Its narrowness and precision would have been made it an unprofitable piece of business in a country like Colombia, but for the fact that this niche market can accumulate a large audience globally. Thus, globalization also represents the salvation of niche markets. We have presented an analysis in which we argue that the segmentation of music preferences in Colombia today is the result of the change in communication media and technology over the last fifty years. If true, this obviously does not bode well for the future of the traditional forms of regional music in Colombia. Yet, these musical forms have by no means exhausted their possibilities.
Niche markets can continue to thrive in an era of globalization.
It is just that a music form like vallenato can no longer be promulgated by a troubadour like Rafael Escalona traveling from village to village and plying his trade. Rather it takes a Carlos Vives starring in a telenovela like Escalona and scoring a global monster hit like La Gota Fria . When Nationalism Goes Too Far April 2000, Brazzil magazine. Hanover, NH, 1998. Foreword by Robert Farris Thompson.