MusicalGeography
ThoughtStorms Wiki
Musical evolution in space. (ReadWith) WorldMusic
In an ILoveMusic discussion of music producing nations wrote :
Jamaica wins any competition like this. It's so impressive fora) the influence given it's size and economic status
b) absorbing influences from everywhere, but never producing lame imitations. You never hear bad soul or rock or techno or rap coming from Jamaica; always local blends that have absorbed them and turned them into something different.
I'd put UK and Germany equal, but if you actually do a per capita calculation, UK must win 'cos it has half the population.
Brazil and India are musical powerhouses. (I'd say they compete with the US in amount of, and variety of music produced) but because they have such large populations they won't win in this game.
Previously I've tended to compare Jamaica favourably with Brazil in that Jamaica seems better able to process music from other places. One theory I have for this is CulturalInfluenceForInternalAndExternalConsumption.
TBH though this might be a prejudice because I liked Jamaican music and wasn't so fond of Brazilian.
Now, though, I have a better appreciation of the scale and richness of Brazilian music. Not sure I'd like to make such facile claims or comparisons.
Quora Answer : Why do so few countries make music that is popular around the world?
As to the question details, no competition at all, control for size and general hegemonic power and Jamaica is the most successful country at creating and exporting its music to the world.
It doesn't do it by owning MTV, or a film industry, or having large corporations buy the local radio stations and record stores. Or by invading other countries and stationing its armies there. It does it by having awesome music that people in every country in the world love.
(See more on Phil Jones (He / Him)'s answer to What kind of people like reggae music? )
OK. Back to the main question. The first point is that most countries make music in their local language. English is the most popular second language in the world, and so English speaking countries have a huge advantage here. Everyone else has to make a deliberate decision to sing in a foreign language in order to try to win international acclaim, whereas an English girl can just write a song for the boy down the street and it can catch the world's attention.
While Jamaica is a slightly odd case, it probably benefits from this compared to say, the French speaking Caribbean.
Secondly, of course the shape of the record-industry matters. Sony is EVERYWHERE in the world, and Sony, despite being a Japanese corporation, is an American record label. Everywhere where Sony sells, they sell their American product.
Thirdly, everything that Ethan Hein said : America has wealth, cool, Hollywood, and successfully synthesized the traditions of Europe and Africa in its popular music.
Fourthly, it may not always be obvious how much influence in popular music actually comes from countries that aren't the usual suspects. Jazz, Broadway and West End musicals, popular ballroom dance tunes are full of the influence of European romantic music and Latin dance rhythms (rumba, cha cha cha, tango etc.)
And not everything is funnelled through the US either. I've heard great Latin-styled music turning up in everything from Russian pop to Bollywood films. I've bought records in Beijing of Mongolian pop that sounds almost exactly like Ace of Bass.
Finally, one could make an arguments that many parts of the world have produced at least some tune or piece of music which is known and loved everywhere else whether its Podmoskovnye Vechera, Guantanamera, Corcovado, Yeke Yeke or Dum Mast Qalandar Mast Mast. The question may be making an exagerated assumption.
Compare MusicalEcology.