top of page
Nov 2116 min read

Music Technology Trends: Digital Tools, Human Touch

In this episode, we explore music technology trends through three distinct signals. We discuss how classical music is breaking down traditional barriers, examine AI's impact on DJing and music curation, and investigate the surprising revival of physical media. Through these lenses, we uncover a fundamental tension between technological advancement and our deep human need for authentic musical experiences. From accessible orchestras to AI DJs to vinyl's comeback, we explore how technology and human connection are reshaping the way we create, share, and enjoy music.





Selected Links:



Episode Transcript:

Lana: Welcome to Signal Shift, by Horizon Shift Lab. We're your hosts, Lana Price, Raakhee Natha, and Sue Chi. Each episode, we explore the latest signals in technology, culture, and society, uncovering insights that will impact our daily lives in the future. Join us as we shift perspectives, explore possibilities, and delve into real changes in our world. Curious to learn more? Go to horizonshiftlab.com.


Lana: Hello and welcome. So in today's episode, we are discussing the future of music. 

So when we think about the history of music, it is as old as our species as humans. The oldest instrument found was a bone flute. It was from 40,000 years ago. And so as humans, we can and have always made music. We can do it with our voice. It is innate to us.


And so Professor Michael Spitzer, who's a British musicologist, explained about the history of music that it's always been participatory. So there's really no distinction between those who create it and those who listen to it. And really only in more modern history has there been the idea that there's a composer and a listener, that these two functions are separate. 


And so, that came up because of the invention of staff notation. So this idea that music can be sort of written and codified, that act of notation kind of freezes music and makes it more like an object versus this really participatory activity. 


And so at this moment in time, we're in the very, very long arc of music and just very curious about where we are and where it's headed. And so we'll kind of open up and see what signals have we found on the future of music.


[2:18]


Sue: This is Sue. I can go first. And my signal is very much about this distinction around participatory music. 


So it's related to classical music. And if you know me, I love, love, love classical music. I'm one of those people who can't have classical music on in the background. It's way too distracting for me. But when I think about the future of classical music, it's just so dreary. Orchestras aren't doing well financially. Attendance is down. The population who goes to these concerts is continuing to age.

And then when you go in, sometimes it's not a surprise why.


So my husband didn't grow up with classical music. So of course, I've dragged him to many concerts. And he'll wind up seeing some virtuosic performance. So immediately when they're done, he'll start clapping. And everyone will turn around and look at him like, you're not supposed to do that. He's like, this is insane. They just did something insane. And you're telling me I can't react to this? Like, this is crazy. 


So there is this question of when did listening and appreciating to music something that's so visceral, gets so rigid, where you now have these kind of expected norms?


So my signal this week is giving me a lot of hope. And it's something I'd love to see more of. And it combines two of some of my most favorite things, music and gardens. And so I found that there are two performance artists who really love the piano. And they do a lot of refurbishing of old pianos, things like that. And they really wanted to get the piano out of this kind of buttoned up stiff experience in a concert hall to the outdoors where it's more free. People can actually discover the wonder of music and piano.


So now they've put on this festival in San Francisco at the Botanical Garden. It's called the Flower Piano Festival. The last one just happened at the end of September. And this year, they took 12 pianos, and they set them all up around the garden. And they had a mix of planned artist performances and then impromptu audience performances. So the genres are all completely mixed, the age range, like just so much diversity in terms of who's listening, who's appreciating, and who's playing.


And what I loved was actually that it benefits both who's playing and also the people who are listening. So if you look all around, people are just surrounding these pianos, they're smiling, they're talking, they're dancing, kind of whatever moves them from the music. 


And the artists are also smiling because they're seeing how much joy they're bringing to people. I love the story that there was one amateur pianist in the audience who'd never played in front of a crowd and their, his friends just egged him on, like, come on, you can do this. And so he got up there and he played and everyone was clapping. And he's like, this was a fantastic experience.

And so I love this hearkening back to the communal event of music and that there is no divide, it's kind of this blend. And you're starting to see this happen all around. You know, there's been a piano in Union Square in New York City for a long time. At the airport in Rome this summer. I've seen them all over the mall, you know, and in Rome, I saw this woman who had a carry on, just carrying on, sat right next to the piano. And then she just played something. It was so beautiful. Like no one was really around, but she just played it. She got back up, she took her carry on and then she went on her way and I love it.


So I love this signal because exactly as you were saying, Lana, it's just with all the AI, which like I just did not want to find a signal around AI and music. It's just in a world where technology is taking over. It's doing everything for us. Like I don't want that experience when it comes to music. There's something lost about humanity here. And so I think the characteristics that make us human around gathering, around music expression and appreciation, I just love that idea. And so I think that to me seems liberating. It seems like we're at a really critical inflection point here to really savor and expand on things like that.


So yeah, so just to round out that signal, our local symphony, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra aims to be the most accessible orchestra in the world. And so there you can eat, you can drink. Like in the theater itself, people are clapping in the middle of things. Like they're like, okay. And so it's really nice to have that vibe. There are a lot more diverse people who are attending their concerts and at least for my husband, he knows now like he's not gonna be the only one when he hears something amazing happening. Like he can appreciate it the way he wants to.

So that's my signal for the week. 


Lana: Like almost brings tears to my eyes. It's so touching and beautiful. What a wonderful, wonderful signal. I'm excited, mine's a little bit related to yours. So let's see. But Raakhee, I'm curious what you think about Sue's signal and what you have for us.


[7:46]


Raakhee: Mine is definitely different. And on the other scale of things. So it'll be interesting to discuss this afterwards, but growing up, I loved, I loved dancing and I loved Bollywood music, but I also loved EDM and dance music. Like I was a hardcore dancer, a raver, all those things. Like I am somebody who got lost in the music and still enjoyed it a lot. So for me, going to Ibiza and watching David Guetta live and those sorts of things are just core memories, right? Like I love those experiences. I'm so glad I had that. I haven't been to Tomorrowland yet, but it is still on my list to go there.


So a different type of music, but it got me thinking about what we do value in music and what we don't and what creativity is and what it isn’t, where it sits. And I think with music and with the idea of a DJ and what a DJ does, there's a real question now, right? About, can this thing AI that we, yeah, it's so cliché to talk about, but is a reality, poses the question of, yeah, DJing is really cool. And of course, there's an element of creativity involved, but it is an element of creativity that AI can easily replicate. And, you know, there is that reality to that. 


So yeah, I got thinking about now it's like, how much of this will exist? And it was, I think early last year, Spotify introduced what it called its AI DJ. And so it's similar to shuffle. It's not that, yeah, it's not that dramatically different, but you're not choosing, you know, your shuffle playlist. It chooses it for you. It also has a DJ and I think it's a celebrity's voice and there's a couple of voices you can choose from. I mean, maybe it's at the stage where it will be where you can even, you can put your own voice or friend's voice, your favorite DJ's voice and the DJ jumps in and says, okay, we're going into this genre now and shuffle songs and, you know, that sort of thing.


And I looked at Reddit and I looked at comments and what people were saying and most people were like, oh, whatever, I wanna shuffle my old songs, like my own songs, it's not getting me. 

So you can clearly see that it was still at a very elementary stage. So no doubt AI will take some time to learn, but I don't think it'll be that long, right? I think the next rollout of something like that will be better and people will choose that.


And I was thinking about things like weddings, especially. Like at my wedding, I had two things. For the ceremony, we had like a string quartet sort of thing, right? And that was beautiful. I wanted actual music being created because we valued that. And afterwards in the reception, then it was pretty much a playlist, but I didn't hire a DJ. I just said, these are the songs I want to play in this order. And I gave it to the venue directors, right? Because I didn't wanna spend on a DJ.


And so I think in situations like that, there's a real question now about the profession of DJs, right? I think people will eliminate it in things like weddings, et cetera, because it's just gonna be so much more cost effective. 


And I know that a lot of critics will say, look, the human connection is missing. The DJ feels the crowd. They look at people, they see where they’re at, and you're feeling something about the energy. And it's kind of being like a conductor, right? But I think the truth is that with things like sensors, with all the kinds of cameras that go around, all of that input can go to your AI DJ.


They'll also feel the crowd a different way. Way we may not like, but it's already happening and it will happen, right? And they'll sense and they'll shift to the mood of like, they'll feel the floor. How much are people dancing? Okay, it's cooled down too much. Let's amp it up with the next kind of song, get them more into dancing, or is a lot of dancing happening? Let's cool it down. I think these sensors and the videos will pick up these things. 


And I think the truth is that there'll still be things like celebrity appearances. So even if the DJ is a AI, it’ll even be a humanoid robot. And I'm sure people will go crazy to go for that kind of concert, right? Because it'll be so new for a while.


Then I think you can still bring in celebrities and they can come on and, but I think the actual core work of what a DJ does, I do think that… I would be concerned if I had a teenage kid who was like, oh, I wanna become a DJ and I'm gonna invest everything in doing that. 


I would say, yes, create music, go into that world, but DJing as a profession. I think, yeah, I think that's a really questionable with AI now. And I wonder 10 years from now, a kid who's born now, 10 years from now, is gonna turn and look and say, what is a DJ? Maybe the word, you know, maybe the word becomes redundant in itself.


Lana: Super interesting. I actually almost also went down this path as a DJ because, and I didn't know this about you, Raakhee, but this is something we have in common. I also had a real passion for electronic music also, and I was actually a DJ in college. And so, I tried to be because I loved it so much. And so, fun.


[13:09]


Well, my signal is kind of actually between both of yours. So I'll be interested to see what you both think about this. And so, yeah, I guess, you know, my signal is about kind of the comeback of physical media. And so: vinyl, CDs, and now cassette tapes. And I actually noticed this. Sue. you mentioned going through the airport in Rome. You know, when I went through Seattle Tacoma International Airport, they have a record store in the airport, Sub Pop Records. And it's very cool if you go in there, and they have a whole wall that's cassettes. 


You know, so musical artists across all genres are releasing or they're re-releasing their works on physical media. And this is really for the fans, right? It's driven by super fans are buying, buying it. 

And so there's kind of two challenges. One is the production of the actual items. So for example, because it's been such a long time since records have been in vogue, we have very few record pressing plants around the world. They've mostly gone out of business. So like with a surge in demand, and then there's a whole manufacturing backlog, it can take six months to a year for records to get produced, right? So when you think about from the artist's perspective, trying to time everything, right? This is like a big deal. 


And then the other challenge is the players, like, you know, getting record players, Walkmen, boomboxes, CD players. So like when the K-pop group, aespa, I think that's how it's pronounced, released their CD, they sold it with a CD player so that the fans could listen to it.


But I think that the trend is kind of speaking to a couple of different things at once. And so, you know, I think one is reclaiming of the physical over the digital, right? This craving for something that's tangible over that's beyond kind of clicks. 


We also see this with like DVDs, right? Like if you wanted to watch a movie, you kind of have to like look up which streaming platform you could find it on. If you wanted to watch or rewatch it, but like if you have a DVD, then you'll know, right? You could just watch it whenever you want.

So similarly, like with, you know, let's say you have the song, but it's on, like it's a rare version that's on vinyl. If that song didn't get translated into a digital format, you'd never be able to listen to it again, right? So there's some themes here around kind of ownership and agency. 


But I think that's also to your point, Raakhee, about the Spotify AI and the DJing. Like it's also kind of a rejection of like listening via algorithm, right? Cause like if you let Spotify decide what you're listening to, like let's say you pick one song and then you let Spotify pick the rest of the songs, it will intersperse filler music into your listening, right? Because they do commission for like short generic songs to be made because that's cheaper than paying an artist royalties.


And so kind of having this like filler music just sort of fed in kind of short changes, right? It short changes artists, it short changes listeners. It sort of devalues the entire experience. And so, you know, I think this is kind of, you know, I think some of the themes that you were talking about Sue in terms of like liberation, like we're kind of listeners are taking the experience back, right? 


When they say like, okay, I'm gonna buy the physical record. I'm gonna put it on the turntable. I'm gonna flip it over when the song is done. And so it goes kind of to ritual and intentional listening of music and support of the artist. So it's like this reclaiming. 


And so, you know, I don't think, this is not gonna be like mainstream, okay? This is not gonna be the dominant form of listening in the future. But I think there's kind of this space for it that people are, you know, either going back to, or for some for the younger generation, they've never experienced music this way. And so they're trying it for the first time. And so it'll be, you know, it'll be interesting. 


And it's a question I think for those who haven't already thrown out all their CDs and their records and their boomboxes, you know, is it something you might wanna hold on to for the future?

So anyway, so that is my signal. And we have some really interesting kind of, you know, in this conversation, a couple of different ways that we've approached this topic. And so I'm curious about, you know, what you guys think as you reflect on some of, you know, some of what we've discussed.


[18:56]


Raakhee: Yeah, Lana, I have to share coming off of your signal. So the library sells used CDs. There is a used CD section. And I go to the library to read books and my husband goes to the CD section and he gets very excited. He doesn't look at a single book, but he always buys the used CDs. And it drives me insane. And it speaks to how different we are. Yeah, I think, yeah, it's so interesting. People buying records, buying CDs again, there is definitely that. And I think, like you said, claiming ownership.


And then I think there is the big portion of the population that I assume is like me, that is very minimalist. I don't like too much stuff. And then I'm always trying to tell him about the sustainability side of that. I'm like, you're just feeding into the cycle of buying more stuff, like music. To me, I can't, like, if I can stream something, like I said, I wanna have a few things. I'm never gonna give up my Bon Jovi CDs from when I was a teenager or my U2, right? Like, I'm not, like, that's too important. But outside of those couple, I just, yeah, whereas he will go in and I'm saying he cannot help himself. He has to buy the CD. And it's a constant thing between us. It's really funny, but yeah, I just, there's your signal right in action.


Sue: Yeah, totally. I was thinking, oh, my mom recently delivered a lovely box of all my old CD covers, and I still have them. So now I'm like, oh, maybe I'll actually go and look and see exactly to your point, which ones are special enough to keep? 


Lana: But yeah, I think sustainable angle is a really interesting one, Raakhee, because I also have, like, unfortunately gotten rid of so much stuff, like, I move a lot, and, like, I just don't wanna hold onto things. And so this did give me, like, some pang of regret, and I was like, oh, no, I was too quick to let go of things. But it's true, too. I mean, it's, I think there is, the sustainability angle is another thing to consider when we're producing goods that are physical, to what cost does that take?


Though I will say, you know, some of the artists that I've looked into, Chappell Roan, who I'm not that familiar with, but her vinyl, she really created it as, like, an actual work of art, you know, so that when her fans collect the work, it comes, it kinda has this, like, I don't know, pop-out feature. Like, you can buy these, like, paper dolls that, like, correspond. And so there's a whole conversation between the artists and the fans and the physical work that is more resembles, as much resembles art, physical art as it does music. And so, yeah, I think, I also think that's, like, a very interesting point to bring up.


[22:21]


Raakhee: I think it's called Amara's Law, right? It's, what does it say? It says, we overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run, but we underestimate the effect in the long run. And it's kind of just projecting those 10, 15 years forward and saying, hey, AI is here to stay, man. What will truly have changed? And we might not have even noticed. It'll happen, like, in the blink of an eye. You know, it'll just get embedded.


So I just, I think, unfortunately, I think DJing might, that's my take, right? My take is gonna, it's gonna sit in there. But I think they'll always definitely, we'll always still want those experiences and those human DJs, but it'll take those one or two celebrity ones, you know, who make it to the top and the rest, get filtered out, which happens with so many things in our world these days anyway, so.


Sue: I guess for me, it's just an encouragement to find ways to create music as well. You know, there's so many times where I'm like, oh, I should go play this, but I'm thinking, oh, I'm gonna sound so bad and I need to practice and all these things, like, no, no, no, that's not the point. This is the point is to have fun, find some joy, spark some creativity and see what's fun. So, you know, definitely looking into this theme, I already found some really cool apps that are like helping to engage people in just playing more and learning things like the piano or, you know, new instruments. So, I'm definitely more inspired to do that.


Raakhee: Yeah, I love that, Sue, that's, anyone who can make music must make music for the world, please. I think it's, for me, definitely just been a natural thing to wanna do more concerts, more live concerts, more something about enjoying music with other humans. Even like music in the park, it's not something I was into before and now I'm very into and just going to the park and the smaller concerts and having a picnic and yeah, just enjoying, yeah, enjoying music with others in a very connected way, in a very human way.


Lana: Yeah, I totally, I agree with you both. I think it's inspiring. You know, it's very, it's healing too, right? I totally agree. And I think, you know, encouraging and supporting others who are pursuing their creative expression, whether as professionals or not, I think it's also something that we can do with relatively little effort, right? So, to keep encouraging each other to move forward. 

So, thank you both so much for such a, like a beautiful and really inspiring conversation and thank you to our listeners and we look forward to being with you again soon.


[25:18]

Tags:

Comentários

bottom of page