[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

[microsound] RE : [microsound] the politics of digital audio



Kim,

> also, I think it would be interesting to resurrect and discuss the  
> topic of the 'politics of digital audio' -- using any framework you  
> like of course ;)

Brainstorming session... Thinking out loud... Your questions are good, but as a
sociologist I would rather ask, what are the ethical-political, social and technical
grounds implied by the activity of doing computer music? Rather than studying music
(ie what message does that music convey?), I would be looking at computer music
through some of the following elements. To name a few that spontaneously come to
mind, in no particular order: 
* Digital music relies on free/community software but also largely on cracked
applications. There has been a recent shift in the musician/instrument relation (ie,
more developers, more community development). Is using a cracked application only a
matter of money?
* Careers of digital musicians are now, more than ever, seen as an international
venture. Do digital musicians get work permits/visas? Are borders, administration
and states seen as illegitimate opponents of their careers?
* Digital music relies mostly on solo careers. What social meaning does it have?
* Digital music relies mostly on voluntary work and underground economy. What is the
income of digital musicians? How are digital musicians stratified? What are their
professional trajectories?
* The life of labels is very short. What's a hot label? Why are some surviving and
others not. How are they stratified? 
* Is legitimacy in digital music still attached to material objects (is releasing a
CD better than releasing a MP3 album)?
* The musicians/public ratio is very high. The label managers/musicians ratio is
very high. How does that define digital music?
* Only a very few digital musicians are know for their ethical-political positions
while this is more common in the punk-hardcore scenes. What do we have to learn from
these differences?
* Why are most ways to legitimate digital music (magazines/websites/email lists)
from the North? Can that be explained only in terms of technology? Why is it that
there has been a recent growth of interest for non-European, non-north-American,
non-Japanese music (ie China, South America)? What can we learn from the structure
of the digital music scene?
* Etc

By answering these questions you will most likely be able to draw an accurate
portrait of the ethical-political positions of digital musicians. Most likely:
digital musicians don't like big companies; they are opposed to certain dominations
they see as illegitimate. But their actions imply that a consumer-based society as
legitimate. They are in the favour of communal development of technologies but see
solo careers as the best way to exist in the scene. They also imply that a certain
competition is right and good. I can browse a larger portrait but I would rather
listen to others. 

Dimitri




	

	
		
__________________________________________________________
Lèche-vitrine ou lèche-écran ?
magasinage.yahoo.ca

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: microsound-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
For additional commands, e-mail: microsound-help@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
website: http://www.microsound.org