ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the local and international social and political forces that have brought about the recent changes within the taarab music complex as existed in Zanzibar during the twentieth century. In 1946, Hugh Tracey joined Gallo and formed the African Music Transcription Library. Ujamaa became the blueprint for an African model of development announced in the Arusha Declaration in 1967. An important mechanism for the advancement of tourism and music professionalism has been the development of music festivals. The Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) was started in 1998. The establishment of the Dhow Cultures Music Academy (DCMA) has been one of the most significant changes on the Zanzibar music scene. GlobeStyle was one of the leading companies issuing what was labelled in the late 1980s as 'world music'. According to Hasj, in 2006 there were two other recording studios namely Makonera and Akhenato on Zanzibar besides Heartbeat.
