Politically Purposed Music Genres

Jennifer C. Lena and Richard A. Peterson, "Politically Purposed Music Genres". American Behavioral Scientist May 2011 vol. 55 no. 5 574-588.

Abstract

Building on previous work documenting musical genre forms in the United States, this exploratory study reports the discovery of a new type, which the authors term the politically purposed genre. They find two major types: those sponsored by governments, which benefit from national distribution and legal protection, and an anti-status quo type supported by an opposition party or constituency that shares its critique of the existing sociopolitical and economic order. Four nation-cases have been examined: the People’s Republic of China, Chile, Serbia, and Nigeria. The authors examine each case in turn and close with a discussion of the limitations and possibilities of this discovery.