What Is World Music?

In basic terms world music could be defined as music that is none Anglo-American, sung in a foreign language, using local and indigenous sounds to compose music associated with that country. However local music cannot simply be associated with national cultural identities. Due to the monopoly that Anglo-American music has over the world it is impossible that these do not influence local music. World music now seems to overlap local or traditional music with global music. It could also be argued that the term ‘world music’ was used by music shops to categorize music that doesn’t fit the norm, making it easier to sell. Many ‘global’ bands incorporate world music into their songs in the form of African drums for example, yet this is not classified as world music due to the fact that it is sung in English or composed in an Anglo-American way.