Abstract

The paper focuses on some aspects of the complex relation between music as collective action and politics. It analyses certain functions of the major institutions for production, dissemination and reception of music in the context of the structuring and reproduction of cultural hegemony. It gives emphasis to issues concerning the management of innovation and cultural diversity, as well as to the global aspects of the cultural hegemony worldwide.

In this context, the paper introduces a brief review of the discussion on the political consequences of the strategy and the tactics implemented by the major recording industry in an environment where major changes in the mass media occur and new forms of social interaction appear. The paper suggests that the contemporary issues at stake concern the cultural policy both on a local and a global level.