Rozwój fonografii i procesy globalizacyjne a repertuar i wydawnictwa płytowe muzyków ulicy
The Influence of the Development of the Record Industry and the Globalisation Processes on the Repertoires and Music Released by Street Musicians

Summary/Abstract: I discuss the repertoires and music released by street musicians in the context of the growth of the record industry, the globalisation and glocalisation processes. The article is based on field research conducted during my work on the PhD dissertation The Artist, the Busker, and the Beggar. Street Performing in 21st-Century Poland in the Light of the Theory of Performance. Apart from quotations from the literature, I use the empirical material collected during this research, including excerpts from interviews with street musicians, so as to afford my readers a more in-depth picture of the presented phenomenon. In order to outline a wider context, I also present historical data, in particular quotations from 20th-century press which refer to the repertoire of musicians performing in public space. For the needs of my analysis, I first define the scope of the notion of street music, and later discuss and characterise anonymous and authored works, as well as covers of music by other composers. I have paid special attention to the use of contrafacta (among others, of the song Pescador de Hombres, known in Poland as Barka – The Boat), and the possibility of introducing changes in texts written by other authors. I present the pieces of music performed by buskers in Poland, including foreigners who play and sing in our streets, frequently presenting the music of their own countries, but also commonly known repertoires, using such tools as they find available (for instance, Latin Americans playing Polish rock hits on the Pan flute). I provide a detailed characterisation of music released on records by street musicians, which are frequently amateur productions and therefore not in keeping with professional music publishing standards.

• Details
• Contents