Streaming Heritage: Digitalisation and the Glocalisation of Malaysian Genres

Abstract

Digitalisation has transformed how music is produced, distributed, and consumed, but its effects on culturally rooted genres remain underexplored. This study examines how Irama Malaysia and Nasyid practitioners use streaming platforms while preserving cultural, linguistic, and ideological identity. Using a qualitative design informed by ethnographic principles, the study draws on semi-structured interviews with 20 participants through 20 semi-structured interviews comprising artists, producers, and industry practitioners with direct experience in digital production and distribution. The data were analysed thematically through iterative coding and interpretation guided by glocalisation theory. Three themes emerged: digital platforms as cultural gateways, selective adaptation of sound and identity, and the unequal opportunities created by streaming visibility. Although streaming services expand transnational reach and support niche audiences, algorithmic curation, genre classification, and platform metrics can limit the visibility of local music. The findings show that practitioners respond through selective adaptation: they modernise production, branding, and distribution while retaining local language, musical structures, values, and narratives. The study extends glocalisation theory by showing that digitalisation is not simply a tension between preservation and change, but an ongoing process of strategic cultural negotiation. It also offers practical implications for artists, policymakers, platforms, and music-industry organisations seeking to sustain Malaysian musical heritage in digital environments.