consumers and also many musicians
is for music that not only reflects a straightforward relationship with racialized
origins, but also frequently utilizes biological ideas of difference to explain the
sublime qualities of the music. Second, the presentation and packaging of worldmusic is often tailored to suit those who view the music as a vicarious substitute
for travel, thus the relationship between music and place or identity is portrayed
as straightforward. However, this may not necessarily reflect the ethnomusico-
logical knowledge of those who work within the world music industry and their
sophisticated understanding of the musics global or hybrid origins.
From a first-hand insight into the field of world music in the UK and
aspects of its production and consumption, this article has made an empirical
contribution to what otherwise are theoretical debates about world musics
sociological significance. Moreover, it has provided a nuanced insight into howthe equal valorization of cultures inherent in the conceptual and practical aspects
of world music categorization does not overcome or erase ideas of race. Instead,
while the empirical data drawn on in this article highlight the process and logic
of differential racialization, underpinning the categorization of world music by
musicians, consumers and professionals alike, they raise a further set of analyt-
ical questions relating to the evaluation of the political implications of such pro-
cesses where there is an aesthetic predisposition towards Others that needs to
be addressed further.
The world music phenomenon therefore constitutes a specific example of a
dilemma described by Gilroy (1998). Namely, if the simplicity of a racial typol-
ogy remains alluring to those whose political agenda is defined by, in this case,
an antiracist cosmopolitanism, this raises further questions in relation to how
cultural formations and conceptions of difference can ever be understood with-
out reproducing racial pathologies and creating ambivalence in relation to
ethno-cultural hybrid forms.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank the anonymous referee and the Editors for theircomments, as well as Esther Dermott, Lee Marshall and Tom Osborne in theDepartment of Sociology, University of Bristol for their constructive comments onan earlier draft.
96 Cultural Sociology Volume 4 I Number 1 I March 2010
at Flinders University on April 20, 2013cus.sagepub.comDownloaded from
http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/ -
8/22/2019 Cultural Sociology 2010 Haynes 81 100
19/22
Notes
1 The discussion forum was held at City Hall, London on 31 March 2006 andfocused on jazz in Europe and the role of migration in the musics development.
Policy makers, academics, music producers and musicians aimed to explore: theconnections between migration and jazz innovations, influences and trends inEurope; how the experience of musicians can inform practice in other areas;how migration has changed societies and identities in Europe since the SecondWorld War; and finally, jazz in Europe in the later 20th and early 21st centuries.
2 Kevin LeGendre is a broadcaster and journalist with a particular interest inblack music. He is the Deputy Editor of Echoes, and contributes to a widerange of publications, including Jazzwise, MusicWeek, Vibrations and TheIndependent On Sunday. He also appears as a commentator and critic on radioprogrammes such as BBC Radio 3sJazz On 3 and BBC Radio 4s Front Row.
3 The type of cosmopolitanism espoused by world music aficionados interviewedin this research can be understood in relation to three key rubrics of cos-mopolitanism identified by Vertovec and Cohen (2002: 913): first, as a phi-losophy or world view, reflecting their desire for people to be citizens of theworld and committed to a set of shared values that politically extend beyondnation-states; secondly, as an outlook or disposition that embraces Otherness;finally, a shared expertise in cultural and social competencies or practices thatenabled each to manoeuvre through different systems of meaning as a flneur,the modern urbanite (Bauman, 1993: 179).
4 WOMAD is principally renowned for the organization of world music festivals
in many countries around the world. The WOMAD organization is part of alarger group of affiliated companies under the umbrella of the Real WorldGroup, which records, promotes, and publishes music, and includes Real WorldRecords, Real World Trading, Real World Multimedia, and Real World Studiosfor example.
5 See http://www.womad.org/about/ (consulted 18 November 2009).6 I have utilized Bourdieus concept of cultural intermediary to describe their
roles elsewhere (Haynes, 2005).7 Rough Guide publish books on budget travel to many destinations worldwide
that are tailored specifically for the British market, and include discussions of
the social history, politics and religion of each place. The Rough Guides reper-toire has expanded and now includes CDs that represent a countrys music, asRough Guides to the music of Brazil and China for example. They also publishRough Guides to genres of music such as reggae, blues and hip hop in bothbook and CD form.
8 See the summary of the Standard Occupational Classification 2000 structure atURL (consulted 18 November 2009): http://www.google.com/search?q=standard+occupational+classifications+uk&rlz=1I7DKUK_en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7
9 All who participated will remain anonymous throughout this article.
10 A detailed survey of the structural organization of the industry may neverthe-less reveal the relative positions of power that are also shaped along racializedlines. Indeed, many interviewees from all categories, i.e. musicians, consumersand professionals, commented in the interviews on the dominance of white peoplein positions of organizational and financial power in the world music industry.This they perceived as problematic, but inevitable.
97The Racializing Tones of Music Categorization Haynes
at Flinders University on April 20, 2013cus.sagepub.comDownloaded from
http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/ -
8/22/2019 Cultural Sociology 2010 Haynes 81 100
20/22
11 The category of consumer can apply to industry people as well as musicians. Inthis sense, it is not mutually exclusive as all participants in the research con-sumed world music. However, when their views and perceptions as consumersare discussed, this relates exclusively to the questions asked in the interview
about their own personal musical tastes, as opposed to industry practices etc.12 Paulines musical career involved studying to be a classically trained musician/composer, which led to an international career as an opera singer. She left theworld of opera because of the racism she had to endure and thought she wouldfind more success and peace of mind with world music. However, she came tothe conclusion that the world music scene was no better than opera so shedecided to work independently of genres and scenes.
13 Glastonbury festival is an annual music, arts and dance festival held on a work-ing dairy farm owned by Michael Eavis in Pilton, north Somerset, in England.The first festival took place in 1970, when acts included Marc Bolan, Keith
Christmas, Stackridge and Al Stewart, with an audience of 1500. Today the fes-tival attracts over 150,000 people with international performers desperate to beincluded in the line-up.
14 For a detailed account of development of the term world music see the followingwebsite: http://www.froots.demon.co.uk/features/world_music_history/minutes/
15 The strategic formatting within world music incorporates what Negus (1999:165) has defined as the process of reterritorialization, whereby artists fromold and new domestic repertoires are potentially taken from anywhere inthe world, and relabelled as world music performers. The music is then dis-tributed to consumers in specific local contexts where the label world music has
meaning and value (for example, in Britain, the USA, Canada, Japan, France,Australia and New Zealand).16 There is also an acknowledgement that a number of musicians and types of
music included within the world music genre come from within Europes bor-ders. This typically includes traditional and/or domestic music from easternEuropean countries such as Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary and/or music byethnic groups considered to be Europes internal Others such as Turks inGermany or Algerians in France.
References
Balibar, E. (1991) Is There a Neo-Racism?, in E. Balibar and I. Wallerstein Race,Nation and Class: Ambiguous Identities, pp. 1728. London and New York,NY: Verso.
Barker, M. (1981) The New Racism: Conservatives and the Ideology of the Tribe.London: New Beacon Books.
Bauman, Z. (1993) Postmodern Ethics. Oxford: Blackwell.Bennett, A. (2002) Researching Youth Culture and Popular Music: A Methodological
Critique, British Journal of Sociology 53(3): 45166.Bohlman, P.V. (2002) World Music: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.Bowker, G.C. and Leigh Star, S. (2000) Sorting Things Out: Classification and its
Consequences. Cambridge, MA and London: Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology Press.
Brah, A. (1996) Cartographies of Identity: Contesting Identities. London: Routledge.
98 Cultural Sociology Volume 4 I Number 1 I March 2010
at Flinders University on April 20, 2013cus.sagepub.comDownloaded from
http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/ -
8/22/2019 Cultural Sociology 2010 Haynes 81 100
21/22
Erlmann, V. (1996) The Aesthetics of the Global Imagination: Reflections on WorldMusic in the 1990s, Public Culture 8: 46787.
Fabbri, F. (1982) What Kind of Music?, Popular Music 2: 13143.Frith, S. (1996) Performing Rites: On the Value of Popular Music. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.Frith, S. (2000) The Discourse of World Music, in G. Born and D. Hesmondhalgh(eds), Western Music and its Others: Difference, Representation, and Appropri-ation in Music, pp. 30522. Berkeley, CA and London: University of CaliforniaPress.
Gilroy, P. (1993) The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double-Consciousness. London:Verso.
Gilroy, P. (1998) Race Ends Here, Ethnic and Racial Studies 21(5): 83847.Goldberg, D.T. (2006) Racial Europeanisation, Ethnic and Racial Studies 29(2):
33164.
Guilbault, J. (2001) World Music, in S. Frith et al. (eds), The Cambridge Companionto Pop and Rock, pp. 17692. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Gunaratnam, Y. (2003) Researching Race and Ethnicity: Methods, Knowledge and
Power. London: Sage.Hall, S. (1992) New Ethnicities, in J. Donald and A. Rattansi (eds), Race, Culture
and Difference, pp. 2529. London: Sage.Hall, S. (2000) Conclusion: The Multicultural Question, in B. Hesse (ed.), Un/Settled
Multiculturalisms: Diasporas, Entanglements, Transruptions, pp. 20941.London: Zed Books.
Haynes, J. (2005) World Music and the Search for Difference, Ethnicities 5(3):
36585.Inglis, D. and Robertson, R. (2005) World Music, in D. Inglis and J. Hughson(eds), The Sociology of Art: Ways of Seeing, pp. 15670. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Ismond, P. (2003) Black and Asian Athletes in British Sport and Society: A SportingChance? Basingstoke and New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Jowers, P. (1993) Beating New Tracks: WOMAD and the British World MusicMovement, in S. Miller (ed.), The Last Post: Music After Modernism, pp. 5287.Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Kunst, J. (1950) Ethno-musicology. The Hague: Martin Nijhoff.Kushner, T. (2005) Racialization and White European Immigration, in K. Murji
and J. Solomos (eds), Racialization: Studies in Theory and Practice, pp. 20725.Oxford and New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Murji, K. and Solomos, J. (eds) (2005) Racialization: Studies in Theory andPractice. Oxford and New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
NDour, Y. (1992) World Music or a World of Musics? An African Perspective, inT. Brooman and I. Gibson (eds), Worldwide: Ten Years of WOMAD, pp. 635.Box: WOMAD.
Negus, K. (1999) Music Genres and Corporate Cultures. London and New York,NY: Routledge.
Pacini, D.H. (1993) A View from the South: Spanish Caribbean Perspectives onWorld Beat, The World of Music 35(2): 4869.
Radano, R. and Bohlman, P.V. (eds) (2000) Music and the Racial Imagination.Chicago, IL and London: The University of Chicago Press.
Rattansi, A. (2005) The Uses of Racialization: The Time-Spaces and Subject-Objects of the Raced Body, in K. Murji and J. Solomos (eds), Racialization:Studies in Theory and Practice, pp. 271301. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
99The Racializing Tones of Music Categorization Haynes
at Flinders University on April 20, 2013cus.sagepub.comDownloaded from
http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/http://cus.sagepub.com/ -
8/22/2019 Cultural Sociology 2010 Haynes 81 100
22/22
Taguieff, P.A. (1990) The New Cultural Racism in France, Telos 83(Spring): 10922.Taylor, T.D. (1997) Global Pop: World Music, World Markets. New York, NY and
London: Routledge.Vertovec, S. and Cohen, R. (eds) (2002) Conceiving Cosmopolitanism: Theory,
Context and Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Wieviorka, M. (1995) The Arena of Racism. Translated by Chris Turner. London: Sage.
Jo Haynes
Jo Haynes is Lecturer in Sociology in the Department of Sociology at the University
of Bristol. Her research focuses on race/ethnicity, particularly how they are constituted
and reproduced within local and global music cultures.
Address: Department of Sociology, University of Bristol, 12 Woodland Road, Bristol, BS8
1UQ, UK.
Email: [email protected]
100 Cultural Sociology Volume 4 I Number 1 I March 2010