May 27, 2019 at 00:06From critics to algorithms: labels, corporations, and 20th-century music culture
Yesterday, we started a conversation about how the perception of the music industry and music criticism has changed over the past 200 plus years.
If at the turn of the 18-19 centuries, criticism was just beginning to emerge, and musical works were evaluated primarily by fellow composers themselves, then industrialization of the twentieth century dramatically changed the situation in this area.
Let's see what led to such changes and as a leading role in shaping the musical agenda, moved from cultural elites to corporations. Photo frankie cordoba / Unsplash
At the beginning of the 20th century, rivals appeared in the romantic tradition that shaped the music industry in the usual sense. Harmony began to “emerge from the tonal shores” traced by the early romantics. Organizations that regulate public taste reacted coldly to this.
Schoenberg, Webern and Berg founded their own composers' club, which the press called the Second (New) Vienna School , as opposed to the old order. Gradually, the avant-garde went beyond the framework of the "protest movement" and gained fans - primarily among fellow musicians and intellectuals. So he found a place in the repertoire of many performers of the second piano concert of Prokofiev, whose premiere the Petersburg audience booed.
Compared to 19th-century romanticism, the avant-garde was a more democratic genre, partly due to a break with the classical tradition, partly due to social changes in Europe. Getting a composer profession, supporting and developing creative impulses in yourself has become easier than before - the same Schoenberg grew up in an ordinary Jewish family and did not even graduate from school. But the threshold of entry for listeners was only higher, and the work of the critic was more in demand than ever. It is not easy for an inexperienced person to understand atonal music.
The 19th century was a golden time for song composers. In Europe, the lieder genre flourished , in Russia, romances. Such music was distributed in the form of notes and was intended for home performance. But not everyone could play the piano or sing, which limited the popularity of this genre. Sound recording and radio changed the situation. And at the beginning of the 20th century, to the noise of world wars and avant-garde revolutions, songs captured mass culture.
Academic music, on the contrary, became more and more niche, less accessible every year. The cultural influence of elites who supported the academic tradition also gradually decreased. At the same time, pop music was gaining a wide audience.
And critics took her more and more seriously.
The key to this transformation was technology. A sound frozen in time is an even more abstract thing than a living performance. The listener can plunge into the eternity of the melody without even knowing how it was created. This idea would be very consonant with the romantics.
Moreover, when the first long-playing record was released in 1948, the last missing piece of the mosaic appeared. Pop music got its “serious” form, similar to the vocal cycles of romantic composers.
As soon as the performers began experimenting with the format of the album and creating holistic works with a claim to high art, the pop music that we know now appeared. But the influence of the elites has not disappeared, but simply changed form.
Photo frankie cordoba / Unsplash
Their main task was to inform a wide circle of people about whether this or that album is worthy of their attention (and money) or not. Journalists, DJs, music directors have become the main navigators in the international world of music. Appearance in the “correct” broadcast could give an impetus to a successful career, the enthusiastic reviews of critics were the path to recognition.
But, like any similar hierarchy, this system had its drawbacks. The voices of minorities , or those who disagree with the status quo of one or another “star,” were systematically silenced. People were offered to listen not to what they want, but what others consider worthy of their attention.
On the other hand, the development of the institute of criticism helped not to turn the music industry into a competition of popularity. Thanks to the work of critics, public attention was also directed to things whose artistic value exceeds their commercial success.
But nothing lasts forever. Almost nothing remained of the former status of critics - the Internet provided access to music without intermediaries. We will tell about what this led to and what processes govern public opinion about music today in the next article.
Photo by Mohammad Metri / Unsplash
Our habraseries:
If at the turn of the 18-19 centuries, criticism was just beginning to emerge, and musical works were evaluated primarily by fellow composers themselves, then industrialization of the twentieth century dramatically changed the situation in this area.
Let's see what led to such changes and as a leading role in shaping the musical agenda, moved from cultural elites to corporations. Photo frankie cordoba / Unsplash
Academic Music Revolution
At the beginning of the 20th century, rivals appeared in the romantic tradition that shaped the music industry in the usual sense. Harmony began to “emerge from the tonal shores” traced by the early romantics. Organizations that regulate public taste reacted coldly to this.
Even such "harmless" by today's standards works like Enlightened Night (German: Verklärte Nacht) by Schoenberg were blocked by art tips.
Composers, driven by a craving for the absolute, wanted to free themselves from the shackles of tradition. So the avant-garde was born - by the will of composers, but not the customers of their music.
Schoenberg, Webern and Berg founded their own composers' club, which the press called the Second (New) Vienna School , as opposed to the old order. Gradually, the avant-garde went beyond the framework of the "protest movement" and gained fans - primarily among fellow musicians and intellectuals. So he found a place in the repertoire of many performers of the second piano concert of Prokofiev, whose premiere the Petersburg audience booed.
Compared to 19th-century romanticism, the avant-garde was a more democratic genre, partly due to a break with the classical tradition, partly due to social changes in Europe. Getting a composer profession, supporting and developing creative impulses in yourself has become easier than before - the same Schoenberg grew up in an ordinary Jewish family and did not even graduate from school. But the threshold of entry for listeners was only higher, and the work of the critic was more in demand than ever. It is not easy for an inexperienced person to understand atonal music.
Pop and show business
The 19th century was a golden time for song composers. In Europe, the lieder genre flourished , in Russia, romances. Such music was distributed in the form of notes and was intended for home performance. But not everyone could play the piano or sing, which limited the popularity of this genre. Sound recording and radio changed the situation. And at the beginning of the 20th century, to the noise of world wars and avant-garde revolutions, songs captured mass culture.
Academic music, on the contrary, became more and more niche, less accessible every year. The cultural influence of elites who supported the academic tradition also gradually decreased. At the same time, pop music was gaining a wide audience.
And critics took her more and more seriously.
The key to this transformation was technology. A sound frozen in time is an even more abstract thing than a living performance. The listener can plunge into the eternity of the melody without even knowing how it was created. This idea would be very consonant with the romantics.
Moreover, when the first long-playing record was released in 1948, the last missing piece of the mosaic appeared. Pop music got its “serious” form, similar to the vocal cycles of romantic composers.
As soon as the performers began experimenting with the format of the album and creating holistic works with a claim to high art, the pop music that we know now appeared. But the influence of the elites has not disappeared, but simply changed form.
The new "guardians of musical standards" are companies. The place of patrons of the arts - influential people from high society - was taken by labels, influential businesses.
Photo frankie cordoba / Unsplash
The role of music publishers has grown along with their audience: they have gained control of the music industry. And the role of critics has become more commercial.
Their main task was to inform a wide circle of people about whether this or that album is worthy of their attention (and money) or not. Journalists, DJs, music directors have become the main navigators in the international world of music. Appearance in the “correct” broadcast could give an impetus to a successful career, the enthusiastic reviews of critics were the path to recognition.
But, like any similar hierarchy, this system had its drawbacks. The voices of minorities , or those who disagree with the status quo of one or another “star,” were systematically silenced. People were offered to listen not to what they want, but what others consider worthy of their attention.
On the other hand, the development of the institute of criticism helped not to turn the music industry into a competition of popularity. Thanks to the work of critics, public attention was also directed to things whose artistic value exceeds their commercial success.
Not a single Frank Zappa album received platinum status. Nevertheless, he left an important cultural mark - not least because he did not go unnoticed among music observers.
But nothing lasts forever. Almost nothing remained of the former status of critics - the Internet provided access to music without intermediaries. We will tell about what this led to and what processes govern public opinion about music today in the next article.
Photo by Mohammad Metri / Unsplash
Our habraseries:
- From Critics to Algorithms: The Fading Voice of Elites in the World of Music
- "Shine and poverty": why music is not so easy to make money , and what to do about it