Studio II - Our Auditory World
Talking about the future is complex. We know nothing of what will be in a time that has not yet occurred. However, as a group, we needed to grasp an idea of what this future could be to be able to portray it on film. The concept of “predicting” the future is complex and abstract, but is described beautifully (in my opinion) in the 2014 publication titled Mutative Media: communication technologies and power relations in the past, present, and futures. This piece of work discusses the concept we were undertaking, and explains, ““The future” cannot be predicted, but alternative futures can, and should be, forecasted” (Dator et al, 2014).
In order to make these forecasts, I felt that understanding history of (a) trend(s) could be vital in terms of being able to forecast where said trend(s) may lead in the future, through the use of analysing and continuing patterns and statistical trends. Mathematically speaking, it is common practice to consider previous outcomes in order to anticipate what the next outcome would be. This was my logic.
As both an audio-orientated individual and the sound designer for this project, I wanted to assist us in building the aesthetic and experience of our envisioned future by considering potential music trends for 2076. This area of research did mean that I had to work on a global scale, rather than merely in New Zealand, as music is an international industry. I really wanted to create a soundtrack or jingle of sorts to really set the informercial vibe within our film so I felt it important to figure out what it would sound like in 2076. I chose to consider the pop music genre, given that the genre literally means “popular” music and would thus give me information about the most common tastes to represent the largest sample of society as possible - which is essentially what the concept of trend analysis is all about (what is most popular).
I discovered some really interesting ideas, varying in topic. However, the most vital (I believed) was the correlation between developments within the pop genre, and economic developments in sound technology. According to Dr Jack Lule of Lehigh University in his 2012 publication, Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication, the popular music genre can frequently be shaped by the ways the music companies produce and distribute their product (also known as their music).
The nineteenth century saw the strengthening of copyright laws and this paved the foundation for the music industry as a economic contributor. It meant that according to Lule, musicians had the opportunity to “earn money by writing as much music as possible” (2012). Lule continued to discuss the growing music culture during this period of time, particularly in a specific area of New York nicknamed Tin Pan Alley. Lule shares;
“Allegedly named because the cacophony of many pianos being played in the publishers’ demo rooms sounded like people pounding on tin pans, tin Pan Alley soon became a prolific source of popular music, with its publishers mass-producing sheet music to satisfy the demands of a growing middle class” (2012).
The primary piece of information I took from this was the significant scale that this music was being produce on. The Tin Pan Alley environment reminded me of an industrial manufacturing process - with the primary focus of the environment being quantity, not quality. The more that could be produced, the more music that could be made. It seemed to me that the composers were just trying to compose as much as possible, regardless of how the audience felt about it.
This got me thinking in a way I’d never considered in my life - what if the “popular” genre was less to do with what the consumers wanted the most (as the title of the genre may suggest) and more to do with the most efficient methods of production that companies could find?
Were the manufacturers really the ones determining what was most popular?
Lule’s work further supported this theory as he elaborated on the technological advancements of the mid twentieth century, the period of time when the technology was being developed to allow for multi-tracking (2012). Previous recording methods (through tape) had only allowed for monophonic recordings of music, meaning that the timbre of the tracks were very thin and empty. However, as the technology began to allow for four or even eight track recordings, the timbre of mainstream music began to reflect these new capabilities. Music became polyphonic, with a thicker timbre, once again demonstrating how the popular music genre was less to do with what the consumers “liked” or “preferred”, but more to do with how companies were producing their work.
Lule’s work consistently supported the concept of music trends that I was starting to form (however, it is important to remember that his work is biased toward his opinion of the music industry, just the same that my work reflects my personal thoughts). As blogger Jam Kotenko states, “Music is a product” (2013). It’s just another thing to sell. As a musician, I found this concept very confronting but very powerful in terms of the direction I wanted to take the soundtrack for the film in.
I feel that, when considering the history of musical development, the popular genre will continue to reflect technological developments. Given that electronic music production is constantly growing due to technology making life much easier for producers, I wanted to create an electronically produced soundtrack or jingle to demonstrate that I felt music was trending towards simply focussing on mass, cost efficient production that takes advantage of technology to do so.
The soundtrack I began to envision to be simplistic, basic, and electronic - to demonstrate that I felt music in 2076 would have reached the point of just being thrown together on a computer to just have something to sell. The next step was to actually produce the track!
Dator, J. A., Sweeney, J. A., & Yee, A. M. (2014). Mutative media: Communication technologies and power relations in the past, present, and futures.
Konteko, J. (2013, March). Who needs Simon Cowell? How big data can predict music superstars. Retrieved from http://www.digitaltrends.com/music/the-beauty-of-data-in-music-discovery-how-to-use-it-to-find-the-next-music-sensation/
Lule, J. (2012). Understanding media and culture: An introduction to mass communication.
