Hybrid Music Practices as a Phenomenon of Contemporary Culture

Keywords: music, culture, hybrid musical practices, media, streaming

Abstract

The aim of the article is to discuss the nature of hybrid musical practices related to the creation, distribution, and consumption of music, understood as a phenomenon of contemporary, globalized, and digitally mediated culture. First, music’s specificity was discussed and understood as a form of interpersonal interaction and a space for building social relations. In particular, Christopher Small’s assumptions about the interactive nature of music were emphasized. Subsequently, two great breakthroughs were outlined – analog and digital – which revolutionized the nature of human musical practices (both at the creative and reception level), leading humanity towards a contemporary hybrid and the interpenetration of what is real with what is virtual. The nature of these practices has been discussed in relation to issues such as (a) a new, hybrid “culture of the ear,” (b) new, hybrid ways of navigating the musical digital space, (c) new, hybrid contexts of experiencing music, (d) new practices related to modern streaming. The “music in the cloud” with its interactive character is currently the most popular form of consuming music content, which has been supported by available global research. In this context, contemporary phenomena and processes related – on the one hand – to the potential of streaming, and – on the other – to certain dysfunctions related to distinction and digital exclusion were shown. These issues are also embedded in the context of pandemic times, in which the whole culture, and therefore music, has moved online, generating, on the one hand, many new possibilities on the real-virtual line, but also creating a number of problems related to crossing the boundaries between what is digitally mediated and what is available in the natural contexts of creating and experiencing music. Paradoxically, the time of the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic turned out to be a kind of catalyst for contemporary culture and contemporary musical practices of people.

Author Biography

Barbara Jabłońska, Jagiellonian University

Profesor nadzwyczajny w Instytucie Socjologii Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego. Zajmuje się problematyką socjologii sztuki i muzyki, teoriami kultury oraz analizą dyskursu publicznego i politycznego. Autorka licznych prac z zakresu socjologii muzyki i analizy dyskursu, w tym książki Socjologia muzyki (Wydawnictwo Naukowe Scholar 2014). Jest członkinią Europejskiego Towarzystwa Socjologicznego i Polskiego Towarzystwa Socjologicznego. W latach 2016–2019 pełniła funkcję członkini Zarządu Sekcji Socjologii Sztuki Polskiego Towarzystwa Socjologicznego.

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Published
2023-12-09
How to Cite
[1]
Jabłońska, B. 2023. Hybrid Music Practices as a Phenomenon of Contemporary Culture. Perspectives on Culture. 45, 2 (Dec. 2023), 489-502. DOI:https://doi.org/10.35765/pk.2024.4502.34.