Title: Pop Culture | Globalization101
Headings: 
Pop Culture
The Spread of American Popular Culture
Television
Pop Culture Values
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Content: - Jeffrey Garten, former U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade (Garten, J.E. (1998, November 29) ‘Cultural imperialism’ is no joke. Business Week)
The Spread of American Popular Culture
Globalization enables foreign companies to distribute American cultural products, including music and books. The spread of American restaurant chains and consumer products worldwide is accompanied by the spread of American popular culture. In recent years, American movies, music, and TV shows have consistently gained more and more audiences worldwide. The products of popular musicians are also likely to be distributed by non-U.S. companies such as Japan’s Sony, Germany’s Bertelsmann AG, France’s Vivendi, or the United Kingdom’s EMI Group. Similarly, American authors are increasingly published by foreign media conglomerates, such as Bertelsmann, which owns Random House and Ballantine, or Australia’s News Corporation, which owns HarperCollins Publishing and the Hearst Book Group. It is interesting to note that foreign media groups contribute to the spread of American popular culture as well. Foreign corporations earn profits by selling U.S. products, and U.S. products become more accessible worldwide. Canada is one of the best examples of a country where U.S. cultural products dominate despite the Canadian government’s efforts to preserve local culture. Canadian films account for just 2.1 percent of Canadian film ticket sales, and the vast majority of the remaining 98 percent are American.