Fabricating Cultural Events: The Rise of International Programme Formats in Norwegian Television Production

International trade and cooperation are increasingly affecting what we experience in the national and local media. This development is rapidly evolving with live televised events, like Idols and Dancing with the Stars, and here I pursue why (and how) this is so. I engage specifically with the ways in which licensed international programme formats intervene in existing programme traditions, and affect the repertoire and capacity of national television producers. I trace the practices of the two largest Norwegian broadcasters over the last two decades. The question is not only how licensed formats affect different industry sectors, in this case license-funded NRK and commercial TV 2, but also how different units within the broadcasters are impacted. The article calls for heightened sensitivity to new forms of control and collaboration in creative processes, and new routines for premeditating live events. It suggests that format exchange should be evaluated along a continuum from open to closed; a continuum that can bring nuance to discussions of cultural colonisation.International trade and cooperation are increasingly affecting what we experience in the national and local media. This development is rapidly evolving with live televised events, like Idols and Dancing with the Stars, and here I pursue why (and how) this is so. I engage specifically with the ways in which licensed international programme formats intervene in existing programme traditions, and affect the repertoire and capacity of national television producers. I trace the practices of the two largest Norwegian broadcasters over the last two decades. The question is not only how licensed formats affect different industry sectors, in this case license-funded NRK and commercial TV 2, but also how different units within the broadcasters are impacted. The article calls for heightened sensitivity to new forms of control and collaboration in creative processes, and new routines for premeditating live events. It suggests that format exchange should be evaluated along a continuum from open to closed; a continuum that can bring nuance to discussions of cultural colonisation

Strømmekonserter - mer enn nødløsninger?

Digitale teknologier og medieplattformer er grunnleggende for kunst- og kulturfeltet i dag, og de griper inn i stadig flere sider av vårt hverdagsliv. Gjennom seksten artikler fra en rekke norske og internasjonale forskere, undersøker Estetiske praksiser i den digitale produksjonens tidsalder hvordan digitalisering forandrer og preger produksjon, formidling og bruk av kunst og kultur i samtiden, og hvordan de estetiske praksisene selv utforsker, tematiserer og problematiserer endringsprosessene. Estetiske praksiser i den digitale produksjonens tidsalder tilbyr en bred vifte av perspektiver, begreper og modeller som belyser kunsten og kulturen i dag. Artiklene drøfter strømmekonserter, instagramdikt, massedigitaliseringsprosjekter, kulturpolitikk, hacking som estetisk praksis og scenekunstens forhold til det digitale. De drøfter bruken av sosiale medier på motefeltet, hvordan kulturinstitusjoner endres, digital formidling på det visuelle kunstfeltet og på minnesteder, og – endelig – behovet for å trekke seg tilbake fra det digitale.Estetiske praksiser i den digitale produksjonens tidsalder er resultatet av et forskningsprogram igangsatt av Kulturrådet. Programmet har også mottatt støtte fra Kultur- og likestillingsdepartementet.publishedVersio

The Use of Copyright in Digital Times: A Study of How Artists Exercise Their Rights in Norway

How do artists use copyright to further their creative ends? To approach this question, this article focuses on the relationship between artists’ appropriation of digital technology and exertion of their rights. In particular, it relates the evolving range of production tools and distribution services to the ways in which artists currently create musi- cal works and seek to exploit their economic as well as moral rights. Interviews with eighteen artists in Norway reveal a series of technology- mediated challenges to the ownership of one’s work, the recognition of one’s authorship, and one’s remuneration that demonstrate the need for open discussion of the ethical aspects of copyright in music

Reclaiming the Music: The Power of Local and Physical Music Distribution in the Age of Global Online Services

Despite the rise of global online music services like iTunes and Spotify, local and physical music retailers are not extinct. Although many have faced redundancy, others are turning their local presence and technological platforms into assets in regaining customer favour. This article presents an interview-based study of the transformations of two Norwegian record stores in the 2000s, one of which invested in vinyl records, and the other in online streaming with a local profile. These distributors are found not only to have changed the way in which they make records available, but also to have cultivated specific forms of musical communication, in perceptual, psychological and social terms. In doing so, they have developed crucial tools, such as the retailing of high-fidelity sound systems and the hosting of local concert events

Musical Exploration via Streaming Services: The Norwegian Experience

Streaming services for music are growing worldwide, and the Nordic countries are leading the way. In Norway, streaming represented 88 percent of digital music revenues in 2014, as opposed to 23 percent globally. In essence, streaming services offer subscribers access to vast databases of music, and offer artists new means of exposure and sources of revenue. This article argues that the possibility of musical discovery is essential to these services’ distribution model. It examines the provisions for exploration through streaming, pointing to automated algorithms and human curation as key devices. It then collects quantitative data on the presentation of music via a Norwegian service (WiMP/Tidal) and qualitative findings from interviews with consumers about their experiences with music streaming. Key discrepancies arise between the promise and the reality of streamed-music discovery, both for artists seeking new fans (and funds) and for audiences expecting streaming to supersede existing forms of musical exploration

Karneval i kringkastingen : en studie av humorprogrammet Åpen Post med utgangspunkt i karnevalets formspråk

Denne hovedoppgaven er et studium av humor i fjernsyn. Etter at NRK mistet sitt allmenn-kringkastingsmonopol i 1992 kom det en mengde nye humorprogram som utfordret vante forestillinger om humor i media. NRKs Åpen Post (1998–2002) eksperimenterte med alle tenkelige konvensjoner og genrer og fremstod som et svært innovativt og kontroversielt humorkonsept. Humoren i Åpen Post har ofte et iøynefallende kroppslig og demonstrativt upassende preg, og minner om karnevalets kroppslige og parodiske humor på flere områder. Denne oppgaven argumenterer for at en sammenligning av Åpen Posts og karnevalets humorformer, slik karnevalet er analysert av Mikhail Bakhtin, hever forståelsen av Åpen Post. I oppgaven testes karnevalsteoriens verdi som forklaringsramme på programmets humor gjennom teoretisk drøfting og gjennom fire inngående tekstanalyser av utvalgte Åpen Post-innslag. Analysene vektlegger betydningen av genrer, humorens rituelle rammer og hvordan komikerne forvalter sine roller og masker. I konklusjonen diskuteres hvordan de karnevaleske humorformene i Åpen Post bærer preg av offentlighetens intimisering, som drøftet av Richard Sennett

Live Mediation. Performing Concerts Using Studio Technology

The use of computers is continuously changing the sound of records but also increasingly challenging established forms of live concert aesthetics. So what becomes of creativity and expressivity in the live performance? In this study, we present an artist-oriented approach to this question through interviews with artists invested in performing studio works on stage, as well as improvising musicians using studio technology in their concerts. We find that challenges to creative authorship and expressive agency are constantly negotiated through evolving practices of up- and down-scaling particular aspects of studio works on stage, as well as designing technological set-ups tailored to individual forms of improvisation. While these practices challenge deep-rooted notions of the ‘right’ or appropriate bond between musician and music, the appropriation of studio technology in live performance has clearly become an integral part of many artists’ continual exploration of their musical agency