Burmese Copy Tunes

Date
October 25, 2013

Speaker
Matt Brehmer

Abstract
As the southeast Asian country of Burma (aka Myanmar) emerges from military rule and cultural isolation, Western-influenced music is gaining a foothold. Some of the most successful Burmese artists are known for producing "copy tunes", note-for-note covers of Western pop hits with new Burmese lyrics set to the original vocal melody. Many fans are totally unaware of the songs' Western origins.