By the time the Second World War broke out, there was a more cosmopolitan appreciation of Western music in Burma and its place in colonial society. This was due in large part to the diversication of popular entertainment venues, the advent of radio broadcasting and technological advances in the music recording industry. These changes were greatly assisted by the growing size, sophistication and inuence of British, American and (in the region, at least) Indian lm distribution networks. Ironically, they gave Burma much greater exposure in the West. Also, Mandalay’s reputation as an exotic, faraway place easily lent itself to exploitation by this new cultural medium.1