Lecture by Prof. Dr. Peter K. Marsh (California State University, East Bay)

Wednesday, February 8, 2023
6:15 P.M. (via Zoom)

Abstract
Within a year of dropping their first YouTube videos in late 2018, the Mongolian heavy metal band The Hu had signed with a major New York-based record company, released a best-selling debut album, and was in the midst of a nearly-sold-out world concert tour. While the band may have appeared to many in the west as having come onto the heavy metal scene from ‘out of the blue,’ The Hu is only the latest in a long line of Mongolian pop musicians and groups that had tried to break onto the global stage, such are the difficulties many artists of small nations face when seeking to access global markets. This talk explores the factors that helped The Hu succeed where so many others failed and what this tells us about the changing strategies artists in small nations may employ to reach broader audiences.

Peter K. Marsh is a professor at California State University, East Bay, where he teaches musicology and ethnomusicology. He holds a MA in Music from Wesleyan University and a PhD in Central Eurasian Studies from Indiana University, Bloomington. His research interests are largely centered around the music of Mongolia and Mongol peoples. His research in Mongolia has largely focused on issues surrounding professional folk music and popular music.

Zoom:
Meeting-ID: 625 4489 3981
Password: 443266

Lecture by Prof. Dr. Peter K. Marsh (California State University, East Bay)

Wednesday, February 8, 2023
6:15 P.M. (via Zoom)

Abstract
Within a year of dropping their first YouTube videos in late 2018, the Mongolian heavy metal band The Hu had signed with a major New York-based record company, released a best-selling debut album, and was in the midst of a nearly-sold-out world concert tour. While the band may have appeared to many in the west as having come onto the heavy metal scene from ‘out of the blue,’ The Hu is only the latest in a long line of Mongolian pop musicians and groups that had tried to break onto the global stage, such are the difficulties many artists of small nations face when seeking to access global markets. This talk explores the factors that helped The Hu succeed where so many others failed and what this tells us about the changing strategies artists in small nations may employ to reach broader audiences.

Peter K. Marsh is a professor at California State University, East Bay, where he teaches musicology and ethnomusicology. He holds a MA in Music from Wesleyan University and a PhD in Central Eurasian Studies from Indiana University, Bloomington. His research interests are largely centered around the music of Mongolia and Mongol peoples. His research in Mongolia has largely focused on issues surrounding professional folk music and popular music.

Zoom:
Meeting-ID: 625 4489 3981
Password: 443266