The organic growth   

MM: How has the public evolved during these years? I’ve learnt that, by 1985, you had to find a new, bigger place. And you founded, with Helene, the World Music Institute. So it seems like you succeeded with this venture. Did you imagine when you started that you would have such success?

Robert Browning: By the mid 1980s we were presenting 60-80 concerts each year. These varied from avant garde jazz, “new music”, blues, flamenco, Irish, Arab, Persian, Kurdish, Indian, Japanese and Chinese to music of the Andes, Argentina, Mexico and Brazil. Audiences were beginning to get too big for the venue (capacity 200) so we often had to present artists for 2-3 performances. We were getting a lot of press by this time in the NY Times, Village Voice and Time Out which helped to increase our audience considerably. With larger audiences it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep people from leaning against artwork on the walls and, after a Friday night concert we would often have get to the gallery early on Saturday morning to repaint sections of the wall.

  The birth of the World Music Institute   

By 1985 I felt that it was necessary to separate the visual artwork from the musical performances. I left the Museum in 1985 and, in the fall of that year, Helene and I incorporated as the World Music Institute. We did not have a space but we would rent concert halls and alternative spaces for concerts depending on audience expectation. We rented a small office from a friend, bought our first computer and were ready to go.

MM: And how has the offering evolved? You have been active since before the concept of world music became something like a standard.

Robert Browning: When we started presenting concerts at the Alternative Center (Museum) we were open to present all forms of music, from jazz, gospel and blues and new music to folk music of the Americas. We were looking for artists who wanted to share their art, share their vision. At that time, downtown Manhattan was becoming a haven for musicians from around the world – professional and amateur, traditional and experimental. As Robert Palmer, music critic with the NY Times wrote,1976: “Where else can one hear a soloist who plays pre-Columbian Mayan, Aztec and Toltec instruments, an Indian‐African‐jazz fusion group, traditional music from the Andes, and some of the most progressive young musicians from Brazil, in addition to contemporary chamber music and jazz?”  Within a couple of years, we were adding more world music, particularly music of India, but also music from Japan, the Arab world, Ireland and Eastern Europe. By the time we had moved (in 1980) to Tribeca, the new center for the arts in Lower Manhattan, we had established a home for music from throughout the world. I don’t think I am looking for anything different now. Of course, in contrast to the early years when some of the artists we presented were essentially amateurs, those we present now have nearly all established themselves as important ambassadors of their traditions.

The World Music Institute opened in September 1985 with the Festival of India, a three-concert series that featured flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia, the late santur player Shivkumar Sharma both accompanied by table master Zakir Hussain, sarodist Buddhadev DasGupta, vocalists Girija Devi and Ajoy Chakraborti and Carnatic artists Mahapurum Santhanam and Lalgudi Jayaram. We rented a 900 – seat hall for the festival and, despite a hurricane glancing New York that weekend we drew capacity audiences. Of course, without considerable financial support from the Indian government, this would have been impossible. On a visit to India I had been hosted by the late Dr. Vijay Kichlu, a vocalist and teacher who ran the Sangeet Research Academy in Calcutta (now Kolkata) and who had chosen the artists for the festival. We had no private funding but had been awarded grants from the National Endowment to the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts.

Besides the Festival of India, our first offering was an eighteen concert series entitled Voices of the Americas featuring blues, gospel, Native American (Mohawk) chants, Haitian vodou, Cuban lucumi, music of the Andes, Cajun and Zydeco, and folk music from the Appalachians, Colombia, Argentina and Mexico. This series took place at a landmark venue in Greenwich Village known as the Peace Church. We drew audiences varying from 60 to 300 for these events and received considerable press in the NY Times and Village Voice. These two events, the Festival of India and Voices of the Americas heralded the beginning of what was to become Americas primary outlet for world music for twenty-six years. From thenceforth we presented 40 – 60 concerts every year in New York and arranged U.S. tours for artists from all over the world. We rented concert halls throughout the city for these events including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, City Center as well as many smaller venues.

RB: With respect to the quality of artistic proposals it’s difficult to make judgments. I have always chosen who I present carefully. I’ve spent a lot of time learning about their traditions and have tried always to be respectful. For the most part I have worked independently and have not relied on the opinions of promoters. I did, however, make friends with a number of ethnomusicologists and with musicians such as Zakir Hussain, Palestinian ‘udist Simon Shaheen, Egyptian ‘udist Hamza El Din, Gambian kora player Foday Musa Suso, Brazilian percussionist Nana Vasconcelos, Cambodian multi-instrumentalist Sam-ang Sam, Irish fiddler Kevin Burke. These and many others helped me on my way through territory that I was not so familiar with.  Of course, one makes mistakes. I remember, in the early days, an Aboriginal group from Australia that was being promoted by the Australian government. While the members of the troupe – dancers, didgeridoo players were all great, the (white) director of the troupe was both pompous and patronizing and the show was like a tourist promotion.

  The challenges   

MM: In general, what do you think are the main challenges currently faced by the scene or community working with world music?

RB: A major problem for presenters in the US is the cost. Not only do we have to bring most artists here by air, but we have to obtain visas. This has become more and more difficult. Back in the 1970s and early 1980s we were able to obtain visas by delivering a petition directly to the visa office in lower Manhattan. Thus, we were able to talk directly with the responsible officers and show them sophisticated publicity material. Usually, the visas would be issued based on the evidence that we submitted that the artists were important bearers of their traditions. This all changed in the late 1980s (due probably to some fraudulent petitions). Over the years it became more and more difficult and costly, especially after 9/11/2001. The difficulty of obtaining visas has led, over the past twenty years, to a considerable reduction in international performers coming to the U.S.

MM: I have also read some anecdotes about artists behaving oddly, arriving three hours late, or creating complicated situations in hotels. Do these things still happen, or is the world of world music more professionalized, also in this sense? 

RB: In all our 46 years of presenting music we have rarely experienced artists behaving oddly or arriving late for soundcheck. There were times when the start of a concert might have to be delayed because artists got caught up in New York’s notorious traffic jams, but for the most part we were able to start concerts on time.
Yes, we’ve had the occasional hotel problems. There is an amusing story associated with the group’s visit to New York. We housed them for a few nights at a moderately priced midtown hotel. I was at our office on the Saturday morning they were due to perform when I got a phone call from the very distraught hotel manager-  “You must do something about this group – they are wandering around the hotel corridors with nothing but towels on and are helping themselves to soap and chocolates from the chambermaids’ trolleys – Mr. Browning, my guests are all complaining and some are wanting to move to another hotel – please do something”. I called Syed Hashim, Khansahib’s manager/friend and explained the situation. Whereupon Bismillah Khansahib assembled his party and gave them all “a good ticking off.” There were no more shenanigans!

MM: What were you looking for in artists when you started? And what are you looking for now?

RB: I was always looking for authenticity. I was not interested in shows that had been assembled purely for the American and European market. But, at the same time, I wanted concerts that were both entertaining and didactic. Since, for much of the audience, the music they were hearing was new, it was important to give some educational background. However, I did not want the audience’s experience to be compromised by an onstage “teacher”. So we settled for program notes written by scholars to give the audience a background for listening. A major problem of course was language. As an Englishman, I was well aware of the difficulty English speaking people had with learning/understanding a foreign language. In many European countries bilingualism or even multilingualism is the norm but in the US it is mostly limited to Latinos. Where possible, we provided printed translations of songs. However, so much Asian music relies to a large extent on improvisation and so this does not always work. Early on, when presenting Indian classical music we mostly presented instrumental music but, as audiences became more sophisticated we were able to present vocalists, particularly as audiences began to understand that most texts in Indian music are fairly short; the art of vocal music being in vocalization, in playing with the sound of words.

Above all, when selecting artists for our concerts, both in the early years and today, I am looking for soul, but also for excitement. They say that “music sooths the savage beast”. This is true but it can also engender powerful emotions.

MM: When you left WMI in 2011, you said the reason was, “Because I am tired, and it’s time for me to leave.” But I don’t see that you have stopped. Do you want to add anything regarding why you left?

RB: I was tired when I retired from WMI in 2011. After 2008 things had become very difficult. The world financial slump had a major effect on the arts in the USA. Funding became more difficult to obtain, many sources dried up altogether. In most of Western Europe government subsidies for the arts were far greater than in the US. During the height of WMIs existence, in the early 2000s, government funding (National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the arts) together provided around $100,000/annum in grants – less than 4% of our annual budget. More than 55% came from ticket sales and the balance from private foundations and individual contributions. After 2008 we were forced to literally halve our budget, reduce our staff and cut back considerably on the number of concerts we presented. I was 70 years old. My board of directors was totally unable to raise the necessary funds to continue. Only two members of my board were actively supporting me with funds. Yes, it was time for me to leave! Helene, my wife cofounder and partner was ready to continue for a further few years, but the board of directors decided to fire her after a year in the interest of economizing. They preferred to hire a new Executive Director and add an assistant. The combined income of these two was more than double the salary that I had been taking!

It seemed to me that, after an extraordinary period of expansion in the arts, things were closing in, we were approaching a new “dark age”. Added to this I was tired of battling with my board of directors. Two members of my board had given generously over the years and the board chairperson had given generously of her time but the bulk of fundraising for the organization was still in my hands, and I was never very good at the fundraising game. So, I decided it was time for me to leave. However, after a few years, I felt the need to get back into the fold because, as I looked around, it seemed that there was far less traditional music being performed in New York than there was in prior to my leaving WMI. While I realized that times had changed, it was more difficult to get visas, young people were rarely going to concerts, etc.

After a rest period of 3 years, in 2014 I was encouraged by friends to begin presenting concerts again. I was able to get grants from the NEA and NYSCA to help launch a new series of concerts of traditional music. We decided to present most of these at Roulette, a newly opened 400-seat theater in Brooklyn. Since our rent-controlled apartment is in Brooklyn, Roulette was a very convenient venue.

 In current affairs 

MM: What plans do you have for the medium term? I found the schedule on the website until April. Do you have anything planned for later?

RB: Currently we are scheduled to present concerts through April of this year. I’m not sure how long we will be able to keep going. We are waiting to hear if we will have National Endowment funding for next year. Whether we will be able to continue to present concerts is largely dependent on that and if ticket sales this Spring are enough to pay off our current deficit.

MM: I am writing to you from Europe. For many musicians here, both of European origin and immigrants from other backgrounds, the idea of performing in New York is like a dream. So, I ask you, how do you choose the artists you program? Do you have the possibility to bring artists from other continents, only to perform for your programming, or do they have to be already on tour with visa issues resolved?

RB: During my time at WMI we were presenting 50- 80 concerts each year. In the early years most of the artists were based in the US. Occasionally we would present artists from abroad who were touring the US at the time. Often, we would organize a series of concerts based on a particular theme. One of the earliest series was entitled Voices of the Americas. It featured blues, gospel, Cajun, Native American and country music from the US as well as musical traditions of Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Argentina, and the Andes. Another series was entitled Music around the Mediterranean which featured music from Spain, Italy, Greece, North Africa and the Levant. All the musicians were based in the US. I chose the musicians because they were all respected masters within their communities and, for the most part I enjoyed their music. I relied, of course, on expert opinion from my advisory board composed of ethnomusicologists, scholars and highly respected musicians from each tradition.

I no longer can afford to bring in artists from abroad, but if an artist has the required visa I am open to presenting them in New York. However, in the current financial climate I cannot take the risks of presenting artists just because I like their work. I need assurance that they will bring in an audience of at least of at least 150 – 200. Without the free promotion that WMI had for many years in the press and electronic media this is not easy. So, it is essential that artists who wish to tour the US have a guaranteed visa before I can consider presenting them.

MM: I read that when you were at WMI, you formed a consortium with entrepreneurs from other cities. Do you maintain that network or something similar today to make the concerts you organize possible?

RB: When I was at WMI, in the early 1990s, I formed a consortium with entrepreneurs and college presenters in cities throughout the US which we called World Music America. These included UCLA, UC Berkeley, Santa Barbara, Stanford U (all in CA), UT Austin TX, MSU, Ann Arbor (Michigan), the Wexler Center, Columbus; OH, World Music, Boston MA; UMass, Amherst MA; Cleveland Museum of Art, OH; and a few others that I can’t remember now. This proved to be an important investment from the mid 1990s to 2007. WMI organized a number of tours during this period including The Gypsy Caravan featuring 35 Gypsy musicians from Spain, Russia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Macedonia and India; Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the Pakistani qawwali maestro; and a number of smaller tours by artists from West Africa, Greece and India. After 2005 it became increasingly difficult to maintain this consortium so we gave up touring. However, we maintained connections with many of the venues, and if bring artists in for a concert in Brooklyn I will help them to get gigs in other cities.

 Visas, one of the main headaches… 

MM: I read that in the time you left WMI, visas were one of the main headaches.

Robert Browning: I dealt with the visa issue partially above. Essentially, since 9/11/01 it has become increasingly difficult and costly to obtain visas. Prior to 9/11 it was a relatively easy process. In the early years I was able to petition for artists directly and the costs were minimal. As time went by, and WMI became more financially stable we began to use an agency (Tamizdat) to petition for visas. Until a few years after 9/11 the costs were still reasonable but over the past 20 years it has become increasingly expensive. The average petition costs at least $2,500 and, since the process can take a considerable time (months!) it may be necessary to ask for premium processing which has just been increased from $1,000 to $1,750. Thus, the whole process may cost more than $4,000. For more information about the new costs and timeline I suggest to go to this website of the Arts Council of North Carolina. There is no doubt that it is both expensive and complicated. It is no wonder that, over the past 20 years the number of visiting artists from Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia has diminished considerably.

MM: How do you come to know new artists? Do you actively search, or do they contact you, or do you have an established network of managers or bookers that you rely on…? What is the process for you to hire an artist?

Robert Browning: I learn about new artists in various ways. I subscribe to Songlines, and for many years I also subscribed to Folk Roots, a magazine out of UK that ran for 50 years, from 1979 – 2019. I also subscribed for many years to the Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM). Much of my learning about world music came from members of SEM, many of them teaching at universities throughout the US. But above all I have learned by listening to records and by talking to prominent musicians to learn more about their traditions and who the most respected members of their tradition are. I do have an established network of managers and booking agents that I often refer to. Many artists contact me directly or are referred by other artists or agents. Once I make a decision to hire an artist for a gig I negotiate a fee. In the past I would rent hotel accommodation for the artist but that is no longer financially possible. Once I receive a signed contract, and I am assured that the artist has the necessary visa and travel documents I will begin to promote the concert.

 The importance of all this 

MM: Do you think it’s important for people from economically developed regions of the world to have access to the art of other cultures? If so, why, and what does it bring to them?

RB: It is very important that people in economically developed regions of the world have access to other cultures. We learn from each other. The major problem today is that Western (Euro-American) culture has become so dominant that other cultures have a hard time competing. We (Americans and Europeans) impose our values on others to such a degree that other cultures are unable to compete without compromising their own. It is important that we listen to the music of other cultures if only to bring a greater understanding between us. As we listen to and absorb the arts of the non-Western world, perhaps it helps us to be a little more tolerant of other cultures. And, for artists from Asia, Africa, Polynesia etc., the ability to share their traditions with the Western world helps in some small measure to bridge the gap between our cultures and gives them economic opportunities (or should do!).

I often think about the situation of folk music and world music in Spain and also in Portugal. I think about 15 years ago, the Portuguese folk scene was vibrant and very interesting and I think it has been weakening. In Spain and also in Portugal, we have three styles of music declared intangible heritage of humanity by UNESCO: fado and Alentejo singing and flamenco. They are appreciated for obvious reasons. But there are many others that are still very unknown at the international level (and almost also at the national level). Artistic creation in these styles does not have many incentives. The circuit is small and precarious. Making a living with them is practically impossible.

Perhaps the new initiative by Juan Antonio Vázquez will contribute to improving this situation. This is the LIMúR and this is how he presents it:

No, LIMúR is not the new revelation of Icelandic pop or a cute little arboreal animal from Madagascar: it’s the Iberian Roots Music Chart.

LIMúR aims to celebrate, recognize, promote and disseminate the highest quality Iberian roots music productions.

We understand Iberian roots music as any musical expression with roots in Iberian cultures made anywhere on the planet, as well as any musical expression with roots anywhere on the planet made by Iberian artists and/or in Iberian lands, Iberian being understood as referring to any territory under Spanish or Portuguese administration, including those located outside the Iberian Peninsula.

LIMúR brings together a team of specialists in roots music in its different aspects: traditional, folk, the so-called world or global music, or styles such as flamenco, fado or any other, with an open spirit to evaluate any record production according to its artistic quality, beyond its musical style.

LIMúR produces every year four quarterly charts and an annual one with the recent albums of the above mentioned characteristics best valued by the panelists, in a unique category that will gather any record production, regardless of its format or the way of edition or distribution.

The panelists of LIMúR include several active professionals from different media, like the national radio stations of Spain (Radio 3 and Radio 2) and Portugal (Antena 2), as well as panelists also from the World Music Charts Europe, Transglobal World Music Chart or from media such as El País. You can already check the website: www.limur.eu

The 30th anniversary of the fair will take place in Manchester, UK, from October 23 to 27, 2024. Probably you are aware. Many critical voices have indicated the difficulty and extra cost that it will entail for many artists who will need a visa for the UK. Apart from that, accommodation prices in Manchester are very high and that will affect us all, so if you haven’t booked yet and are thinking of going, do so as soon as possible.

The submission fee for showcase and film is right now 25 € (the reduced price of 15 ended on day 9th of February). This is the website to apply. WOMEX doesn’t cover any expenses apart from the dinner of the day of the concert and the stage needs.

• So Alive Music Conference.  NEW IN THE NEWSLETTER.
  The call for proposals is open until 22nd of April

According to their communication,“So Alive Music Conference is a Balkan focused music conference & showcase festival. The aim of So Alive is to bring together artist and industry leaders and create an inclusive space, inspiring dialogue about the state of the Balkan music scene. So Alive is open to young artist, established performers and music mavericks.”

It will take place from 2 to 4 of October in Sofia. The information on the website about the conditions they provide to the artists is almost nothing. Ruth Koleva explained to me that “We provide accommodation, catering, up to 200€ for travel costs. The restrictions that apply is that artists should be connected to the Balkan region.” The application has to be done in Gigmit. If you don’t have an account, the free option is enough to apply.

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• Visa for Music.  NEW IN THE NEWSLETTER.
  The call for proposals is open 28th of March

Its 11th edition will take place from 20 to 23 of November in Rabat, Morocco. All the conditions and the process of application are clearly explained on their website. The application is for free. Visa For Music covers the transfer to/from the airport for selected artists and provides accommodation for a maximum of 6 group members. Visa For Music offers a stipend in Moroccan dirhams on the day of the concert and does not cover artist fees. They don’t cover any other expenses.

In the announcement of to their call they explain that: “We expect an exceptional edition and believe this event will continue to be a vital catalyst for promoting musical diversity and strengthening ties within the global music industry.”

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• Mercat de Música Viva de Vic.
  The call for proposals is open until 31 March 2024

Right now, to access to the conditions you need to login. You can create an account for free. Once inside, you can read the conditions. About the selection of the proposals, they explain that:
“The artistic direction picks around 60 proposals based on the following selection criteria:
· Priority is given to a premiere of a show or a new album.
· The artist/band’s own identity, artistic risk, and trajectory.
· The strengthening of the management firm.
· The selling power and economic and technical viability.
· The explanation of the project’s objectives (target programmers, territorial scope, etc.) and the importance of its presence at MMVV to achieve some or all of these objectives.
Proposals of all styles and musical genres can be submitted, except for classical music.”

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• MUM Meeting Music Market. VIII Jornadas Profesionales de la Música en Extremadura. The call for proposals is open until 15 February 2024. 

So far, most of the artists that made a showcase in this event have been Spanish or Portuguese. On the website with the conditions, there is no restriction about the origin of the artist to be elegible apply. But it is only in Spanish. The conditions are reasonably good for the standard of the showcases.

It will take place from 18 to 20 of April in Mérida, a historic city with relevant Roman legacy.

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• Just for Spanish artists: BIME Bogotá.

Call still open for Spanish artists through ICEX until 25th February. More info, here.