Music, Technology, and Audiences

Northeastern University

Semesters taught: Summer I 2014

Course description

Technology has been central to the production, distribution, and consumption of music throughout the history of the contemporary music industry. Electronic instruments and recording technologies expand the creative possibilities for artists; media—both in their broadcast and commodity forms—provide opportunities and challenges to music publishers, labels, and distributors; creative and business synergies are found by partnering with other culture industries; and interactive technologies disrupt the top-down industrial paradigm. This course examines the history and socio-cultural contexts of several specific technological developments in the music industry.

Readings in media theory and the history of the music industry innovation establish a framework for several case studies on the changing roles of technology within the music industry. Whose interests does technological innovation serve? What factors govern the successful adoption of new technologies? How do new technologies shape artists’ creative processes and audiences’ access? What are the ethical, legal, and political issues surrounding technological development? Students will analyze selected examples that illustrate these issues. By the end of the course, students will be able to anticipate and articulate the challenges and benefits of new technologies to incumbents and entrepreneurs in the music industry with an aim to recommend future actions.