✘ The complexity of sound and making a playlist with a stranger

And: Musicians and suicide; Celebrating women in music; Sony Music removed 75k deepfakes; Music on social problematic for brands; Beyond superfans

As a music-crazy person I love to connect with people through music. Sharing videos and audio of favourite pieces of music. Sharing what new music we’re listening to. It’s all a valuable way to connect. Exactly because music allows us to open up parts of ourselves where we may struggle with words. We can lean into the emotions we feel, and use music to sonify where we might otherwise stay silent.

Over the course of more than a year I’ve created a playlist with Andrew McCluskey of musicto. His belief is that music makes the world better and that community and collaboration are central to breathing that out into the world. It started with a song and a little description of why that song - just a few words about what he liked and why he shared it. I then replied with a song and some words about the feeling it evokes in me and why I had to think of it in relation to that first song. From there, and with sometimes months of patience, we built the playlist. We moved across genres and rhythms and from vocal to instrumental. The journey of music also created a personal connection. I have probably never shared as much about myself to an ‘internet stranger’ within such a short period of interaction. This connection will hopefully last, but even if it doesn’t it remains a moment in time. And this moment has been captured in a playlist. It’s called Reverence & Movement and I invite you to listen to it.

The complexity of sound

Sound carries a whole array of information. Both the direct sonic properties and the musical qualities but also the stories and interpretations of those who create and listen. What the playlist I made with Andrew especially signifies is how all of this information works on a psychological level. I’ve been reminded of a quote which also helped kickstart my PhD over 15 years ago: “vision is a spectator, hearing is a participator.” This is from the philosopher John Dewey and he wrote it back in 1927. It’s very true, of course. There’s a couple of simple facts here. First, we can close our eyes but not our ears (no, not even with your noise-cancelling headphones). Second, when we watch something, we stand on the outside looking in. When we listen, we stand in the centre. Sound doesn’t just come from the front, it comes from all around us.

In that way, sound becomes something we can’t really escape from. It’s why when sounds are out of place, we are so very much triggered by them. When we search this out, it creates very strong feelings of togetherness. Think about singing along with thousands of people at a concert, or even just singing happy birthday to someone with family. The unity in those moments is as strong as the dissonance when sounds are out of place.

This leaves me with a thought: music, and sound more generally, might be uniquely positioned to help us understand our current complex times. Vision simplifies everything into our own perspective. Hearing always brings us into the equation. When we listen, we’re forced to insert ourselves. And, like making a playlist with Andrew amplified for me, it helps us think differently. To tackle our current set of global wicked problems, listening might be the best step forward. Wondering how to start? Pick a stranger and make a playlist with them.

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LINKS

😵 Musicians, the music industry, and suicide: epidemiology, risk factors, and suggested prevention approaches (George Musgrave & Dorian A. Lamis)

“Moving beyond this unhelpful and potentially harmful romanticisation of suicide, this paper seeks to engage with the latest objective epidemiological evidence on suicide among musicians.”

✘ For everyone who cares about health and wellbeing in our music industry - read this. It’s academic, but very readable and will allow you to talk about this tough issue from a place of strength instead of fear.

🧗‍♀️ Celebrating women in music: stories of empowerment, representation, and legacy (Meg Adams)

“Women in the music industry have long faced a variety of challenges, from systemic biases to personal struggles, and overcoming these obstacles requires resilience, support, and determination. Each of these incredible women has faced unique hurdles, and they’ve learned to overcome them in their own powerful ways.”

✘ The drum still needs banging. As I wrote recently, it’s not just about diversity but also about creating inclusive environments - something that shines through in the stories told in this piece.

🪪 Sony Music says over 75,000 items removed in battle against AI deepfakes (Daniel Thomas)

“The response by Sony called the proposed changes “rushed, unbalanced and irreversible”, arguing that copyright was “a right, not a regulation”. The system was a “necessary societal reward” for creating and investing in works that benefited society and enriched human life, it added. The proposals “unfairly and unnecessarily” distorted the market in favour of AI developers, the company said.”

✘ We know about the lawsuits, we know about various governments formulating their own policy around AI, and generative AI specifically. It feels like a cat and mouse game sometimes, but the question of how we remunerate that which enriches human life is more pertinent than ever.

💇‍♂️ Music proves problematic for top beauty brands on social media (Jaclyn Petrovich)

“We analyzed a different amount of posts for each platform based on what we were able to access, but when looking at the percentage of music matches in the posts analyzed, TikTok has the most music use and highest amount of major label catalog. 30% of posts analyzed on TikTok contained commercial music, and 19% of all posts analyzed contained major label catalog.”

✘ The kind of analysis that we should be doing a lot more of. Which brands are using music? How do they use it? From several high-profile cases we know that everything from the NBA to hotel chains struggle with music in their social media.

🪷 Beyond superfans: Building a deeper understanding of modern fandom (Sam Thomason)

“Monetising fans isn’t inherently problematic, but it often comes at the expense of a more holistic approach to engagement. Our research suggests that there is already growing fatigue among fans who feel they are being “fleeced” for additional purchases. This discontent signals a shift: audiences are becoming more discerning, and a purely transactional approach to fandom is starting to backfire.”

✘ The ‘superfan’ is complex and consists not of a singular type but a multitude. Here, Sam talks about the kind of holistic approach that Charlotte also recently called for in her last MUSIC x piece. Sam has the data to back up what he’s saying. This new series, instigated by Downtown and AFEM is one to follow along with to better understand how to approach fandom.

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MUSIC

I think the song that most stuck out for me during the whole process of building that playlist with Andrew was Natalie Migdal’s All the Way Home. It’s a beautiful track with powerful lyrics. As Andrew told me, it was a big song for a music-to-grieve-to playlist he ran for a while. It’s a beautiful example of how music can soothe pain.