Studio design and the management of creative production

Abstract

This paper examines the design of recording studios in the management of relations within popular music recording projects. The creation of a pop song is a complex endeavor, requiring a large number of decisions involving highly subjective and often contested and contestable judgments. Organized in a flat structure and without established lines of authority this temporary assembly of people are faced with the challenge of making a product characterized by uncertainty over how to make it and what it will sound like once it is completed. The purpose of this paper is to understand how this is achieved. The study is based on observation of the practices, and relationships operating in a recording studio and supplemented by interviews with the participants. Using a socio-material approach, the spatial organization and use of technological objects are included to produce a contextual analysis of how actions are organized and decisions taken. What emerges is an understanding of how the designed arrangement of the participants and the application of sound production and editing technology are used to manage the development of the song and confer decision-making authority upon the music producer. When the spatial organization of the participants is altered by the introduction of new technology and new spaces, the decision-making power of the producer is challenged and artist power is increased. The management of creative projects is achieved through establishing spatial and material relations in order to overcome the challenge of making decisions between temporarily assembled teams engaged in tasks characterized by high levels of uncertainty