The current music scene and the artists dominating it are seen as bland,
corporate representatives. But the music fans who are engaged in file sharing
and building trans-national communities of music sharers can be seen as far
more revolutionary than their predecessors. They may also be more effective.
File sharing and CD copying have reduced very powerful international
corporations to a state of free fall panic where they are attempting to litigate
their way out of the problem (Woodworth 2004). Assuming that they will not
be able to criminalise a very large part of the population this may be one form
of pop cultural resistance that cannot be incorporated and commoditised. The
use of the iPod then is deeply political. In an age where capital presses ever
further in to our every day lives and even has the temerity to trademark DNA,
here is a bastion of resistance to copyright culture. But iPods and other music
file playing devices are in themselves highly stealable. As the gap widens
between the technology haves and have-nots crime and the fear of crime are
likely to become increasingly important problems for designers to address not
just for music producers but music consumers.
Emerson’s gramophone offered users new ways of experiencing music. For
the first time it was possible to listen to music in the absence of musicians.
Music could be enjoyed at home. Recorded music is now an integral part of
our lives accompanying many of our daily activities. Digital media, like the
earliest recording technologies, offers radically new forms of experience. In
time the music industry will adapt, although the process of articulation may be
a slow and painful one.
No comments:
Post a Comment