World Music

In the 1980s, the western world discovered that the whole world sings.

World music refers to music rooted in the traditional, folk, or indigenous cultures of regions outside the dominant Anglo‑American pop sphere, and it became a major force in global pop beginning in the 1980s when Western labels, broadcasters, and retailers created the “world music” category to market non‑English recordings.

What “World Music” Means

The term world music broadly describes the traditional, folk, and culturally specific music of societies around the globe. It encompasses everything from Tuvan throat singing to Zimbabwean guitar bands, Pakistani qawwali, Cajun fiddle music, and Hawaiian slack‑key guitar.

Because the category is so broad, it has always been controversial. It groups together musical traditions that have nothing in common except that they fall outside mainstream Western pop and rock. As one definition puts it, world music is essentially “local music from out there.”

Key characteristics:

• Draws from non‑Western musical traditions
• Often uses indigenous instruments, scales, and rhythms
• May be traditional, contemporary, or hybrid
• Appeals to listeners seeking cultural diversity or “sonic tourism”

When the Term Emerged

Although ethnomusicologists used “world music” as early as the 1960s, the term gained real commercial traction in 1982–83, when British and American promoters, record labels, and journalists began using it to market non‑English recordings.

By the late 1980s, world music had become a formal retail category in record stores and music magazines.

How World Music Became Part of Global Pop

The rise of world music in global pop was driven by several converging forces:

Western labels needed a category

Record stores and distributors in the UK and US created the “world music” bin to help sell African, Asian, and Latin American recordings to Western audiences.

Pop stars embraced global sounds

Artists like Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon, David Byrne, and Sting began collaborating with non‑Western musicians and incorporating global rhythms and instruments into their work. This helped bring African and other non‑Western styles into mainstream pop consciousness.

Audiences wanted something new

By the late 1980s and early 1990s, listeners in the US and Europe were increasingly drawn to “exotic” or culturally distinct sounds—a phenomenon scholars call sonic tourism.

Industry recognition

The Grammy Awards added a World Music category in 1991, giving the genre institutional legitimacy and boosting artists like the Gipsy Kings and Cesária Évora.

Globalization and technology

Cheap air travel, international touring, and the spread of recorded media made cross‑cultural musical exchange easier than ever. Musicians could hear, study, and collaborate across borders, accelerating hybrid genres like worldbeat, ethno‑jazz, and global fusion.

Why World Music Matters Today

World music helped reshape global pop by expanding Western listeners’ exposure to non‑Western cultures, and influencing mainstream pop production, rhythms, and instrumentation. It created global stars from outside the US/UK and encouraged cross‑cultural collaboration and fusion genres.

In 2020, the Grammys even renamed the category Best Global Music Album, reflecting a shift toward a more inclusive, less “othering” view of global musical exchange.