When you open your phone to play music, what do you click? Of course there’s your playlist, some curated genre hits, some trending billboard songs, but… you’re stuck. You’re stuck in a loop of recommended “Today’s biggest hits,” “Recommended radios,” “Teen Pop Hits,” or “Feel-Good Hip Hop and R&B”s. The music industry has trapped you in a cycle of music produced by three companies: Warner Music Group, Sony Music Group and Universal Music Group. These three companies, according to Statistica, have a monopoly on the industry, controlling over 70% of the global music market.
But, if a love for music is universal, then why does it matter where it comes from?
Music plays an incredibly vast role in our daily lives. According to the National Library of Medicine, adults listen to an average of 18 hours a week of music. With something so inconspicuously pivotal to our day to day lives, it is important to look critically and analyze what that says about our taste and us as people.
Do you come from a musical family? Did music have a big role in your childhood? Did your parents/guardians intentionally introduce you to music, sign you up for music lessons or take you to concerts?
Beatriz Ilari, professor at USC’s Thornton School of Music notices that the younger one is, the more receptive and more open they are to others music. As we grow, musical taste can be rooted in new forms of exposure such as friends, generational trends and social media.
Ilari recounts her son repeatedly singing “Scaramouche” from Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” after constant exposure. She says a song isn’t just a random song; rather, children grasp onto specific elements and kindle special connections.
“There are studies showing that children who are exposed to music of different cultures [also] develop positive attitudes towards these cultures,” says Ilari. Recently, she elaborates, research has been done about using music as a form of prejudice prevention. Illari notices, the younger one is, the more open they are to others music. As we grow, musical taste can be rooted in new forms of exposure such as friends, generational trends and social media.
Openness to music is a reflection of our openness to others. Of course, this is not a one-to-one comparison. You could be racist or xenophobic and still listen to different languages. As Vice Provost of Arts and Professor & Chair of Cross-Cultural Communications Josh Kun puts it, “Music is not some silver bullet of global enlightenment.”
However, Illari notices, the younger one is, the more receptive they are to others’ music. As we grow, musical taste can be rooted in new forms of exposure such as friends, generational trends and social media.
Our attachment to music can be formed from ethno-cultural significance, country chart trends, curated radio mixes and a myriad of other factors. Thanks to the digitalization of music, we have access to more types of music than ever before. Music has become more democratized with a lower barrier of entry for new artists who can freely release music on the internet. Moreover, we also have more access to music from across the globe. Music selection is no longer confined to the record, CD or radio. Yet despite this access and America’s diverse ethnic demographics, the charts still maintain predominantly English-sung popular music.
One may argue that it is because of the linguistic differences and people’s desire to sing and understand the lyrics. However, this is just one of the many ways people interpret music.
As Kenneth Foster, director of the Graduate Arts Leadership Program of USC, explains, the United States cultural iconography is globally broadcasted through American entertainment. However, America itself is very insular; It doesn’t look beyond its borders.
Illari clarifies that newer generations, like her students, listen to a variety of global music styles. Ilari says that they listen to a lot of different things, including music in foreign languages. As younger demographic cohorts like Gen Z and Gen Alpha grow up exposed to the Internet, much of their taste has evolved to align with the globalizing world.
Yet still, many older generations and even younger peers actively avoid this musical amalgamation.
Foster explains that this may be rooted in xenophobic ideas of American centrism and the idea of American-made music. Foster says that depending on whether you’re encouraged or discouraged to explore and try new things one can easily fall into a spiral of monocultural reinforcement.
Most of the world does not speak English, yet in the Western music scene, artists have sold out massive stadiums globally. Taylor Swift performed for three sold out shows of 220,000 fans in Buenos Aires during one of her stops in the South America leg of her Era’s tour. Likewise, 200,000 Japanese fans saw Bruno Mars in concert at Tokyo Dome. While artists like Bruno Mars don’t have Japanese songs, these audiences still connect through other elements.
As noted by Foster, there are so many ways to appreciate music beyond lyrics. We can find beauty in so many other parts like the melody, unique music structurings or vocal flares. Maybe we find songs’ backstories to be fascinating. For instance, Taylor Swift’s complex lore and worldbuilding is similar to the SM multiverse of Korean Pop (K-pop) groups like æspa and NCT. Perhaps the album’s marketing, dances or music videos have caught our eye
No matter the entrypoint into an artist’s discography, music surpasses linguistic boundaries. It is only an uncompromising mentality that limits people from realizing this.
For these global American superstars, a crucial role in their international success is their loyalty and catering to worldwide audiences. Bruno Mars makes regular performances in Japan, integrates Japanese music onstage and even learns some phrases for his fans. These good faith efforts make audiences feel heard and more willing to open up to artists abroad.
But there are other ways singers have worked to integrate larger audiences. Recently massive artists like Charlie Puth, Demi Lovato and Sia have collaborated with Youtube on the Dream Track program, an AI experiment where users can create 30 second songs in the styles of these artists. By signing on to this project, these musicians demonstrate a foresight for the globalized market. They stay ahead of the curb and push the boundaries of the music industry. In order to make it in the ever-changing music industry, current and future innovative musicians must focus on expanding their music past just America.
Take the rise of the Latin American and K-pop genres. K-pop artists appeal to a global audience by singing songs in multiple languages. Their songs often mix Korean and English. K-pop artists even release songs and sing covers in Japanese, Spanish, Thai, Chinese and more to connect to their worldwide fanbase. As of recently, popular acts like Bad Bunny and Karol G have gained massive followings in America, with Bad Bunny even opening for the 2023 Grammys. These artists show the American public’s interest in music outside of just English songs.
As Kun explains, every song, English or not, comes from someone with a different story.
Yet, these stranger’s songs can become the soundtrack of your life.
The power of music stems from its ability to expose us to other people’s narratives. It opens a door for empathy and sociocultural education.
— Audrey Schreck
To escape this musical isolation, it is critical that we take initiative with the music we listen to. Oftentimes when we hear the words “active listening,” we think of being attentive and responsive in conversation.
Let’s reimagine this term in another light: being an active music listener is having user autonomy, actively searching for and trying to branch out to new genres and artists. That is not to say active listeners can never listen to what’s on the car radio or some random Spotify hit music playlist. However, this should be done in tandem with regular explorations of new music outside of our downloads.
Non-English music is all around us if we stop and listen. One exercise I practiced was asking my friends for recommendations of songs in their native languages. Additionally, when the radio plays international artists like BTS, Karol G, Fujii Kaze etc., they too, inadvertently diversify the general public’s music playlist.
TikTok and other short form reels sites have helped bolster indie and international artists’ songs across their platforms. Take the viral phenomenon: Water by Tyla. Often without knowing it, listeners are being exposed to South African rhythmic styles. Tyla, who comes from South Africa, melds Western pop music with amapiano, a South African house subgenre, in her music. By emphasizing South African beats, “Water”, despite being sung in English, sounds distinctly African, explains Tyla in an interview for Rolling Stones. She elaborates on the song’s impact saying “Water” is for the world, it’s for her bringing Africa to the world. Tyla’s music and the work of other international artists show this overlap of music across cultures. This integration has expanded people’s awareness of a global spectrum of music.
By being more attentive to the music they listen to, people can expand their understanding of not only other musical styles, but also the cultures that come with them. As Professor Illari explains, the more we expose ourselves to the rest of the world, the more we learn about ourselves. We are able to think about our place in the world and learn about the underlying similarities inherent in all of us.
Like with any song, when someone enjoys a song in a different language, they will want to learn more about the artist(s), listen to their other albums and find out who they are. This ultimately leads to exploring deeper into the music’ background, whether that be its beats and vibes, or even what the lyrics mean. For some people, being able to understand the linguistic nuances of their artists is important. Nuance and extended meaning can often be lost in the translation process. These questions can fuel research into the proper meanings of these misinterpreted lyrics and eventually, a desire to learn what they all mean. Musical enjoyment can evolve into an interest to understand other cultures and languages.
For instance, on a global service trip to China, I fell in love with K-pop. During the trip, some of my newfound friends encouraged me to learn the dance to a K-pop song. I knew of K-pop beforehand, but my preconceptions of the genre and its fan culture scared me away from it. Putting myself in the shoes of the artists as I learnt their dance choreography, I dropped my barrier of preconceived notions. I was so focused on perfecting each step that I forgot any external biases and enjoyed the music for what it actually was. My love for the musical genre only blossomed.
Consequently, my K-pop enthusiasm has led me to start learning Korean so I can more accurately and efficiently understand song subtexts. Interestingly, in return I also began to appreciate the Chinese half of my ethnicity. Once I recognized how closed off my music taste was, I was reinvigorated to appreciate my own culture.
This shared passion for Korean and Chinese has led me to major in East Asian Languages and Cultures.
But it all began with music.
— Audrey Schreck
The desire to learn other languages can be escalated by encouraging listener autonomy and global understanding at a young age. By teaching a variety of song genres and styles from across the world, in school and at home, we can foster a globalized mindset in future generations. More musical variety exposure at young ages can ease the barrier of entry for new global genres.
As Illari emphasizes, children around the age of 4-6 years old are prime candidates for cross-cultural musical exposure. This is because their brains are more intuitive and are not hindered by their ingrained native first language yet. If children already begin listening to non-English music, they will be gifted with a basic understanding of these styles and cultures. This makes it much easier for them to continue this exploration of these genres on their own.
The next time you turn on some music, think about it. Ponder on why you listen to the artists and genres that you do. Maybe ask your friends for some of their favorite non-English songs.
Take the time to listen and learn a little about them and, in turn, you. Branch out and explore genres you might have been predisposed to find strange, and learn how significant they are to others cultures. Just actively listen and maybe, like me, you’ll find yourself dancing.
Spotify Playlist
To assist in your escape of that bubble of the same curated songs, here are some recommendations. These songs come from a variety of individuals from a variety of ages and ethnic backgrounds. Not every song will suit your tastes, but at least one is sure to catch your eye and inspire you to listen on.
This story is in Capsule’s Spring 2024 collection.