Mashed Up: Music Technology and the Rise of Configurable Culture (Science/Technology/Culture)

About this book

From ancient times to the present day writers and thinkers have remarked on the unique power of music to evoke emotions signal identity and bond or divide entire societies all without the benefit of literal representation. Even if we cant say precisely what our favorite melody means we know very well what kind of effect it has on us and on our friends and neighbors. According to Aram Sinnreich this power helps to explain why music has so often been regulated in societies around the globe and throughout history. Institutional authorities ranging from dynastic Chinas "Office to Harmonize Sounds" to todays copyright collecting societies like BMI and ASCAP leverage the rule of law and the power of the market to make sure that some musical forms and practices are allowed and others are prohibited. Yet despite the efforts of these powerful regulators musical cultures consistently devise new and innovative ways to work around institutional regulations. These workarounds often generate new styles and traditions in turn with effects far beyond the cultural sphere. Mashed Up chronicles the rise of "configurability " an emerging musical and cultural moment rooted in todays global networked communications infrastructure. Based on interviews with dozens of prominent DJs attorneys and music industry executives the book argues that todays battles over sampling file sharing and the marketability of new styles such as "mash-ups" and "techno" presage social change on a far broader scale. Specifically the book suggests the emergence of a new ethic of configurable collectivism; an economic reunion of labor; a renegotiation of the line between public and private; a shift from linear to recursive logic; and a new "DJ consciousness " in which the margins are becoming the new mainstream. Whether these changes are sudden or gradual violent or peaceful will depend on whether we heed the lessons of configurability or continue to police and punish the growing ranks of the mashed up.