The Commodification of Music Theorising Musicians

This thesis considers the dialectical relationship between music and commerce and asks the question why are some musicians uneasy with the commodification of their music? The question is considered from the vantage points of professional musicians and their experiences in dealing with the commodification process. In exploring this dialectic, the thesis is organised around the interactionist orientation and a framework designed by Holt (2004) in which the research design and question emerges from a conversation between grand and mid-range theory. To this effect a post-Marxist grand theory conversation between several writers who have considered the commodification of culture is presented. Following this the mid-range theory is divided into two separate conversations. First the literature regarding marketing’s use of music as a means of social control is reviewed and organised between positivist and interpretive approaches as they relate to the use of music in retail atmospherics and advertising. Second, a review of the literature concerning the culture industries themselves is presented. The culture industries are divided between the background music industry, the advertising industry, the music industry and finally the art-world. It is noted how each industry is organised around the mythology of theory – x and theory – y employees and this mythology is problematised. Following this a historicisation of the relationship between music and commerce is presented in which it is noted that conventional morality regarding the production of music is strongly influenced by nineteenth century notions of value and in particular the emergence of the bohemian ideology. Interviews were conducted with professional musicians from a range of different musical backgrounds in order to consider their experiences of the commodification of their music. The data analysis produced three over-arching themes: ‘x versus y’, ‘alienation’ and ‘taking responsibility’. Also a fourth umbrella theme is presented which considers all three themes together in the context of interactions of musicians with advertising. The study concludes by theorising the existence of a Sacred Code of Musicianship, which provides a repressive conventional morality for musicians. It is argued that this code is problematic insofar as it regards music and money as two distinct principles. Instead this thesis submits that evading this Sacred Code can give musicians a better chance of achieving their musical and artistic goals by embracing commerce. Last, the implications for the various constituencies of the work are considered

The Politics of Macromarketing delivered as part of the Plenary Roundtable on Macromarketing and Politics

This roundtable session was delivered at the 36th Annual Macromarketing Conference in Williamsburg Virginia, June 2011. The purpose of this roundtable was to generate a critical debate about the politics of macromarketing. Participants: Ray Benton, Loyola University Chicago, USA Alan Bradshaw, Royal Holloway College – University of London, UK Janice Denegri-Knott, University of Bournemouth, UK Sanford Grossbart, University of Nebraska, USA Pia Polsa, HANKEN School of Economics, Finland Ben Wooliscroft, University of Otago, NZ Detlev Zwick, York University, Canad

Could commodities themselves speak? An Introduction to the Agnotology of the Spectacle

This article introduces the ‘agnotology of spectacle'. While agnotology is a relatively recent term used to describe the production and use of ignorance, we argue that Debord's Comments on the Society of the Spectacle (1992) is an early attempt to outline a global field of disinformation and secrecy. For Debord, such secrecy is required to maintain the political and moral authority of what he defined as ‘spectacle', namely the images used by states and corporations to mediate relations of power with consumers and citizens. We consider how the spectacle creates fields of disinformation and secrecy to maintain its political and moral authority by examining notes in commodities that purport to be calls for help from coerced labourers in China. These notes allow us to assess the uncanny experience of consuming goods manufactured across global supply chains which may well comprise of serious labour exploitation. However, these sources also demand a more expansive agnotology than that provided by Debord: one that engages with labour processes, contracts and race. We therefore develop Debord's ideas by examining the work of Mills and Benaji. Finally, drawing on Brecht's concept of the 'estrangement effect', we discuss how exploited workers can co-opt the aesthetics of the uncanny to articulate their subject position within a global agnotological field

Anatomy and Physiology of Artificial Intelligence in PET Imaging

The influence of artificial intelligence (AI) within the field of nuclear medicine has been rapidly growing. Many researchers and clinicians are seeking to apply AI within PET, and clinicians will soon find themselves engaging with AI-based applications all along the chain of molecular imaging, from image reconstruction to enhanced reporting. This expanding presence of AI in PET imaging will result in greater demand for educational resources for those unfamiliar with AI. The objective of this article to is provide an illustrated guide to the core principles of modern AI, with specific focus on aspects that are most likely to be encountered in PET imaging. We describe convolutional neural networks, algorithm training, and explain the components of the commonly used U-Net for segmentation and image synthesis

Creating Worlds that Create Audiences : Theorising Personal Data Markets in the Age of Communicative Capitalism

In this article, we draw on theories of biopolitical marketing to explore claims that personal data markets are contextualised by what Shoshana Zuboff calls “surveillance capitalism” and Jodi Dean calls “communicative capitalism”. Surveillance and communicative capitalism are characterised by a logic of accumulation based on networked captures of life that enable complex and incomprehensive processes of extraction, commodification, and control. Echoing recent theorisations of data (as) derivatives, Zuboff’s key claim about surveillance capitalism is that data representations open up opportunities for the enhanced market control of life through the algorithmic monitoring, prediction and modification of human behaviour. A Marxist critique, focusing largely on the exploitative nature of corporate data capitalism, has already been articulated. In this article, we focus on the increasingly popular market-libertarian critique that proposes individual control, ownership, and ability to commodify one’s personal data as an answer to corporate data extraction, derivation and exploitation schemes. We critique the claims that personal data markets counterbalance corporate digital capitalism on two grounds. First, these markets do not work economically and therefore are unable to address the exploitative aspect of surveillance capitalism. Second, the notion of personal data markets functions ideologically because it reduces the critique of surveillance capitalism to the exploitation of consumers and conceals the real objective of data capitalists such as Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple to not (just) exploit audiences but to create worlds that create audiences. Keywords: personal data marketsPeer reviewe

You say you want a revolution:Music in Advertising and Pseudo-counterculture

Using the example of the song Revolution by the Beatles and its use in a TV ad for Nike, this paper explores the conference theme of the impact of marketing and marketing systems in society from the subtheme of art and aesthetics in markets. We consider the role of music in advertisements as the appropriation and negation of counterculture against Adorno & Horkheimer’s critique of the commodification form of the music itself independent of appropriation. The paper considers these research problematics from the perspective of the musicians themselves

Dystopia and quarantined markets : An interview with James Fitchett

We present an invited interview with Professor James Fitchett (University of Leicester) on the idea of dystopia and dystopic tendencies in the historical moment of the Covid-19 pandemic.(1) With his wonderfully nuanced background in psychoanalytic theory and a keen interest in understanding market phenomena critically through ideology, paradox, fantasy, simulation, narcissism and sadism among others, James provides a sweeping and sometimes surprising account of how utopia can be both quite selfish and mundanely bland, and how dystopia can be vastly attractive and deeply desired in consumption.Non peer reviewe

The relative roles of CO2 and palaeogeography in determining Late Miocene climate: results from a terrestrial model-data comparison

The Late Miocene (∼11.6–5.3 Ma) palaeorecord provides evidence for a warmer and wetter climate than that of today and there is uncertainty in the palaeo-CO2 record of at least 150 ppmv. We present results from fully coupled atmosphere-ocean-vegetation simulations for the Late Miocene that examine the relative roles of palaeogeography (topography and ice sheet geometry) and CO2 concentration in the determination of Late Miocene climate through comprehensive terrestrial model-data comparisons. Assuming that the data accurately reflects the Late Miocene climate, and that the Late Miocene palaeogeographic reconstruction used in the model is robust, then results indicate that the proxy-derived precipitation differences between the Late Miocene and modern can be largely accounted for by the palaeogeographic changes alone. However, the proxy-derived temperatures differences between the Late Miocene and modern can only begin to be accounted for if we assume a palaeo-CO2 concentration towards the higher end of the range of estimates

The future of community research: a conversation with Alison Hulme, Alan Bradshaw and Adam Arvidsson

To better understand the state of community research in other disciplines, and to consider how the contexts of contemporary market societies are changing both com- munities, and knowledge making in respect of communities