Friday 13 September 2013

Capitalism of Music.




This week we explored the symbolism behind food and the interesting ways that we associate different foods with different people or places.  As Kuttainen (2013) stated in the lecture, food can have ethnic and cultural associations that may or may not be correct and the same can be said of music.  For example, just like the Chinese take-away we get in Australia is actually nothing like authentic Chinese food in China, we may sometimes associate Nordic countries with folk music when actually some of these countries are the worlds largest producers of death metal! 

The reading by Patel (2007) highlights the imbalance of power in the network of food and in particular, coffee.  It highlights how capitalist corporations ultimately dictate what we eat (and this could be said for what we wear, what we buy and even what we think).  Indeed, corporations also dictate what music gets played to the masses and which artists get paid the most while less known or independent artists get only a fraction of profit if any at all.   

This is where I believe the virtual network of Soundcloud really steps up to help and encourage independent artists to get their music 'out there' and heard by the masses, enabling them to go further in the world of music.  By allowing people to upload their tracks for free, and the fact that tracks can be recorded easily with just a computer, artists are not being exploited or dictated by recording studios or record labels.  For an idea of recording studio prices in Australia, check out this link to the Chaval Productions Recording Studio in Brisbane. http://chaval.com.au/Pricing 

Over & Out!

Lunar (Vivian Davey).


References:

Kuttainen, V. (2013). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives and the making of Place, week 7 lecture. 

Patel, R. (2007). Stuffed and Starved: Markets, Power and the Hidden Battle for the world Food System. Great Britain; Portobello Books Ltd.  















1 comment:

  1. Hi Vivian, You have made a very good comparison of how the giant global music industry corporations choose who the public may listen to. As these corporations control the distribution of music in a similar fashion to the global food giants who control what food we may eat. Patel(2009) states "there are, after all , no mom-and-pop international food distribution companies" (p.12)the music distribution companies use their power to distort the music industry in each country.Your network of Soundcloud is allowing for independent musicians to be heard by a global audience therefore reducing the power of these corporate giants. Thank you for introducing me to an excellent site for independent artists.

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