But the history of their exploitation is very different. Profoundly different.

Some exploitation is racist. Not to admit that is, IMO, equivalent to saying racism doesn't exist in the music industry. Clearly it does, regardless of the current popularity of R & B, hip hop, and rap music.

I also disagree that musicians must be exploited to be financially successful.

I do agree, Ernest, that we do seem to share a lot of musical tastes! I agree, 'tis a good thing.

As I went to click on this thread again, I re-read Penguin Egg's opening post. I can see how people interpreted what they said as being opposed to the music/musicians.

I have no problem with the music and musicians inadvertently caught under or deliberately putting themselves under the 'world music' banner. But I do have a problem with the term 'world music' simply because I see it as a contemporary PC euphemism for 'race music'.

I also find the term to be, in a practical sense, largely irrelevant to both the global music industry and the global music listening public. Not universally, but nearly so. There are exceptions to that, and the main one seems to be among English trad and folk music (in the British sense of folk music) afficionados in Britain. Who aren't a very large percent of the planet's music listening public, hence my claim the term is "nearly universally irrelevant".

I also think, practically speaking, it is a moronic, meaningless term. I find the term 'roots music' to be much more useful. Roots music, to me, simply means music from a certain culture.

The term 'roots music' seems to have evolved to describe more hybrid music, that is, a blend of the contemporary and traditional, whether from one's own or another culture(s).

When you use the term 'roots music' most people in the US 50 and under will know pretty much what you are talking about. Use the term 'world music' and their eyes glass over or they think you are trying to trick them into listening to folk or new age music. It is perceived by people I know as bland, white bread sorts of fluffy stuff.

I know world music is perceived very differently in the UK. We all get that. What we don't accept is that Brittania rules the air waves.