26 Mar Social Music
Prompt
Find an example of collaborative music making through digital devices. Analyze in relation to key points in the readings.
This collaboration between Conor Maynard, Anth, Beckie Eaves, and Jake Barker demonstrates what Hosokawa would consider voluntary artists in The Walkman Effect. Although far from being street artists performing live music, these musicians create for passers-bys, who stumble across them on YouTube. While the connection may not be as intimate as with a live audience, the platform allows for listeners to communicate directly with the artists through comments and liking – much like dropping money in a bin.
The other group represented here from The Walkman Effect is the “people who are involved with the music, or rather, who live with it. They do not play but listen to it through technological ‘instruments,’” in this case typically through smart phones or other portable electronics. While the delivery method of YouTube more closely imitates this interaction, sharing in only what Hosokawa describes as outer time, the ability for listeners and performers to communicate to one another through the digital platform transcends this legacy approach to listening.
The addition of social media to music is important because it changes how people “engage in social musical interactions, such as listening to others’ performances or sharing their own compositions” (Behrendt – Playing the iPhone). Gone are the days of listening to or publishing music in a vacuum where critics, record sales, and play time made up the majority of public response. Listeners are now engaged directly with performers, labels, and other listeners, able to express their own opinions, feelings, and connections with the music.
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