<P> Slobin's discussion of ethical issues in ethnomusicology was surprising in that he highlights the ethnomusicology community's apathy towards the public discussion of ethical issues, as evidenced by the lackluster response of scholars at a large 1970 SEM meeting . </P> <P> Slobin also points out an interesting facet of ethical thinking among ethnomusicologists in that many of the ethical rules deal with Westerners studying in non-Western, third world countries . Any non-Western ethnomusicologists are immediately excluded from these rules, as are Westerner's studying Western music . </P> <P> He also highlights several prevalent issues in ethnomusicology by using hypothetical cases from an American Anthropological Association newsletter and framing them in terms of ethnomusicology . For example: "You bring a local musician, one of your informants, to the West on tour . He wants to perform pieces you feel inappropriately represent his tradition to Westerns, as the genre reinforces Western stereotypes about the musician's homeland...do you have the right to overrule the insider when he is on your territory?" </P> <P> Ethnomusicologists also tend towards the discussion of ethics in sociological contexts . Timothy Taylor writes on the byproducts of cultural appropriation through music, arguing that the 20th century commodification of non-western musics serves to marginalize certain groups of musicians who are not traditionally integrated into the western music production and distribution industries . Steven Feld argues that Ethnomusicologists also have their place in analyzing the ethics of popular music collaboration, such as Paul Simon's work with traditional zydeco, Chicano, and South African beats on Graceland . Feld notes that inherently imbalanced power dynamics within musical collaboration can contribute to cultural exploitation . </P>

How would you define the field of ethnomusicology