They say that music soothes the savage beast, an idiom as old as time and the modern world was no exception, despite their changes; even now, it'd wielded the power and potential to basically unite its listeners whether in proximity or distance altogether so to speak of: Equestria harnessed that power, with and without the Elements themselves, but that constant had been common knowledge all the same as is.
Of course, there were other countries, like and unlike them, which had their own unique talents, persistences, and resolves too: Neighpon, for all its differences between themselves and the outside world, was the epicenter of its own culture due to their upbringing; granted, similar ideas could be found elsewhere too but it didn't stop the equivalent exchanges either way, nations, creeds, and inhabitants.
Speaking of which, the landscape had changed one day when one popular song out of many had basically entered the forefront: little could be said about it freely except the lyrics were so filthy, airwaves were restricted around the young and old alike either way; still, despite their best efforts, individually and collectively, excerpts would find their way out into the open world, near consequences notwithstanding.
An entry for the A Thousand Words Contest II in the Comedy category.