Interdependent Music

New infrastructures are sorely needed for music. They should be resistant, free and feasible – and artists should build them themselves. No one is willing to pay enough for music anymore that could keep subcultures alive. The new platform capitalism may well eliminate traditional label and distribution models. Then only those who most obediently comply with the requirements of the playlist algorithms will still profit from the music business. Others need support from big brands, which in turn are looking for ways into unoccupied market segments. Are these the alternatives: playlist-compatible background music or brand partnerships serving niche markets? Has the logic of the indie culture won out and thus abolished itself, leaving behind it lots of individual, independent small entrepreneurs?

Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst have been asking these questions for some time now. One of their first realizations is that creatives should become aware of their mutual interdependencies and transform them into the ability to take action. At Right the Right, Herndon and Dryhurst introduce their long-term research project focusing on the potentials of cooperative organization, collectively managed spaces and equal pay models for the electronic club scene. They will present their results at HKW in the fall of 2020.