What is world music? And why does it exist?

World music could be seen as the music of a tiny sub-culture of the globe. It used to just be concerned with music outside of the Anglo-American genres, including Africa, Canada and Australia. Now, however, the term ‘world music’ is used to describe music within minority groups in America, Asia and Europe as well. It can be seen as a mix of modern and traditional musics and is often not sung in English. World music has been turned into a genre and has become institutionalized by the music and media industries.
This kind of music has been criticised because it has caused musicians to turn their backs on cultural traditions in favour of commercial profit. It has been seen as a force for cultural imperialism and has also been seen to homogenise musical cultures all over the world.
I believe world music exists to help people create a cultural identity for themselves.

Is popular music a mass produced commodity or a genuine art form?

Adorno argued that all popular music is standardized and therefore would agree that it is a mass produced commodity. He stated that all popular music involves ‘part interchangeabilty’ and ‘pseudo individualisation’, to streamline production costs and create an illusion of originality. ‘Part interchangeabilty’ refers to the way in which different parts of popular songs can be taken and put into other songs and therefore there is no uniqueness.
Adorno compares popular music to what he terms as ‘serious’ music. Although music is still consumed, it isn’t consumed in the same way other commodities are. People don’t buy the same track over and over therefore similar sounds and styles are reproduced so that popular music is still bought and enjoyed.
However, this does not mean that popular music isn’t an art form. Gemdrom argued that, although popular music is mass produced, you cannot mass produce a moment in time.
Individuals opinions on this question will differ, as they would when defining 'popular music' and even the term ‘art’.