In the early days of this type of store there existed an economic and cultural exploitation, as individual artists were not being properly compensated for their work. But times changed, artists began forming collectives, storeowners became more socially responsible, and policies of "Fair Trade" were implemented in more and more instances.
As artisans began being paid true value for their work, prices in the stores gradually increased to reflect the dollar amount being paid out for product. Instead of selling to hippies the market place shifted and the purchasing power switched to those who wanted go buy third world art guilt free.
Having entered this market in its infancy, Stroper was intimately familiar with both the clientele and how to best appeal to them. They would want authenticity, but they would also want accessibility. The easiest way to accommodate both those demands was to create compilations that were indicative of either a country or a genre of music.
Putumayo has achieved remarkable success in their fifteen years and has expanded their line up every time they've offered a new release. They sponsored tours of the United States for some of the acts whose music graces their discs as a means of increasing both the label's and the artist's exposure.
Whether its music from their "Groove" series; contemporary dance music form the country of origin, "Lounge" or "Dance Party" mixes, they have sought out the best available music for their audience. They have developed a children's line that introduces a young audience to something other then what they hear on the radio daily.
Of course you can't be successful without people being critical. But if one looks closely it's hard to find Putumayo guilty of anything other than doing a really good job of disseminating the music they produce. Sure most of the music produce is plucked from previously released sources, but tell me another World label that doesn't do the same thing. It is rare indeed when a label will specifically produce an album for an individual group or performer, and even rarer for them to receive the exposure they get from inclusion on a Putumayo collection.
In fact there is less to criticize about this label than others. While most distributors will only focus on developing countries, and call that World music, Putumayo is one of the few that actively search out music from European and North American sources.
They are one of the few who recognize the fact countries produce music beyond the traditional, and have created their different series to capture diversity. It is not unusual for Putumayo to have three or four separate discs from a region, ranging from the contemporary to the traditional sounds of the area.
Article comments
1 - dj earball
Thanks for the thoughtful article! I have long appreciated Putumayo, and learned a few new things from this piece. When I first was digging into "world music" I thought Putumayo was amazing. Actually, I still think so, though I now know much more and have become acquainted with some of the other fish in the sea. Putumayo does a great job at introducing listeners to new artists, but you won't find a great deal of diverse sounds within any single compilation. It's a very different approach from, say, World Music Network, whose Rough Guides often take a wider variety of tunes falling under the umbrella of a nation or a musical style. Not that one is right or wrong; they're just different approaches, and will appeal to different listeners. The curious will find both to be great jumping off points for further explorations in global sounds.