Dubbing the World

The "world music” tag is more problematic now than at any time since its invention as a marketing term in the ’80s. DubMC (www.dubmc.com) is a new blog by Dmitri Vietze, head honcho of world music promoters Rock Paper Scissors, to examine issues relating to world music as "an arbitrary and false combination of hundreds of genres.” Its introductory post cites an article in Wired magazine, which points out that in e-tailing, a greater market exists in the back catalogue and "recommended” items than in hits — the opposite of bricks and mortar retailing. Vietze points out that this phenomenon is a great sales and promotional opportunity for these hundreds of niche genres now freed from the dustiest corners of record shops, and linked to better-known artists and genres. There is a high level of discourse through all DubMC’s posts so far; it promises to become an essential online resource for anyone dealing with the issues and opportunities within cross-cultural musical forms.