Appendix 6 - International Music Council

7.
diversity – in the sense of the simultaneous practice or presentation within a society of
many forms of music.
- This is not a conscious phenomenon in the New Zealand music industry.
Decisions
on which genres and artists that the different businesses in the
industry choose to invest in is based on either economics (ie the likelihood of
enough
sales to generate a profit) or label branding (eg independent
companies
that specialise in a particular ‘sound’ and stable of artists). Some specialise in
World
Music which is of course all about diversity.
• Cite examples where they are averse to musical diversity.
- See above.
• Cite exampl es where they are interested in developing hybrid musical forms – e.g.
music that combines two or more ethnic musical genres, or combines an ethnic
music
with say, western
popular music, or combines various forms of non-ethnic music.
- The W OMAD Festival (World of Music, Arts and Dance) is a good example of
promo ting cultural and ethnic diversity, and performances often reflect hybrid
influences. The urban Pacific music scene that is successfully exploited
by
companies such as “Dawn Raid” is very much the result of hybrid influences,
particularly Pacific beats and timbres with US-influenced hip hop and rhythm
and blues. See www.womad.co.nz/, and www.dawnraid.co.nz/.
• Cite examples of the expression of personal or community identity through music, and
especially through musical diversity.
-
The New Zealand hip hop scene has been largely - but not exclusively - about
Pacific and Māori youth identity and with some strong political overtones (eg
Dean Hapeta; see www.tekupu.com/UPPERHUTTPOSSE.html). Over the past
3 years, however, this genre has become ‘mainstream’ with many of New
Zealand’s top-selling and award winning artists working in the hip hop genre
(eg Scribe); see www.fmrecords.co.nz/viewartist.cfm?ArtistId=484.
- The Pasifika Festival is held in Auckland each year in March, and is the South
Pacific's largest Pacific community event. It includes a wide range of Pacific
artistic and cultural expression, including musical performances. It is an
opportunity for New Zealand’s large Pacific population to nurture and promote
the cultures of individual Pacific nations, and to share this with people from
other Pacific nations,
and with other ethnicities in New Zealand. See
www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/whats on/events/pasifika/default.asp and
www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/whatson/events/pasifika/programme.asp
- WOMAD (See above).
The obstacles or challenges to be overcome in order to ensure better protection and
promotion
of musical diversity
• On an analysis of the situation as you
discover it in responding to previous questions,
how would you define
these obstacles and challenges, and by what methods do you
envision them being overcome?
- There are no obstacles, except for those imposed by economics
– ie if a genre is
too ‘niche’, its availability will be restricted because the distributor / promoter
has to reach a critical mass / turnover to continue to make a living.
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