Is there any way to make Brazilian music (in terms of musical styles and/or artists) as dominant, popular, influential, etc. worldwide as American music is OTL? Or at least as popular as you can manage to get it? This forum seemed like the best place to put this but the PoD can be before 1900 if necessary.
AHC: Brazilian music as dominant as American music
- Thread starter Keperry
- Start date
Bossa Nova, Calypso, etc were big for a while in the mid-to-late 50s and into the early 1960s. At a time when Rock and Roll was thought to be a fad, it was assumed that such music would replace it. That didn't happen.
American popular music seems to most people to take up a broader range of styles (folk, country, jazz, rock, middle-of-road pop, r&b, rap, etc.) than Brazilian. Now maybe this is simply ignorance on their part because they know Brazilian popular [1] music *only* though samba and bossa nova. No doubt there is a greater range to it than that. But it is nevertheless true that it is through samba and bossa nova that Brazilian music has become known to the world, and those genres, however interesting, are not varied enough to rival American music on a world stage.
[1] Of course there is Brazilian classical music, too, but the only name in it well-known to most people outside Brazil is Villa-Lobos.
[1] Of course there is Brazilian classical music, too, but the only name in it well-known to most people outside Brazil is Villa-Lobos.
The Anglosphere is much bigger, richer and more populous than the Lusosphere, and including the "extended anglosphere" (where people learn English) the difference is even greater.
As a general rule, I think that butterflying away WWII and the lead up to it, specially Nazism, can make American culture far less dominant worldwide.
Specifically in this case, an "easy"* way to popularize a band or singer across many countries is through TV. Have a successful TV show (or a few) which feature a rock/pop (so you don't sell a different musical genre) singer/band in the main cast and those musicians will be doing shows (and selling lots of tickets) in the countries where the show was successful, even years afterwards.
The downside is that this doesn't tend to work for already established and successful musicians, who don't take part in these type of shows, and that it doesn't usually open the floodgates to the rest of the country's musical production.
*As "easy" as making a successful TV show and market it worldwide is
Specifically in this case, an "easy"* way to popularize a band or singer across many countries is through TV. Have a successful TV show (or a few) which feature a rock/pop (so you don't sell a different musical genre) singer/band in the main cast and those musicians will be doing shows (and selling lots of tickets) in the countries where the show was successful, even years afterwards.
The downside is that this doesn't tend to work for already established and successful musicians, who don't take part in these type of shows, and that it doesn't usually open the floodgates to the rest of the country's musical production.
*As "easy" as making a successful TV show and market it worldwide is
Maybe if they had more success in the 19th and the early 20th century by have good economic policies which in turn turns them into a world power by 1939.
That way they can be involved in WW2 and make significant contributions to the fighting while also bringing their music the Europe that way.
So all in all make Brazil into the South American version of the USA.
That way they can be involved in WW2 and make significant contributions to the fighting while also bringing their music the Europe that way.
So all in all make Brazil into the South American version of the USA.
Errr... Brazil fought along the Allies in WWII, they fought in the South Atlantic and Italy
guinazacity
Banned
Cuban missile crisis war maybe?
Brazilian music will be very popular everywhere not radioactive
Brazilian music will be very popular everywhere not radioactive
Riain
Banned
I for one don't know how to play an instrument but will happily butcher song lyrics in the shower or whatever.
Except for Sepultura
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWDuSMQax1Q
But then again, that's heavy metal, so understandable lyrics aren't a priority.
In any case, well, yes, but music isn't that tied to the language barrier. While you can't really dub it like a movie, musicians can be popular among populations which (mostly) don't understand the lyrics.
A Brazilian led Marshall Plan would do it, but how much richer would Brazil need to be offer such a thing to a Europe devastated by an alt-World War?