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Music 2.0 - Week 6 Readings

Module 11 - Continuity With Change

‘MQA is Bad For Music. Here’s Why.’ - Jim Collins

Overview

MQA is a new audio format created by Warner Music Group and Meridian designed to
circumvent issues with copy-protection and audio quality. Collinson argues that rather than being
the ‘perfect solution’ to problems with current formats, MQA presents issues pertaining to major
label domination of the entire musical supply chain, requiring a technical overhaul of both
hardware and software at every level of production and consumption, requiring the artists to pay
more for their productions, and the consumer to pay more to listen - all of which is paid to MQA.
It would also be creatively stifling for artists who are independent or signed to indie labels, who
become required to master their music with a registered MQA studio and engineer, a cost they
previously would have avoided.

Quotes & Key Concepts

‘MQA is an attempt to not simply sell the same content again at a higher margin, or to maintain
audio quality in streaming ecosystems: it is an outright land grab. It’s an attempt to control and
extract revenue from every part of the supply chain, and not just over content that they hold the
rights for.’

‘But with the MQA approach, we have the worst kind of middleman… demanding to be paid
again and again for contributing nothing of value.’

Comments

Though the idea of a high fidelity audio format which provides a way of proving the legitimacy of
a recording sounds like a good idea, the fact that it is owned by a major label is enough to put
most musicians off due to their mistrust of the major label system. MQA could clearly be
exploited, suffocating artists and driving up costs for consumers, which would lead to a
downward trend in the production and consumption of recorded music. The outcome of MQA
depends on the word of Warner and Meridian, and whether we trust them to do the right thing.

Module 12 - More Human Than Human

‘Quantum Improvisation: The Cybernetic Presence’ - Pauline Oliveros

Overview

This article by Oliveros raises questions about the role of music in our lives when technology
reaches a level that makes it indistinguishable from human intelligence. By having cognitive
implants we would have increased processing power and therefore a heighten skill set,

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potentially customised to individual needs. Oliveros considers improvisation to be a challenge
faced by machine intelligence, as it cannot be gained by sheer calculating power alone.

Quotes & Key Concepts

‘All problems that humans can solve can be reduced to a set of algorithms, supporting the idea
that machine intelligence and human intelligence are essentially equivalent.’

Comments

Whilst what Oliveros discusses in her article is intriguing I felt mostly as though it were raising
questions with no plans to answer them - which is fine if you’re only aiming to introduce people
to a concept, though her concept was already quite specific, going into detail about quantum
improvisation.