The Romanian Music Scene. The Production, Distribution and Consumption of Pop Music in the Post-Socialist Period
The Romanian Music Scene. The Production, Distribution and Consumption of Pop Music in the Post-Socialist Period

Summary/Abstract: Our paper investigates the emergence of pop music in Romania against the background of the demise of state socialism and the implementation of neoliberal policies after 1989. Romanian pop music is the most listened to genre among young people nationwide in Romania. The paper traces the evolution of the Romanian musical industry from a single state-owned label, Electrecord, during the socialist period, to the private initiatives, large or small, of post-socialism. We argue that the development of the Romanian pop music industry is tightly linked with particular processes of Romanian post-socialism. Hence, analysing this development enables us to shed light upon the specificities of post-socialism in Romania (but also in the broader Eastern European context). Furthermore, the paper delineates the relationship between pop music in Romania after 1989, post-socialism and global neoliberalism as a hegemonic discourse. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Romanian pop music meant private enterprises promoting teen stars playing simple compositions and improvised music videos produced on a low budget, dedicated exclusively to a Romanian audience, whereas more recently pop songs by Romanian stars have gained international recognition, and entered the international charts. Thus, Romanian pop music seems to portray the ethos of neoliberalism as described by Comaroff & Comaroff, with wealth being attained almost miraculously.

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