Cultural Trade
US pop culture tends to be popular in regions like Scandinavia that are lightly populated, not very hierarchical and looking for new global cultural symbols. But most of the world’s population is in countries — China and India, Brazil, Mexico, Egypt, Indonesia, etc. — that do not fit that description.
Hollywood movies often capture 70% or more of a typical EU cinematic market.
The Indian music market is 96% domestic in origin. It is common in Central America for domestically produced music to command up to 70% of market share. In Ghana, domestic music has captured 71% of the market. Data supplied by Omar Lizardo (see “Globalization and Culture“) show that the poorer a country, the more likely it will buy and listen to its own domestic music.
“Some Countries Remain Resistant to American Cultural Exports,” by Tyler Cowen