Whose Master's Voice?: The Development of Popular Music in Thirteen Cultures

What are the interactions between transnational communication and national cultures? This work attempts to answer this critical question in the study of culture and communication. It takes as its vehicle of study the music industry and music making in 13 different cultures, presenting an insider's view of a global cultural experience. Of interest to musicologists and sociologists alike, plus anyone fascinated by distant cultures and how they are affected by external as well as internal communication systems.

The chapters are a collection of research findings produced for the International Communications and Youth Cultures Consortium (ICYC), an informal group of international scholars in many disciplines who are committed to understanding the economic and social factors that influence cultures and youth. Their point of view in this work is their individual country and the tensions that arise from the development of international communication systems. Each view is from inside the country; external influences are not subjects of study in themselves but are viewed as part of a complex scene along with other variables operating in various national situations.

ALISON J. EWBANK is a freelance writer in England, having spent many years at the Institute for Mass Communications Studies at Leeds University. Her research there included studying the political aspects of mass media. She is co-author of Social Conflict and Television News and Music at the Margins (1991).

FOULI T. PAPAGEORGIOU is Director of the Centre for Development Studies Planning and Research in Athens, Greece. She has extensive research experience on issues related to policymaking in the areas of leisure and recreation. She is co-author of Music at the Margins (1991).