"Our habit of referring to music as an aesthetic object has guided a widespread shift in the way we experience a musician's workflow as recorded audio. The conversation around - as opposed to resistance against - music streaming services largely focuses on the accessibility and fungibility of music that far exceeds the capacity of our collective attention spans. Without much headroom, sound circulates as editable waveforms in a loop that does not require interpretation or participation."
"This de-centering of the musician's workflow enables large streaming catalogues to be animated by AI-enabled virtual instruments and protocols that subvert authorship - partially to the comfort of the listener, who is no longer burdened by the intentions or emotions of any given song or album's author. In this sense, platforms such as Spotify, TikTok, and AI-generated music systems act as quasi-sovereign actors, shaping which cultural narratives circulate and which are excluded, functioning as vectors of soft power across global audiences."
Music consumption has shifted from engagement with creators to the circulation of sound as editable, fungible inventory. This shift treats recorded workflows as aesthetic objects and enables streaming catalogs to be animated by AI virtual instruments and protocols that subvert traditional authorship. Listeners gain comfort from reduced exposure to artists' intentions and emotions, while platforms like Spotify, TikTok, and AI music systems exert quasi-sovereign control over which cultural narratives spread. The automation of music traces back to logistics practices that managed sound like inventory rather than originating with AI. Pre-internet networks of imports, test pressings, white-label promos, and limited runs exemplify earlier automated distribution systems.
Read at The Wire Magazine - Adventures In Modern Music
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