[ this relates to  Xchange, Fw: Felix Guattari: Popular Free Radio,
23.05.98, 20:18:12 ]

--- HIER BEGINNT DIE WEITERGELEITETE NACHRICHT ------------------------------
    Von: matt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Matthew Fuller)
  Datum: 10.06.98, 07:50:59
Betreff: <nettime> Break/Flow - POST-MEDIA OPERATORS

>> POST-MEDIA OPERATORS <<

1. The record industry is in the process of being outflanked by means of
the very processes that it has come to rely upon. Since the 60s its
continual efforts to create new needs has meant that it nurtured an ever
changing musical soundscape that is now mutating at such a pace that it
cannot keep track long enough to harness these musical evolutions in the
direction of profit. The fact that it doesn't achieve this harnessing has
the remarkable effect of making the 'new' last longer! A longevity that
comes from our always being able to place ourselves amidst a continual
redefinition of these sounds. Even in terms of format, the
profit-orientated shift to a CD market which may have meant that back
catalogues could be resold has also worked to deliver an on-line tap of
musical history at the same time that vinyl pressing has become cheaper.
These and other factors feed into the accelerating mutation that in turn
creates a dissatisfaction with what the industry can offer.

2. Advancements in technology have meant that all manner of equipment is
now available for reappropriation by whoever has the time to learn how to
use, redefine, misuse and rewire it. That there can no longer be any 'one
sound' around which music is organised means that everything is potential
source material to a practice that no longer calls itself music. Indeed,
the former categories that were allotted to different musics now only make
sense as a means of division, a consumer yardstick that limits stimulation.