Going global. Trends in pop music charts 1960-2010

This paper studies the cultural globalization of pop music by (a) describing trends in pop music single charts in nine countries in the period 1960-2010, and (b) explaining global success using a double comparative design in which multiple origin groups are observed in multiple destinations. Our explanatory analyses thus comprise country level data (degree of cultural centrality of music industry, cultural proximity, media systems, political context, GDP, population size) and artist level data (language, star power) which affect global flows of pop music. The results show that pop charts are increasingly globalizing, with the exception of the US. Centrality of production in the origin country is highly important, yet after 1990 many European countries also host more domestic music. In addition, we find dear effects of cultural proximity. Artists' star power as well as the language they perform in also impacts global success.