The Cambridge Companion to Music in Digital Culture

Digital technology has profoundly transformed almost all aspects of musical culture. This book explains how and why.

The impact of digital technologies on music has been vast: both the practice of music and thinking about it have changed almost beyond all recognition. Through chapters written by academics and 'personal takes' by knowledgeable practitioners in the field, this book provides a comprehensive Companion to the place of music within digital culture.The impact of digital technologies on music has been overwhelming: since the commercialisation of these technologies in the early 1980s, both the practice of music and thinking about it have changed almost beyond all recognition. From the rise of digital music making to digital dissemination, these changes have attracted considerable academic attention across disciplines,within, but also beyond, established areas of academic musical research. Through chapters by scholars at the forefront of research and shorter 'personal takes' from knowledgeable practitioners in the field, this Companion brings the relationship between digital technology and musical culture alive by considering both theory and practice. It provides a comprehensive and balanced introduction to the place of music within digital culture as a whole, with recurring themes and topics that include music and the Internet, social networking and participatory culture, music recommendation systems, virtuality, posthumanism, surveillance, copyright, and new business models for music production.