CSEAS Friday Forum

In central Javanese musicians' discourse on music, the concept of ownership shows up in various guises. Often, when it has to do with purely musical procedures, it is metaphorical. At other times it has to do more literally with who "owns" what music. While there is nothing new about this phenomenon, it would seem that there has been a recent shift from recognizing a characteristic style toward a view of music as a commodity whose ownership is bound up with monetary gain.