Musical exploration via streaming services: The Norwegian experience

ABSTRACT

Streaming services for music are growing worldwide, and the Nordic countries are leading the way. In Norway, streaming represented 88% of digital music revenues in 2014 versus just 23% globally. In essence, streaming services offer subscribers access to vast databases of music and offer artists new means of exposure and sources of revenue. This article argues that the possibility of musical discovery is essential to these services’ distribution model. It examines the provisions for exploration through streaming, pointing to automated algorithms and human curation as key devices. It then collects quantitative data on the presentation of music via a Norwegian service (WiMP/Tidal) and qualitative findings from interviews with consumers about their experiences with music streaming. Key discrepancies arise between the promise and the reality of streamed-music discovery, both for artists seeking new fans (and funds) and for audiences expecting streaming to supersede existing forms of musical exploration.     

乐舞之原

人除了物质需要外,还有精神需要,而精神文化中的音乐和舞蹈,又是不可或缺的。可以毫不夸张地说,作为人类文化构成因素之一的音乐和舞蹈,是人类精神生活的一大创新和发明,并成为人类有别于动物的标志之一。原始社会的音乐和舞蹈,同其他原始艺术一样,也起源于原始人的生产劳动和其他社会实践。也就是说,是劳动先于艺术,而不是艺术先于劳动。音乐和现代音乐一样,原始社会的音乐也分为声乐和器乐。比较而言,声乐的起源早于器乐。人类最初的乐器,无疑是嗓音,只是发展到后来,二者又紧密地结合在一起。声乐最初出现时,主要目的是为了统一号子、统一…     

On the Road：China＇s Musical Theatre Industry

<正>Musical production has become a new trend in China in recent years.Many performing arts companies and cultural businesses have involved themselves in produci...     

从乐器到玩具的演变——拨浪鼓漫谈

拨浪鼓是近代的一种儿童玩具，属于鼓类。但其样式与一般的鼓略有不同，它那两面蒙有皮革的圆形鼓身中间竖贯有一长柄，鼓身两侧各固定有一短绳，绳端系缀小珠，当转摇竖柄时，鼓身两侧的绳珠便反复甩动击打鼓面而发出声响，颇有情趣。因此拨浪鼓常常成为母亲哄逗婴幼儿的用具或儿童自娱自乐的玩具。     

Playing Slavery in First Grade: When “Developmental Appropriateness” Goes Awry in the Progressive Classroom

This article unfurls in the aftermath of an event where three first grade children at a reputable progressive elementary school were found playing slavery during school recess. As word caught on, parents ignited into a frenzy: some railed against the teacher, others demanded an answer, while still others believed this was precisely the meaning of progressive schooling. In swift response, school administrators sent a conciliatory email apologizing for their misjudgment. Slavery, they declared, was too difficult a topic and developmentally inappropriate for such a young age. Guided by critical childhood studies and concepts of difficult knowledge, this reflective article explores how adults drew from developmental frameworks and used children as proxies to protect themselves from the complicated conversation of race and slavery. It unpacks this event through three entry points: encountering difficult knowledge in primary school; the moralization of child development; and the ongoing work inherent to social justice-oriented schooling. It is hoped that readers can take this example into their own teacher education programs and school faculty meetings to query how adults can open up spaces for critical encounters rather than launch accusations when faced with the emotional charge of oppressive histories.     

古代中国妇女守节、殉节观念的演变

“九嶷山上白云飞,帝子乘风下翠微。斑竹一枝千滴泪,红霞万朵百重衣。”这是毛泽东在《七律·答友人》一诗中的名句,说的是一个古代的故事:唐尧将他的两个女儿娥皇、女英嫁给虞舜,后舜外出巡视,死于苍梧,她们二人赶到南方,哭得死去活来,泪染竹子成斑,因称斑竹或潇湘竹。后来她们二人俱投江而死。《列女传》、《博物志》、《述异志》等俱有记述。过去许多人认为娥皇、女英二人自杀是忠于爱情的表现,实际上,这是中国建立起夫权社会后,妻子为夫殉节的一个反映。位于甘肃、青海地区的马家窑文化、齐家文化和位于山东、苏北一带的大汶口文化,都先…     

Musical discovery,colonialism, and the possibilities of intercultural communication through music

ABSTRACT

Discourses of discovery have been important in a wide range of musical contexts, from early modern ideas about musical composition through to current forms of popular music production and consumption. Across these various contexts there are often inherent connections between discovery and colonialism, connections that become most apparent in non-Western socio-cultural and musical settings. In this article, I situate discourses of discovery within the “coloniality of power,” noting how colonial discovery can be more critically described as invention. From here, I turn to the genre of World Music as an example of how musical discovery is underpinned by inherently colonial perspectives, articulations of power, and relationships of dominance and subordination between Western and non-Western cultures. In contrast, I present the concept of interculturalism as a way of thinking about the possibilities of cultural in-between-ness beyond discovery, drawing on the practices of musicians who articulate intercorporeal and intercultural communication through performance.