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Bulgarian popular music comes from Balkan folk traditions and incorporating Arabic, Turkish, Serbian, Macedonian, Greek and Romanian influences, as well as motifs from Balkan traditional music. Often overshadowed by the Bulgarian club and dance music, pop-folk remains popular among teenagers in Bulgaria.
There are several pop-folk music companies in Bulgaria, however, the biggest is Payner. Its chairman is Mitko Dimitrov, a.k.a. "Paynera". He is the boss of the company and he is not very young but he can still take care of everyone - the singers, the team and the progress of the company.
The Bulgarian Pop-Folk Music genre is seen as a second-rate musical genre, originating from foreign sources and known for repetition themes and hook-laden dance rhythms. Its commercial exploitations result in a vibrant night scene, especially in Sofia, as well as many televised videos featuring extravagantly glamorised singers. Pop-folk music comes from a variety of musical styles; for example: rock'n'roll, jazz, folk music, dance, hip-hop and metal. Many pop-folk hits were Greek, Turkish, Arabic, Romanian, Serbian or Macedonian hits, covered by Bulgarian singers often in more complex musical arrangements. In fact, this has led to several cases of copyright infringement. This has sparked an ongoing controversy of music rights in Europe. We will bring you more about this as it develops. Stay tuned for next weeks article.
Novak Novakov & Veliko Mitkov
