NETLABELS AS AN ENVIRONMENT FOR EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Abstract

We analyze various aspects of the existence of experimental music in the context of non-commercial, World Wide Web-based, alternative environment of netlabels. We look into aesthetic and philosophical, sociological and musical properties of experimental music that is published on netlabels, and thereby attempt to close the gap between the general musicological discourse of “elite” experimental art and the more “non-academic” artistic phenomena of the experimental genres and styles. The origins of experimental music are rooted in early 20th-century ideas of Modernism and Futurism. John Cage is often characterized as a pioneer of this meta-genre, with his use of chance and open structures in his works and his attitude of a composer who “asks questions” rather than “gives answers”. Michael Nyman, Brian Eno and others mention unpredictability as an important artistic “device” employed by experimental composers in their work. Listeners tend to expect intellectual, rather than primarily emotional, experiences from experimental music, where the the central object of music is often not harmony, rhythm or melody, but the sound itself. Submersion into unknown sound worlds, being exposed to sonic novelty and unpredictable structures – these are the opportunities that attract listeners to experimental music. Netlabels, despite their relatively recent appearance, have already attracted researchers and have become the subject of a range of studies ([5], [6], [7], [8], [11], [14], [15]). Patryk Gałuszka defines netlabels as “platforms for online distribution and promotion of music released for free under Creative Commons or similar licenses”. Netlabels publish music for free on the Internet with the permission to freely distribute the music. Their activity is rarely commercially motivated and, instead, is based around the idea of supporting free artistic expression and creating of an ecosystem for various niche genres without the burden of traditional commercial distribution. But although the existing research covers the sociological and motivational aspects of the netlabel ecosystem, it barely touches the kinds of aesthetic phenomena taking place in the vast body of music that has been published on netlabels throughout the years. We attempt to fill in this gap by taking a critical look at the music itself, a major part of which is tagged by its authors and/or netlabel owners as experimental.