Between Globalisation And Localisation: Contradictory Impacts of the Seventy-Five Per Cent Local Content on the Music Industry in Zimbabwe

Abstract

That the 75 per cent local content policy has transformed the music industry in Zimbabwe is hardly refutable. It is the nature of and permutations of this transformation that have invited competing responses and interpretations. In spite of its controversy, there are no known studies devoted to unravelling the impact of the 75 per cent local content on the music industry. Foregrounding the socio-cultural function of music, this article examines attempts by the government of Zimbabwe to localize musical expression through the 75 per cent local content policy and its impact on the music industry. Empirical data were gathered through interviews with musicians, arts and entertainment journalists, academics, music critics, and representatives of recording companies and policy-making bodies in the country. In addition, archival material drawn from websites and newspapers was also used. The article argues that the impact of the 75 per cent local content on the music industry is contradictory, thus reflecting the complex interaction of forces of globalization and localization.