We, as a society, have a shared conception that the true artist is one who makes thoughtful and provocative work unprovoked and organically, as if the true artist is untethered and concerned only with their inspiration and their creation. We also largely share a notion of authenticity as it relates to money that is nearly unattainable — we often think authenticity in art is corrupted by money, and artists who attempt to appeal to the market are “sell outs” (Barnard and Lindner 2019:3). Could this be true?
Well, having received a valuation of $19.1 billion for the year 2018, the music industry is encapsulated by money from end to end, and as such, it’s the money that largely dictates the trends and directions of all music being made, no matter if it’s popular or not. As music consumers, we wonder, does a piece of music lose authenticity if the artist or creator is being paid to create? Through a macro lens, we may never know for sure because there is simply no metric with which to measure such a phenomena. But through a micro lens, we see the traces of money’s influence on the music industry throughout, and specifically in the area of risk minimization and sampling. …
After reading on my computer and reading on paper, my opinion has not changed; reading on a screen is different and I don’t like it — but I really cannot figure out why. It’s not because of notifications, it’s not because of distracting ads, links, or pop-ups… it all about the lens through which my brain receives data from an “organic” or “acoustic” source, if you will, as opposed to a screen. My brain doesn’t treat the media the same — and it’s no wonder, because they’re not the same.
My housemate and I are vehemently opposed on this issue; is there something about writing and reading on paper that is experientially and psychologically different than doing the same on a screen? I argue yes, there is a big difference — but my housemate says no. He hates when professors require students to put away their laptops in class. He hates when essay exams are only hand-written. He really hates when professors ask him to pass-in a printed copy of an essay, instead of an electronic version. And he really, passionately hates when professors recite the scientific study that effectively found “handwriting makes you learn/remember better.” It baffles me how many tasks he completes on his laptop. …
Having received a valuation of $19.1 billion for the year 2018, money encapsulates the music industry from end to end and largely dictates the trends and directions of all music being made, no matter if it’s popular or not. This fact often causes myself and others to wonder what impact the entertainment industry has on music as an artistic medium. Does a piece of music lose authenticity if the artist or creator is being paid to create? Generally, I argue it doesn’t, because art is art; no art or music must insistently meet any standards to be authentic. However despite my beliefs, the music industry is controlled by the ebb and flow of the entertainment industry as a whole. …
Every year, on the second weekend of June, I drive 20 hours with my best friends from Boston to Tennessee to attend Bonnaroo Music Festival.
Bonnaroo takes place every year on a farm in Manchester, Tennessee. Over four days, the festival puts on about 100 concerts which play from early afternoon until sunrise the next morning. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Bonnaroo, by design, is overstimulating.
Everything at Bonnaroo is overstimulating, even the festival-goers.
The shinier, the brighter, the more outrageous, the most over-dressed, the most underdressed, and the oddest outfits I’ve ever seen have been those of Bonnaroo festival-goers, or Bonnaroovians. …
Every day around the time I finish with my school work, I like to unwind by making beats. I’ve been making beats for about three years now––so despite the fact that I know what I’m doing, I remain entirely musically untrained. In this piece, I’m going to walk through how to make a simple beat.
Step 1: First, you’re going to want to start with a pace, or tempo. Tempo is a large determinant of the feeling of the music that you’re making. Some tempos are more common for dance music, as they align with our bodies’ natural heart rate, making for excellent dancing speed (i.e. Disco), while other, slower tempos may be more common for more relaxed music, like R&B. Hiphop greatly varies. …
