From March 21^st to 23^rd, Babel Med Music 2013 took place in the French city of Marseille on the Mediterranean coast. Old warehouses in the port of Marseille-a city that has been designated as the European Capital of Culture for 2013-were renovated and transformed into Dock des Suds, a charming cultural venue that can seat 2,500 people. This is the site where Babel Med Music is held each year. This world music market was founded in 2005 to bring talented musicians to the attention of music professionals and the general public and to support the activity of such musicians.

A World Music Market for the Mediterranean Region That Is Centered on France

Babel Med Music is a music market featuring actual concerts that focuses on world music from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The market brings together world-renowned artists, musicians, festival directors, music distributors, record companies, talent agencies, and managers. It receives support from various French organizations that provide aid for the culture and arts, including SACEM (the Society of Authors, Composers, and Editors of Music), IRMA (the Center of Information and Resources for Contemporary Music), ADAMI (the Society for Administration of Rights of Artists, Musicians, and Performers), CNV (the National Center for Variety Songs and Jazz Music), and Culture France (a radio station specializing in French culture), along with French corporations including FNAC and Caissed’Epargne. The market also receives financial support from local governments and organizations such as the FCM (a fund for music creation) so that it can serve the interests of the public by introducing the French people to diverse kinds of cultural expression. Babel Med Music is composed of a concert known as the Showcase, exposition-style booths, and a forum. Each year 30 music groups take the stage at the Showcase. These groups are selected by an international committee of judges that reviews their applications. Since the Showcase is also open to the general public, it feels very similar to a festival. The market is not as large as WOMEX (World Music Expo), which is held in a different city of Europe each time, or SXSW Music (South by Southwest Music), which is held in Austin, Texas, in the US. Nevertheless, it would not be amiss to call this a “small but strong” market that concentrates on introducing world music from the Mediterranean region including France. Most importantly, the European Forum of Worldwide Music Festivals (EFWMF)-one of the biggest networking organizations in the area of world music-is a mainstay at the market, holding one of its two annual general meetings here every year. This indirectly illustrates that Babel Med Music is a useful market that is efficiently run.

This year, the three days of Babel Med Music were chock-full of various events and networking opportunities, including 170 promotional booths, 36 Showcase concerts, several conferences, and film showings. The most noteworthy of the groups that performed in the Showcase concert series were Coetus from Spain, Mohammad Motamedi from Iran, and Taksim Trio from Turkey. Perhaps because the world music market is currently more oriented toward live concerts than toward album distribution, most of the concerts seemed more intent on providing exciting music that would be appealing to the general public than in offering experimental or revolutionary sounds. In the Round Table Talk section of the program, a number of intriguing topics were addressed including “Identifying the roots of urban music and their impact on social change” and “A mobile Europe: the circulation of artists and of identities.” However, since most of these discussions were conducted in French, it was difficult for non-French speakers to take part. This appears to be an aspect of the market that the organizers should reconsider for the benefit of participants who are not French speakers.

The Korea Arts Management Service (KAMS) participated in the market by introducing Korean artists and promoting its activities through manning a booth, distributing the promotional traditional music album called Into the Light, and taking part in the networking activities with market attendees. (Primary activities at KAMS include supporting Korean artists so that they can take part in traditional art markets and festivals overseas and supporting exchanges between world music experts.) Perhaps the most important objective for KAMS at this year’s market was meeting the chair and delegated director of EFWMF to discuss the idea of having Korea host the organization’s general meeting in 2014 or 2015. As was previous mentioned, the EFWMF holds two general meetings each year. One of these takes place at Babel Med Music, and one takes place at a different location each year. If Korea were to host the EFWMF general meeting, a number of festival directors and organizers would visit Korea. This could serve as a strategic opportunity to use traditional performances, academic conferences, and networking events to promote the expansion of Korean music overseas.

Briefly explained, EFWMF is a networking organization for world music festivals around the world,with a focus on Europe. At present, forty-five world music, jazz music, and traditional music festivals are members of the EFWMF, of which one is Korean (the Ulsan World Music Festival, with Lee Jeong-heon as artistic director). Furthermore, since 2011 the EFWMF has been working in concert with KAMS to operate a tour support system called the KAMS-EFWMF Tour Grant. Through this system, KAMS provides support to artists performing traditional Korean music who are invited to perform at festivals or member countries of the EFWMF. This support has made it possible for artists such as Park Gyeong-so, Lee Ji-yeong, and Goraeya to make an appearance at some of Europe’s top festivals.

Unique to Korea: At Once Strongly Distinctive and Universal

What follows are some of the highlights of the conversation that took place at the market between representatives of KAMS and EFWMF chair Alexandra Archetti Stolen and EFWMF delegated director Patrick De Groote. At the moment, EFWMF is working with a fund for collaboration between Francophone countries and the music of Catalonia in Spain. It is also partnering with Malaysia for the Rain Forest Festival and the Borneo World Music Expo. When asked about how they hope to remedy the economic recession that is currently affecting the entirety of Europe, Stolen said, “We are trying to increase cooperation. That is to say, we are looking for ways that two to four festivals can work together, and we are also trying to exchange a variety of information as we also work to secure funding. We regard sharing information as more important than festivals exchanging artists. In terms of the EFWMF, five years ago the majority of members were European countries, but today there are ten non-European festivals in our ranks, including the Ulsan World Music Festival in South Korea. Our objective is to expand into the world. We hope to make national connections and at the same time regional connections.”

When asked how Korean traditional music can enter the overseas market, Stolen said that “the identity of the music group is important,” suggesting that even traditional arts should both be universal and have their own unique appeal. “China and Japan are already very well-known, but South Korea is a country that does not have a distinctive image even among Asian countries,” she continued. “Beyond the music, people overseas want to learn about the identity of the nation and the characteristics of its culture. Take Psy for an example. Of course, he is a pop artist, but the music he makes is at once strongly distinctive and universal. It is still pop music, but in the sense that it can give Korea a unique image, I think it is playing a major role.” Stolen said that some of the Korean artists that had been especially memorable for her were Ahn Suk-seon, Dulsori, and Gwak Su-eun, noting that all of these artists were very proud of the fact that they were Koreans and that audiences had really liked their music. “They liked it because they were exposed to a new sound and a new rhythm. I think that Korean music groups have found a new center over the past few years. One recent example of note would be Goraeya. Their music is fusion, but they have found a new sound. I also think that Lee Ja-ram is really amazing and beautiful. Jambinai has also been interesting because their sound is completely different.”

Recently, the staff at KAMS have come to sympathize both directly and indirectly with the sense in the traditional music industry that a new approach must be sought and a renewed effort made toward expanding overseas. The organization’s participation in Babel Med Music helped KAMS come to a number of conclusions in connection with this. One is that simply labeling Korean music as “world music” will clearly limit attempts to adequately explain the music’s identity. However, advancing into the world music market has been one of the more significant of a number of methods that have been used to promote Korean music overseas. Even if this method is not enough by itself to make the people of the world seek out and listen to Korean music, there is no doubt that it remains a valid strategy for accomplishing this. There are still many talented Korean artists who are not very well-known yet, and it is necessary to encourage more active participation even in comparatively small markets such as Babel Med Music as a more strategic way to promote these artists.