Genre-Bending: A Discourse on Globalization and Culture with Implications for Music Therapy

Genre-bending is an evolving term that indicates the tendency for musical and cultural elements to interact with each other, often defying previously established genre distinctions. Evolutions of technology have expanded the way music is both created and consumed, and together with globalization, has shaped the development of a global music landscape. Hybrid elements and dynamics of music and culture have important implications for the development and exchange of musical identities outside of and within music therapy. In this article, there is a brief review of the digitalization of music technology related to consumers and curators. We highlight how digitalization and globalization have increased access through media democratization and afforded a global digital agency. This agency is explored with both the access and engagement of consumers, and the impact on curation by music creators. Those introductory elements are used for grounding the article’s main idea of genre-bending; including what it is, the ways it functions in popular music today, sociocultural and relational elements, and implications for music therapy. As part of this discourse, we highlight how the global music landscape has encouraged diverse music tastes and normalized inclusive engagement, and the subsequent importance of understanding individuals as being situated through multicultural music personhood. These shifts shape the intersubjective meaning making between therapist and client, impacting musical identities. The article concludes by delving into the ways these realities influence how music therapists hold space for curation, clients’ resources, and cultural assets through hybrid therapeutic dynamics.