Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Is there a Afro-American Audience for World Music?



Being a "World Musician" brings me in contact with many social and cultural phenomena.

In the US, being classified as a world musician brings me into contact with several social realities. I am increasingly aware of the demographics that sustain my chosen musical genre.
  • It has been determined that world music followers are primarily people who have a college education.
  • People with a college education are more likely to have been exposed to other cultures.
  • Most world music format radio shows are on college campuses.
  • Most world music in the United States is performed in university concert halls.
  • This audience would also tend to be mostly female since upwards of 60-70% of all college students in America are female.
Of the many young people seeking a higher education, how many of those students are African-American ? UCLA, which has one of the premiere ethno-musicology departments in the US has an African-American student enrollment of 2% for the coming 2006-2007. The majority of the African-American students at UCLA are student-athletes!
What that means to me is; the African-American audience for world music should be expected to be extremely low. It also suggests that a male African-American is much less likely to be a world music fan that all others.

Maybe I need to prepare a marketing plan for basketball & football players.

No comments:

Post a Comment