This book examines the collaborations of artists and exchanges of music within and among former Eastern Bloc countries Czechoslovakia, Hungary, East Germany, and Poland.

From 1945 to 1990, these countries were in a period of state socialism under the control of the Soviet Union. This political, cultural, and economic system restricted the physical and ideological movements of those who lived within its borders. And yet, as this study shows, individuals and institutions created opportunities to mediate the exchange of popular music via spaces like music festivals and the music press as well as singers, composers, and journalists. Through analysis of the mainstream, popular music that was the subject of this exchange, including the (cover) songs, aesthetics, and reception, as well as texts such as the memoirs and biographies of the musicians themselves, the authors examine the motives behind these musical and cultural exchanges and the implications and effects of such collaborations.

The book problematizes the idea of the “Eastern European” scene as a homogeneous bloc. It shows the specifics of the musical cultures of the countries in question, as well as the functioning of the music scene under state socialism, where different actors and institutional bodies with often conflicting interests clashed, despite the unified cultural and political declarations and centralism of communist regimes. The authors question to what extent-and under what circumstances-the vision of a socialist music culture as an alternative to the Western scene was truly realized. They also examine whether it is possible to view the “Eastern European” popular music scene and market as an independent entity, characterized by its own distinct organizational and artistic principles, effective mechanisms of exchange, and unique processes for building a musical canon.