HIVEWIRE #02 - How 'Glocalisation' and 'Internationalisation' have distinct approaches when it comes to emerging cultures
As new markets mature, their creators rise and evolve, and digital-first young locals in some of the youngest parts of the world feel more than ever that they want music that speaks to their culture and identity.
For years, International music and non-music companies have used existing globalisation models to drive new revenue growth in new markets such as Spotify, Netflix and McDonald’s. However, successfully entering new markets with strong cultural nuances and varied economic status’ requires investing time in understanding the needs and behaviour of local consumers. Sometimes it works. Sometimes, it’s a tough battle.
When Spotify launched in India in 2018, I was working at a music streaming service called Moodagent, a Danish mood-based streaming service. My role there was to look into ‘Localisation and Quality Assurance’, and I cannot begin to emphasise enough how tough of a job it was. Localising a streaming service based on something as human as moods was impossible due to the incredible nuances in the market - Languages, cultures, and sounds (happy songs that sounded sad, sad songs that sound happy) and then the big “film music”, “non-film music” and independent music chaos that India has. It is easy to get lost in various genres and languages in this market - a Punjabi happy song could not appear in a Tamil happy playlist, and Bhojpuri pop song could not be a part of Bengali pop. That job made me realise how incredibly nuanced India is and how cultural diversity is as remarkable as it is complicated.
Today I will dive into a phrase I have always been conflicted about - ‘Glocalisation', something that, in hindsight, Moodagent hired me for. To me, at the time, it seemed pretty standard - a Danish service would launch in India, so it needed to make changes to cater to it because our culture differs from Denmark's, and we were highly aware of that.
How 'Glocalisation' and ‘Internationalisation’ have distinct approaches when it comes to emerging cultures
The Intersection of Cultural Diversity and Global Reach in the Music Industry
Edited by Akhila Shankar and Yatin Srivastava
The music industry is navigating the complexities of cultural diversity and global reach in today's interconnected world. Two prominent strategies, 'Glocalisation' and ‘Internationalisation’, offer distinct approaches to connecting with audiences worldwide for Artists, Labels, Publishers, Streaming platforms etc. In my last newsletter, I wrote about how emerging music markets are diverging. Today’s newsletter delves into the dynamics of these approaches, providing insightful examples that shed light on their impact on the music industry and why they are essential to the cultural diversity of the music industry.