Curating Liveness: The Role of YouTube in Constructing Authentic Viewing Experiences Through Live Music Channels
Master’s Thesis by Anika Doshi
MA Media Studies — New Media and Digital Culture
June 2019
Supervisor: Dr. G.C Mueller
Reader: Dr. Tim Highfield
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Abstract The plethora of music platforms made available by new media has led to the re-structuring of music consumption whereby live music is no longer confined to concert halls and music venues but can instead be enjoyed from behind the comfort of a screen. Given that this experience is changing, what enables live music channels to construct these experiences and who shapes such virtual ‘liveness’? This study answers these questions by investigating the role of YouTube in shaping authentic viewing experiences. Building on existing scholarly research and key theories relating to platform studies, performance studies and popular music, it explores how live music channels on YouTube construct liveness as a form of authenticity. Based on a content analysis of twenty videos from YouTube channels COLORS and La Blogothèque - selected for their unique yet different aesthetic techniques of curation, results indicated that for liveness to be perceived as authentic, specific criteria need to be included which while reflecting liveness, does not necessarily have to be live at all. In doing so, this study contributes towards academic discussion regarding evolving music consumption patterns and consequently aims to instil focus on building organic relationships between the artist and audience through new media platforms.
Keywords
YouTube, liveness, authenticity, live music channels, new media
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Acknowledgements
I would first like to thank my thesis advisor Dr. Gavin Mueller at the University of Amsterdam for encouraging me to write about an area that I was deeply passionate about and for steering me in the right direction every step of the way. I would also like to thank my reader Dr. Tim Highfield for taking the time to read my thesis.
This past year has provided me with valuable knowledge that has enabled me to develop a critical approach to new media and broadened my horizon. For that, I would also like to thank the faculty at the New Media and Digital Culture track at the University of Amsterdam. Finally, I must express my profound gratitude to my parents and sister for providing me with unwavering support and encouragement throughout the course of my academic career and during the process of researching and writing this thesis. This undertaking would not have been possible without you. Thank you.
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Table of Contents 1. Introduction ...... 4 1.1 From the Stage to the Screen ...... 4 1.2 Contextualizing Digital Relationships ...... 5 1.3 Contextualizing Digital Music Platforms ...... 7 1.4 Focus of this Study and Rationale ...... 8 1.5 Thesis Structure ...... 9 2.0. Mapping the evolution of Music Commodities: From the Phonograph to Streaming ...... 11 2.1. Music has a marketplace ...... 12 2.2. Breakthroughs and World War II ...... 13 2.3. Breaking boundaries ...... 14 2.4. The Contemporary Landscape of Live Music ...... 16 2.5. Staging Liveness: Liveness in a digital context ...... 17 2.6. YouTube and Participation: Critical Findings from the Field of Platform Studies ...... 19 2.7. Popular Music and Authenticity ...... 22 2.8. YouTube and Technology ...... 23 3.0. Theoretical Framework ...... 26 3.1. Curating the live ...... 26 3.2. Intimacy, Spontaneity, Relational Labour and Immediacy ...... 28 3.3. Natural is best: Audio in a live context ...... 30 3.4. Authentically Broadcasted: YouTube and Authentic Content ...... 32 3.5. Constructing the Popular: Participation on YouTube ...... 35 3.6. Subliminal Branding and Liveness: a new ecosystem ...... 36 4.0. Methodology ...... 39 4.1. Channel Selection ...... 39 4.2. Data Analysis ...... 41 4.3. Concepts to be analysed ...... 41 5.0 Findings and Discussion ...... 43 5.1 Curating Liveness: Key findings from YouTube channels COLORS & La Blogothèque ...... 43 5.2 Mediating the visual experience: camera angles, editing and aestheticism ...... 43 5.3 Staging Spontaneity ...... 47 5.4 When Audio Goes Live ...... 50 5.5 Notes on Intimacy: Striking a Balance ...... 51 5.6 YouTube’s participatory culture ...... 53 5.7 The live surpasses the record: the reception of the authentic experience ...... 55 6.0 Concluding Remarks and Further Research ...... 57
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1. Introduction
1.1 From the Stage to the Screen
“Because live performance is the category of cultural production most directly affected by the dominance of media, it is particularly urgent to address the situation of live performance in our mediatized culture”. —Philip Auslander, Liveness: Performance in a Mediatized Culture 43
The impact of networked digital platforms has manifested itself in a myriad of ways – one of which includes the practices and experience of media consumption. Over time, music has been subject to various technological and structural transitions, many of which have been so seamless in their appeal to our senses that they have gone unnoticed. One of these areas is live music. Live music has proliferated itself from the stage to the screen, enabling the possibility of instantly accessible footage in ways that never existed before. This has led to an inherent alteration within the very social and cultural fabric of live music, particularly the ‘where’ and ‘when’ aspect of the way in which music is consumed and simultaneously, the perception of the professional musician and their audience. As an article by The Verge aptly explains “so much of what we see on our screens and hear on our stereos is processed to the point of genial blandness. But someone stepping up to a microphone and singing in front of cameras can still feel urgent and real, no matter how well-rehearsed the show is” (Murray n. pag.). In this way, liveness presents several appealing characteristics to modern audiences through its profoundly engaging nature, an essential component of the contemporary music landscape.
Simon Frith cites Keith Negus in his 2007 article ‘Live Music Matters’, who argues based off his historical survey of music on British television, that music and television professionals have tended to treat television as a neutral lens, rather than a transformative medium which could redefine or develop innovative kinds of musical performances (Frith 8). Today, this perception has drastically changed and new media platforms are viewed primarily as transformative media which bear innovative capacity to deliver live streamed concerts, pre-recorded ‘live sessions’ and popular music shows that are instantly accessible to the contemporary music audience. Most significantly, the live music industry continues to thrive economically; Statista forecasts a rise of $9 billion to almost $12 billion in the US live music industry between the period 2015 to 2021 (Live Music - Statistics & Facts. Statista). Moreover, concerts are currently priced as single-market products instead of being Doshi 5
complementary to recordings (Krueger 26). With live concerts being subject to such profound popularity, combined with the adaptation to numerous new media formats, it is imperative to explore the implications of changing music consumption patterns for modern audiences.
While new media formats range from dedicated apps, music-oriented cable channels, video subscription services and an abundance of websites (Murray n. pag.), there is one platform that stands outs from its competitors. As an invaluable database of audio-visual content, YouTube serves as a “virtual coffee house” for users with the opportunity to gather with likeminded individuals to discuss ideas, art and music (Cayari 9). Founded in February 2005, YouTube has quickly emerged as the world’s most popular video site (Davidson 293). YouTube provides a forum for people to watch, discover and share original video content created by users; as a result, the platform acts as a distribution platform for content creators whose goal is to keep users engaged and entertained by finding high quality videos relevant to their interests (Davidson 293).
In doing so, the interface has made possible, the creation of ‘channels’ that curate videos of interest in a range of genres ranging from cooking, to dance, comedy and even film reviews. Amongst the multitude of genres is live music performance. Moreover, the possibilities of the video sharing interface are so extensive that the platform enables an onslaught of professionally generated content masterfully designed by producers, editors, sound engineers and camera people who, for the purpose of this study, will be referred to as ‘mediators’ or ‘middlemen’. With this in mind, this research aims to investigate the role of YouTube in creating authentic viewing experiences through live music channels.
1.2 Contextualizing Digital Relationships
“The final consideration is how the traditional perception of ‘live’ music, specifically the idea that it is through live performance, that the artist-audience relationship is maintained in a digital information age.” — Angela Jones and Rebecca Bennett, The Digital Evolution of Live Music 56
Heidi Partti argues in her book Learning from Cosmopolitan Musicians, “Just as a natural habitat reflects the learning of the species, a digital habitat is not just a configuration of technologies, but a dynamic, mutually defining relationship that depends on the learning of the community” (Partti 18). It is this power of collective participation combined with the attraction of that which is ‘authentic’ that provides cultural producers with the perfect advantage - to capitalize on liveness through flawless curation. This is something Philip Doshi 6
Auslander emphasizes in his book Liveness: Performance in a Mediatized Culture; he states that “paradoxically, the most successfully spontaneous forms of performance may be those in which spontaneity is relatively planned and predictable” (Auslander 64). However, while such statements shed light on the influence of ‘mediators’ within the music industry, little research has been conducted on the impact of such mediation on the virtual audience.
The plethora of live music channels on platforms such as YouTube have re-structured not only key structural aspects but also the phenomenological aspects of live music consumption. Our perception of what is true or ‘authentic’ is no longer based on a separation between virtual and reality, but rather a recognition of reality within the virtual. As we continue to move further into the twenty-first century, the development of new technologies that influence music consumption is imminent and recognizing the wider implications of such changing consumption practices is essential in a world where “tomorrow’s popular site may not even be created yet” (Cayari 24). The initial instances of this can already be seen in the changed format and accessibility of music videos, specifically those depicting mashups, tributes and performances in innovative ways (Cayari 24).
Additionally, with 2018 witnessing new legislation such as the ‘music modernization act’1 the process of profiting from streamed music on digital platforms has become profoundly easier for the artist (Deahl n. pag.). What this indicates is a shift towards increasingly ‘online’ interactions between artist and fan. Nancy Baym, in her 2018 book Playing to the Crowd talks about this changed relationship. She states that “Where once the audiences for mass music had no ‘real’ relationship with powerful and distant performers, today musicians relentlessly seek relationships with audiences, following listeners from platform to platform, trying to establish a presence for themselves and build connections” (Baym 1). In the increasingly digital landscape of today, investigating the grounds upon which these relationships are built and the extent to which they are objectively formed is significant for new media research.
1 Music Modernization Act – The Music Modernization Act (MMA) has been signed into law by President Trump. The bill, broadcasted by musicians, labels and politicians streamlines the process of music-licensing and makes it easier for rights holders to be paid when their music is streamed. The Verge Doshi 7
1.3 Contextualizing Digital Music Platforms
“It is seemingly through the visceral moment, or ‘event’ experience, that some effective economic model and artistic centrality can be sustained. However, the internet, as a system, and our sharing practices have also been impacted in this experiencing of the moment.” — Angela Jones and Rebecca Bennett, The Digital Evolution of Live Music 56
Soon after the birth of social media, platforms such as MySpace and Facebook had a prominent say in determining where audiences would go to learn about an artist, listen to their music and find out about performances (Cornell n. pag.). In 2019, this has dramatically changed and is embodied in the numerous file sharing and music promotion platforms such as Spotify, iTunes, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Vimeo, Tidal and the object of this study – YouTube. Additionally, a Google search on ‘platforms for music’ is enough proof that these platforms do not merely exist, but that people, especially musicians, are constantly curious to learn more about how they can work in their favour. From the 241 million results that were generated from my search query, some of the results included articles and blog posts with titles such as ‘Top 13 music streaming platforms on which you should upload your song’ on Medium.com, ‘Top 10 digital platforms to upload, share and promote your music’ on SonicBids Blog and ‘10 music discovery platforms you need to know about’ on Cambridge Audio (Rani; Bernsen; Cambridge Audio).
Moreover, with the advent of tools such as big data analytics combined with the power of global reach, streaming companies have enabled artists to compress and leverage their presence online in ways that non-musical social media platforms have not been previously able to do (“How Streaming Platforms Are Changing Music Promotion and Discovery.” TuneCORE). This has resulted in a $17.3 billion revenue in global recorded digital music in 2017 (IFPI: Global Music Report 2018). Taking these factors into consideration, future directions could imply ‘free’ models as a significant part of recorded music. With such profound accessibility, the reception of liveness presents a significant object of research and understanding the implications of such drastic changes in music consumption is a key area of concern for the present study; which will be further defined and outlined in the following section. Doshi 8
1.4 Focus of this Study and Rationale
This study sets out to identify contemporary constructions of liveness through a comprehensive critique of live music channels on YouTube. In the process of doing so, it raises prominent questions regarding musicians bound by the ever-changing norms of a heavily mediatized music industry. Additionally, it hopes to promote awareness about audiences who remain blind to the numerous middlemen who have a prominent say in the strategic shaping of modern liveness. Delving into this issue through an integrated approach of relevant theories and case studies will enable contemporary audiences to develop a more nuanced and holistic understanding of a music industry that exists hand in hand with a technology mediated society (Leon and Wright 51). Accordingly, this study strives to achieve these goals by answering the following research questions:
1.How do live music channels such as YouTube construct liveness as a form of authenticity?
2. In what ways does the visual curation of YouTube channels such as ‘COLORS’ and ‘La Blogothèque’ tailor the reception of an artist?
In order to situate the larger framework of digital platforms within the concepts discussed above, this study follows an observational research style. First, I will highlight previous literature and theory that has made important contributions to the fields of authenticity and liveness. This will comprise of concepts such as liveness in a digital context, YouTube’s participatory culture, relational labour, popular music and authenticity, and YouTube’s role in mediating the affective experience.
The second part of this study will comprise of a content analysis that will focus on the following YouTube live music channels: ‘COLORS’ (3,366, 302 subscribers) and ‘La Blogothèque’ (522, 407 subscribers). Selected for their unique concepts and aesthetic approach to content curation, ten videos with the highest number of views from each channel will be studied. They will be critiqued on observations such as camera angles, body gestures, aesthetic curation, the staging of spontaneity and the curation of intimacy. Moreover, by investigating elements of audio design, certain processes will be highlighted which are integral in shaping the authenticity of a viewing experience. In order to determine the collective impact of each of these elements on the virtual audience, this research will also analyse the comments section (both directed to the artist as well as between users). Lastly, Doshi 9
likes and dislikes will also be noted in order to illustrate the participation and interaction of YouTube’s audience.
1.5 Thesis Structure
The present introductory chapter provides a background to this study, as well as devising the focus and rationale of investigating the chosen phenomena. Following this, the second chapter, ‘Mapping the evolution of Music Commodities: From the Phonograph to Streaming’, will map the evolution of music commodities in order to illustrate the various ways in which liveness and technology have adapted to the demands of the time, in addition to providing vital insight regarding YouTube’s role in shaping authentic experiences. In this manner, readers will be provided with strong contextualization to the current research objectives. After having laid down the foundation for investigation, chapter three, ‘Theoretical Framework’ will undertake a more detailed presentation of certain overarching concepts regarding authenticity and liveness by placing them within a framework of key theories such as the ushering in of sound technology, relational labour, neo-liberalization and YouTube’s role in value creation. The methodological approach for the present thesis will then be described in chapter four, ‘Methodology’, highlighting reasons for the selection of live music channels COLORS and La Blogothèque and the procedure of data analysis.
The fifth chapter, ‘Findings and Discussion’ will demonstrate the previously discussed literary excerpts and theoretical concepts in action; through its findings and discussion section. This chapter will be crucial is presenting certain key components that will depict significant components in liveness’s curation and how this contributes to an experience. It will talk about the elements of visual mediation, aesthetic curation and audio design. Lastly, it will situate these findings within the larger research question through the comments section of YouTube users themselves. The sixth and final chapter serves to conclude this study and present its limitations and consequent proposals for further research.
Each chapter of this study has been designed to address various aspects of the research question with the intention of contributing to the overall research at hand. By focusing on the paradoxical reality of ‘mediatized liveness’ within the larger fabric of the music industry, it is hoped to provide contemporary audiences with an intricate sense of what shapes an authentic viewing experience. In doing so, this research hopes to instigate awareness to a new generation of music fans who are often blind to the degree of external influence imposed on them. Through pertinent arguments combined with critical findings –this study strives to Doshi 10
generate broader questions in a niche field which is in need for further research and investigation.
The following section will now proceed to trace the origins and evolution of music commodities in order to demonstrate the technological and societal impact of previous eras on live music. By doing so, this study will illustrate that reinvention in music is inevitable, with the demands and desires of a time period having a vital say in the way music is repackaged and distributed for public consumption. It is worth pointing out that by examining music’s constant adaptation over the course of previous decades, significant insight will be generated into the emergence of contemporary music practices and the profound sociological impact it has subsequently created.
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2.0. Mapping the evolution of Music Commodities: From the Phonograph to Streaming
“Live music lasts only as long as the performance, for that short time when one hears the music, and after that it is just a memory. The noun ‘record’ is therefore an appropriate term for the product of the recording industry. It is not just a consumer product, but an artefact of a time gone by” — Andre Millard, America on Record 8,9
Turning to history is immensely beneficial when analysing a social phenomenon. Not only do historical perspectives shed light on processes that have often been overlooked in contributing to music’s current uninhibited access, but they also highlight instances that continue to affect the evolution of music’s liveness and authenticity. As an art form, live music especially, is a social phenomenon and has been greatly affected by practices and cultural preferences grounded in the past (Tunedly n. pag.). Moreover, the current landscape of liveness has not emerged instantaneously, but is instead a culmination of various actors, performers, resources and technology interacting over extended periods of time. Therefore, by mapping the evolution of music commodities, this section hopes to generate important questions regarding the latest chapter in the way live music is packaged and delivered to contemporary audiences – YouTube.
Before live music was ever able to be preserved and captured in time, music underwent periods of invention, re-invention and evolution. The journey through which recorded music made its way to our screens began a little more than a 100 years ago. In his book America on Record: A History of Recorded Sounds, Andre Millard writes that the novelty that came with hearing a recording of one’s own voice was invented in 1877 by means of Thomas Edison’s phonograph (Millard 1). It was this invention that was a true landmark in modern technology and ushered in the era of recorded sound technology (Millard 1). Interestingly, while the phonograph was crucial in enabling the accessibility and ease of modern music listening, certain academics have had contrasting views.
Peter Tschmuck in his book Creativity and Innovation in the Music Industry states that it was not the phonograph but rather the beginning of the commercial use and mass distribution of records that truly ‘industrialized’ music (Tschmuck 9). He mentions that when concert promoters would have successful music performances, music publishers would distribute such performances through adapted sheet music for various instruments (Tschmuck 9). It is interesting to note, Piano music, specifically operatic excerpts, dances and songs Doshi 12
formed the most profitable area of music publishing; and it was because of this that in the early 1800s, Vienna became a valuable centre for engraved music by means of composers such as Mozart and Haydn (Scott 24, 28). It was through this that music publishers came to play the role of gatekeepers, determining the type and form of music that would reach the public (Tschmuck 9). The gatekeepers that Tschmuck was referring to in the 18th century still thrive today, however, under a different guise. Moreover, the reproduction of a performance through sheet music is particularly compelling as it highlights early instances of reproducing or recording music, by making the live format accessible to the public after it had been performed. With the anonymous veil of the digital, combined with the plethora of channels through which music can be distributed today, the modern-day gatekeeper remains invisible to listeners, while listeners remain visible to them.
2.1. Music has a marketplace
From the period between 1890 and 1945, the phonograph became central to the rise and decline of the record business and key social patterns in the United States (Kenney xii). Phonograph trade journals reflected the importance of New York City as a key player in music trades, values and goals as well as having a say in the companies that dominated distribution and records (Kenney xii). This market-like structure that Kenney touches upon could provide the first instances of music commodities as they exist today. Furthermore, while today’s markets are more fluid and less physical in terms of trade, it nonetheless functions through a well-defined network and hierarchy of professionals that have a large say in determining what is consumed and where.
It is worth noting that in the period between 1902 and 1910, the industry that was built around the phonograph became global, with American and European companies expanding their businesses to remote locations (Tschmuck 27). Sound engineers would be sent to regions such as Central Asia, North Africa and Central America in order to locally record the music of these countries, reproduce and re-import them back into the country of origin (Tschmuck 27). A fitting example of this is that on the eve of the First World War, the Gramophone Company set up ‘training centres’ in India to turn out popular recording artists by setting poems to music for them to sing, or engaging musicians to teach them. Consequently, two to three thousand new songs were created every year. In the 1940s, these songs were to have a strong influence on Indian film musicals and lasted until the coming of the cassette (Chanan 15, 16). It is worth pointing out that while the recording technology in Doshi 13
the early 1900s was nowhere as advanced as the equipment that the following century would soon provide, these early years were vital in the adaptation of the live format to the recorded. Furthermore, the reproduction of music designed by sound engineers points towards one of the vital steps that will be discussed later in this research in the context of YouTube – the manipulation of recorded sound.
2.2. Breakthroughs and World War II
With World War II, came the ushering in of background music. Its significant contribution to raising morale and decreasing fatigue enabled it to be it to be a prominent contributor to productivity, with an estimated increase in output by 25% (Millard 4). This revelation of music’s subliminal use on the masses was to have a profound impact on the history of recorded music. In the short term, it brought music into the office and factories; while in the long run it led to the complete restructuring of the sonic environment in America, leading to the prevalence of ‘canned music2’ in all aspects of life (Millard 4). During the 1930s, swing became the more popular of the canned genres, played by bands led by artists such as Jimmy Lunceford, Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway (Moore n. pag.). It is also worth noting that during the initial days of television, the term ‘canned music’ came to be used in place of recorded music; even replaced for live sound while artists performed their music. From this a new technique known as ‘lip synching’ grew (Sweetwater n. pag.). The existence of lip synching from the early days of the television points towards the first instances of ‘mediatizing’ liveness – processes by which everyday practices are increasingly shaped by mediating technology and media organizations (Livingstone 3).
Additionally, such evidence also indicates that professionals at the top of industry’s hierarchy had discovered that by contributing to morale, music as a commodity could do more than just entertain. The extreme profitability that ensued from these discoveries could also explain record sales doubling from 1945-1946 with an increase of $109 million to $218 million generated in revenue; in 1947 this figure came to $224 million (Tschmuck 101). Moreover, to a large extent, it was also during this period that broadcasters and record companies realized that the value of music (in terms of both quality and monetary investment), remains grounded in its live experience (Frith 4). After the war, the record
2 Canned Music – A term that stemmed from 1877 (the year that the phonograph was invented), which played back sound from a rotating cylinder. When these cylinders were packaged and made available to the public, the medium was dubbed as “canned music” by consumers. Sweetwater Sound Doshi 14
industry had not greatly changed in structure and shellac records3 were still produced at 78 rotations per minute (rpm) with the capacity to only hold 4 minutes of music (Tschmuck 101). A solution to this was the ‘vinyl’ – a material less fragile and more malleable.
The vinyl record’s sound was as good as the shellac and could store 20 minutes of music per side (Tschmuck 102). The evolution of the shellac to the vinyl is proof that technology within the music industry was evolving quickly; it was truly a business. Today, this 130-year-old format refuses to die, and even accounted for 5% of album sales in the UK in 2016 (Murphy n. pag.). As the same author continues, for those who can’t afford advertising, vinyl has become “the sharp end of the cutting edge” – a central showpiece or event from which digital success will hopefully snowball (Murphy n. pag.). Clearly as a product, the vinyl was responsible for creating an experience, one which much of live music’s digital format centres around today – with YouTube playing a principal role in its delivery and reception.
2.3. Breaking boundaries
In the 1970s, there was rarely a living room in Europe or the United States that did not have a ‘home’ stereo of a record player, amplifier, tape recorder and radio (Millard 2). From this it was clear that as a form of entertainment, the demand for music was strong and had the ability to be transmitted through several different vehicles. It was also during the period between the early 1970s and early 2000s that music took the form of the compact tape cassette - and rose to quick popularity with its easy handling and size, even adopted in nations of Asia and Africa (Millard 2). It is worth keeping in mind, that while the present musical landscape remains unperturbed by geographical barriers with music largely existing in electronic form, the demand for music to be accessible across oceans began decades earlier. In 1981, Philips and Sony collaborated to introduce the ‘CD’ or compact disc – that ushered in the most widely used digital format; as CDs were smaller and lighter than records, they had the advantage of being economically effective for companies that already had a control and wide reach of the business (El Gamal 10).
While the physical nature of music products was very much a lucrative business in the years leading into the 1980s, no one predicted what years later would be a revolutionary landmark in the landscape of music and imperative to the present research paper – the
3 Shellac Records – Any flat disc playing a speed of 78 revolutions per minute is called a 78 by collectors. The materials used to coat these discs were of many varieties, with shellac being the most common. Yale University Library Doshi 15
Internet. The mid-1990s witnessed the Internet growing significantly, with computers gaining popularity in homes, and subsequently a new format called the MP3 was introduced. It compressed audio files into easily transferrable sizes to fit on personal computers (El Gamal 10). However, as technological changes continued at an unprecedented rate, the internet’s impact expanded beyond illegal download to including greatly different ways in which to promote, distribute and market music (Aspray 451, 453). This gave rise to a structured system and method for music to be stored, transmitted and played electronically and unknowingly created the foundation for an electronic medium to deliver far more diverse forms of entertaining content. One of which includes live music channels.
With the onset of the 21st century, and particularly as the dot-com boom began, multiple attempts were made to create internet-based music companies. In addition, record labels initiated minimal and cautious experimentation into the distribution and promotion of music projects via the internet (El Gamal 14). Nevertheless, the most significant development in the era of music commodities arrived with the ushering in of peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing technology as introduced by Napster (El Gamal 14). Through advanced production and recording, aspiring artists now had the ability to create high-quality music from anywhere – there was no more a need for musicians to go into a professional studio or require a label to help finance them, this could be largely pertained to the open and free nature of the internet’s communication and rise of social media, both of which have played an integral role in the formation of platforms such as YouTube. It was these two areas from which record companies drew their power (El Gamal 22).
Peer-to-peer file sharing services such as Limewire and Napster not only implied a loss of record sales, but also led to a complete restructuring of music’s distribution combined with a rising popularity of concerts (El Gamal 3). While the legal distribution that followed a few years later enabled the ‘streaming style’ of music commodities to flourish (we see this on popular contemporary platforms such as Spotify, iTunes, Soundcloud and Tidal), more than a decade later, music has not only changed the way in which it is transmitted but also its shaping of content – integrating the record with live sound. This has not only led to the re- orientation and disruption of older media industries but to a re-organization of music practices, most strongly embodied in the field of liveness. Most importantly, where platforms have most impacted music commodities is through their participatory character. This is manifested in various ways; specifically sharing, participation and intimacy have become critical areas of deliberation when investigating contemporary liveness (Kennedy 20). Doshi 16
The streaming of music through digital distribution models as has been demonstrated, governs the music industry today and can be viewed as the latest phase in music commodities. It extends the usual capabilities associated with mass media; rather than having music ‘imposed’ on them, today’s audience can select their music, manage playlists and share content instantaneously (Nguyen et. al 2). YouTube flourishes in this regard, viewed as the most popular option in the world when it comes to streamed music (McIntyre n. pag.). By means of its heavily participatory nature – it provides a world of opportunity for the constant re-interpretation of liveness and authenticity by positioning its audience members as programmers as much as spectators.
As depicted in the section above, the delivery and reception of music is subject to various innovations in technology while simultaneously situating itself within the demands and norms of society. By analysing the evolution of music commodities from the phonograph to the era of streaming, this summary highlights the way in which recording technology has constantly been subject to innovation; with each time period proving to be pivotal in shaping current interpretations of liveness and authentic content. Moreover, the proliferation of Web 2.0 has not only blurred the lines between traditional and virtual representations of liveness, but in doing so has made current and future consumption patterns challenging to identify. With this notion in mind, the following section will shed light on the contemporary landscape of live content and its curation on the digital platforms of today.
2.4. The Contemporary Landscape of Live Music
Innovation in music takes place through an interaction of numerous circumstances and actors combined with the demands of the time. The present landscape is no different. The music industry, just like new media technology, is never stagnant and continues to evolve at an unprecedented rate with an array of mediators, editors and producers determining what constitutes our understanding of liveness. Through this process – not only have the structural aspects of music’s mediums been redefined but so has our understanding of what constitutes those mediums. We believe a virtual performance to be ‘unplugged’ or ‘live’ simply by the inclusion of such terms in the title of a video. Digital platforms such as YouTube have only exacerbated this, through their highly visual interface that allows camera work to mimic the eye so seamlessly that we forget we forget about the screen altogether. The heavily visual emphasis placed on liveness today is a key factor in forming perceptions of authenticity which will be looked at in detail through the analysis on live music channels. Doshi 17
In addition, YouTube’s profound sociability and participatory culture allows for an affective experience like never before – one where live performance that is raw and ‘authentic’ can be discussed amongst like-minded individuals and accepted or rejected for their authenticity accordingly. Many theories have been put forth to uncover the ever- changing nature of what constitutes concepts such as ‘liveness’ and ‘authenticity’ within the context of music. The extensive academic work that has been conducted by scholars such as Peggy Phelan (1993), Philip Auslander (1999) and Simon Frith (2007) demonstrate that the interpretation of liveness is far more complex that what meets the eye, and can be applied to numerous disciplines ranging from Psychology to Information Technology. While these concepts have been individually studied and applied to varied academic fields, the present research aims to study their interaction collectively.
2.5. Staging Liveness: Liveness in a digital context
In the process of adapting itself to the technological and social constructs of the digital, the lines between traditional and virtual representations of liveness have been blurred. In his book Liveness in Modern Music: Musicians, Technology and the Perception of Performance, Paul Sanden refers to the fact that when in the past ‘traditional liveness’ meant that a musical performance was to be experienced in person rather than on record, the present state of performance cannot be categorized into binaries such as live/recorded due to the fluidity with which it adapts to many other musical contexts. The most common of which includes televised liveness, the circulation of a performance long after its initial delivery and a heavy dependence on pre-recorded material. He explains that it is “between these poles, in which liveness plays an important defining role” (Sanden 3). This modern day ‘ambiguity’ described by Sanden could be a preliminary driver in enhancing the accessibility and fluidity of liveness. In other words, as there is no common consensus on what shapes ‘contemporary liveness’ – it becomes easy for social and technological constructions of liveness to prevail. This in turns creates the basis for what I will now explain as ‘mediatized liveness’.
According to Philip Auslander, ‘mediatization’ is a term employed to indicate when a particular cultural object is a product of mass media or media technology (Auslander 4). To this end, he describes ‘mediatized performance’ as “performance that is circulated on television, as audio or video recordings, and in other forms based in technologies of reproduction” (Auslander 4). As demonstrated, the ambiguity of contemporary liveness that has originated from the digital era has allowed for various interpretations of what modern Doshi 18
audiences understand as ‘live’. Significantly, it has also come to be responsible for certain structural changes. A possible explanation for the inclusion of mediatization into a plethora of live performance can be attributed to the fact that live events are either being created to be reproduced or to become identical with those that are mediatized (Auslander 35). As Auslander succinctly sums this up, “live performance incorporates mediatization to the degree that the live event is a product of media technologies” (25). He then provides the example of electric amplification in order to illustrate this. He writes that as soon as electric amplification is incorporated in a performance, the event is mediatized. We do not hear the acoustic (live) event, but rather the technological reproduction of a sound picked up by a microphone or the vibration of a speaker (Auslander 25). What this illustrates is that in the process of constantly adapting and reinventing itself based on present technologies, liveness has subsequently come to replicate that which is mediatized. It is this seamless integration between the traditional live format and the mediatized that creates the perfect illusion for virtual audiences under which mediators of live content thrive. Nevertheless, while such structural changes do indeed serve as vital enablers of live curation, the shift from ‘live’ content to raw, intimate or ‘authentic’ content is strongly due to the personalization of music technology.
The personalization of liveness is integral for generating associations of authenticity within a performance. Live music channels on YouTube are laden with terms describing their channels as ‘unique’ ‘intimate’ and ‘beautiful’ – promising users a constant stream of live music from the very best artists. From such descriptions, channels work towards building a relationship with the audience, the way in which recording technology has always strived. This is clarified by Frith, who explains that the documentation of recording technology on the public and private uses of music have demonstrated that while job opportunities for live musicians have declined, a simultaneous shift has occurred whereby music activity has been increasingly domesticated (Frith 2). This implies that as time listening to music at home has increased (i.e. on record, television and the radio), time spent going to hear live performances in public halls and bar rooms has decreased. This culminated in the ‘domestic’ use of music becoming greatly personalized: transforming music listening according to the wants, needs and music preferences of the individual. Family entertainment moved from the radiogram to the bedroom transistor and from the piano to the phonograph. Frith’s findings explain that digital platforms have the perfect advantage by fulfilling both aspects of accessibility and personalization, with YouTube as a frontrunner in this regard. Doshi 19
Still, while the video-sharing nature of YouTube allows for a higher emphasis on the visual from the ‘audio-visual’, the audio component is still actively processed and scrutinized. In their research on ‘Factors Influencing Pop Music Preferences for Young People’, Boyle, Hosterman and Ramsey examined self-reports by students regarding their music preferences. The results from the study revealed that characteristics such as mood, melody, rhythm, lyrics, harmony and danceability of the songs played by the researchers were the most crucial factors for preference by students – with formal elements of music viewed as generally more important than sociocultural (Boyle and Hosterman 54, 55). The authors cite LeBlanc, who outlines some of these factors as being related to the stimulus itself (physical properties, performance quality, complexity and referential meaning) and cultural effects (media, family, peer group and incidental conditioning) (Boyle and Hosterman 48). If music preference is indeed based on what Boyle and Hosterman describe, then YouTube is placed in a favourable position by streamlining the formal elements of music and cultural effects through its visually interactive and stimulating platform.
2.6. YouTube and Participation: Critical Findings from the Field of Platform Studies
While the arguments put forth in the sections above demonstrate the re-framing of liveness and authenticity as a result of social and technological developments, this study chose to examine liveness through the lens of YouTube due to its inherent participatory culture which is essential in the way liveness is consumed today. YouTube’s participatory culture is its ‘core business’ and the cultural logics of openness, community and authenticity are embedded in the YouTube platform at all scales of commerciality – from videos documenting everyday actions to those documenting YouTube stars with millions of subscribers, and sometimes an amalgamation of both (Burgess and Green 1). Nevertheless, this study asks – what is it about YouTube compared to other platforms that has enabled it to be the hotbed of live content that it is today? Media theorist Henry Jenkins provides some clarity. According to Jenkins, ‘interactivity’ refers to technologies designed to personalize user experiences (as in an app) or to enable meaningful choices (as in a game) (Jenkins 13). In contrast, ‘participation’ refers to a culture’s properties whereby groups individually and collectively make decisions that impact their shared experiences (Jenkins 13). We participate in something; but we interact with something (Jenkins 13). Nevertheless, there is an overlap between the two – clicking a button on a social media site may enable a user’s interactivity by design of the interface; however, in doing so they also participate within the community (Jenkins 13). YouTube’s significant contribution to liveness can largely be attributed to this Doshi 20
aspect - the platform embodying a middle ground between both interaction and participation. It is also worth noting that one of the most fundamental outcomes from YouTube’s participatory culture is the careful crafting and curation of live content – content that allows media producers to profit off participation while we remain blind to the culture we are creating (Jenkins 2). This will be discussed in further detail during the theoretical portion of this study.
In addition to the choice-facilitating nature of the interface, YouTube’s prominent role in contributing to the popular culture that moulds liveness stems from its fan engagement by means of features such as liking and commenting on content. In addition, the popularity of live content on YouTube is determined by a range of different measures such as most viewed and most discussed. Liveness therefore is not a representation of reality but rather a result of technologies of re-presentation (Burgess and Green 39, 41). It is because of this that YouTube stands out from other forms of recording technology by nature of its fluidity. Clement Chau’s article on ‘YouTube as participatory culture’ provides some perspective on this. In it, he emphasizes that the ever-growing youth subscription to YouTube can be pertained to features that provide opportunities to collaborate, connect, create and circulate original media content (Chau 72). He goes on to mention that the youth are especially attracted to the platform, as barriers for participation are low and the platform’s instructions and informal mentorship facilitate their developing ideas. Compared to more relationship- oriented platforms such as Facebook, where YouTube stands out is in its fundamentally video-based content combined with interactive features that allow for user interaction and participation of an unparalleled scale, much along the lines of what Henry Jenkins explains. Each of these factors culminate in the video’s every element to be the topic of focus, with surrounding discussion only strengthening the reception and perception of what was just watched. Perceptions which are heavily steered by the authenticity of the live content.
YouTube’s participatory culture is pivotal in determining what makes live content authentic. Such creative practice has become widely adopted due to the ubiquity of digital technologies. Through this, young people have not only learnt new media competencies through their participation on YouTube, but in this way have also learnt to be more ‘critical’ of media messages. (Burgess and Green 70, 71). The current generation of YouTube users no longer discuss a performance with a reactionary ‘this was great!’ but imbibe a commenting style such as user ‘nohedz’ who on an NPR tiny desk concert of pop artist ‘Khalid’ writes “This is quality music. The fact that all the music presented here are just his first songs Doshi 21
written baffles me. He’s so young, with so much potential, not mentioning his voice has that something that just melts all your problems, I believe is called soul”. In this way, authentic experiences in live performances no longer stem from solely the originator of the performance but is additionally shaped by discussion situated within YouTube’s participatory environment. However, as with all networked environments, YouTube entails certain loopholes that accelerate the process of liveness’s re-packaging by means of changing participatory roles. One of the main ways in which this occurs according to Dynel, is that users can be categorized into passive or active users depending on their usage of the website’s communicative tools (39). However, such a differentiation could be misleading as it does not take into consideration the changing participatory roles; the participatory statuses of YouTube users develop with their interaction over time (Dynel 39). This can be explained by the fact that an individual at the reception end may “take the floor” by contributing a video or a comment. However, computer mediated interaction enables “passive” participants, who do not post comments and videos or contribute to interactive activity despite being entitled to. Therefore, their participation can scarcely be detected (Dynel 39). In this way, while the online participation with live content may be more effective with a stronger ‘virtual audience’; there may very well be a separate audience who are more inclined to take on the role of a ‘traditional audience’. The ambiguity that this presents allows for users, both active and passive, to constantly re-determine what is defined as ‘popular’ or ‘authentic’, without necessarily being aware of doing so. This is a defining factor when it comes to YouTube’s role in the re-organisation of liveness.
In addition to this, Dynel also explains that the participation of YouTube users is more complex than that of television viewers, who still are involved as recipients of media and are rarely involved in its co-construction (Dynel 49). She explains that YouTubers engage in irregular computer-mediated interaction, with their participatory statuses changing at the production and reception ends. In terms of the reception aspect, Dynel conceptualizes YouTubers as 1. (un)ratified listeners and hearers in videos, 2. recipients who watch videos and 3. addressees and third parties who read other’s commentaries (Dynel 49, 50). With relation to production, YouTubers are active through 1. taking the floor as speakers, 2. authoring videos as senders and 3. commenting and replying to earlier posts (Dynel 50).
From the findings illustrated above, YouTube’s participatory framework is integral in the de-stabilization of traditional liveness to the shaping of liveness as it presently exists. By Doshi 22
enabling its users to function as both producers and consumers or in other words, ‘prosumers’ (Ritzer 61), the platform allows both liveness and authenticity to transcend its previously passive connotations to extremely active socially constructed phenomenon. Most significantly, while YouTube users may remain unaware about the degree and impact of their participation, each decision carried out on the platform enables liveness to be subject to re- interpretation in ways that previous recording technology has never been able to. Findings such as these indicate that viewing experiences are no longer constructed by a handful of producers and editors alone; the success with which they operate are determined by an active mass audience who play a significant role in determining the type and success of live content on YouTube, and while they may be unaware about the critical nature of their role – they continue to make up a virtual community that has the final say from production to the end product. Nevertheless, while such arguments are crucial indicators regarding the nature of liveness, what can they tell us about authenticity?
2.7. Popular Music and Authenticity
Historically, perceptions of a music performance as ‘authentic’ have never been fixed and have instead constantly been subject to continued negotiation. The process of ‘mutual agreement’ between the audience and the artist has been accelerated with the advent of new media technology which has in turn been instrumental in negotiating authentic content. Previously, authenticity was determined by maintaining a sense of cohesion and identity through shared language, demeanour, clothing and age; but with the current landscape of internet-based chat-groups and list-serves dedicated to specific music, users have the ability to contribute their opinion regarding a performance’s legitimacy without having any of these characteristics (Peterson 1089). Therefore, where once authenticity was determined by face- to-face interaction, today it is determined by discussion facilitated by YouTube’s participatory culture. As Auslander fittingly explains (when talking about rock music) – “the effect of authenticity in rock is a matter of culturally determined convention, not an expression of essence” (Auslander 82).
There is no doubt that the large-scale cinematic technologies of today have played a mammoth role in shaping the ‘experience’ of authenticity while simultaneously delivering it through a multitude of perspectives. Jamie Sexton explains that the infiltration of audio- visual technologies has produced mixed effects which either extend and accelerate, or devaluate notions of representation, presence and self-expression in pop performance (Sexton Doshi 23
107). If we frame this within YouTube’s context, Sexton’s statements can be observed from the virtual audience’s reaction to a pop music performance on the platform - with YouTube users often commenting on the sincerity, expressiveness and ‘raw talent’ of the artist based on the audio-visual alone. Sexton further explains that inter-mediating technologies can produce fluid and flexible perspectives of live performance through interactions of large- scale telematic images structured within cinematography; which further contributes to the presence of the performer perceived by the naked eye (Sexton 118). To a large extent, this is how YouTube defines live performance, by ‘staging’ common notions of liveness so seamlessly that we perceive it to be authentic.
While the role of technology is vital in presenting live content as independent of external influence, the way in which it is processed by the viewer is just as pertinent. The assessment of authenticity, when individually applied, is based on a congruence between how one sees themselves and how they are viewed by others (Harrison 1785). Moreover, he also cites Peterson (2005) who explains that authenticity does not comprise of an organic quality that naturally occurs in things but is rather ‘a claim that is made’ which is ‘either accepted or rejected’ (Peterson 1086). In this regard authenticity manages to strike agreement between someone or something being presented as authentic and the acceptance or rejection of the presentation (Harrison 1785). Where YouTube flourishes in this regard is that it is at its very core, social. It is intrinsically designed for user participation and engagement surrounding visual content. Moreover, the way in which the platform is designed to generate discussion around content makes it almost natural to strike an agreement about what is presented as authentic without necessarily being aware of doing so. This is a prominent factor to take into consideration when adapting notions of authenticity to the digital.
2.8. YouTube and Technology
As the sections above demonstrate, contemporary notions of authenticity and liveness are defined by artist-audience negotiation facilitated through the social processes of a platform. While it has thus far been determined that such sociality is an essential ingredient in the re-structuring of music consumption today, there is another vital component which has been integral in determining the current trends associated with performance and recording – technology; and this can be explained by a change in the production literacy of musicians and a simultaneous move towards more technologically intensive performances, either on stage or off stage (Knowles and Hewitt 1). Doshi 24
This inclination towards technology-mediated performance is largely responsible in the amalgamation of production and performance practices between the studio and the live performance respectively (Knowles and Hewitt 16). As the scholar Andrew Kania writes “More and more equipment is making the move from the recording studio to the stage as its size decreases and its flexibility increases. Perhaps one day all that is achievable in the studio will be achievable onstage. At that point there will be no reason to withhold the label ‘studio performance’ from ‘live’ rock concerts” (Kania 5). More importantly, where technology contributes the most towards contemporary liveness is in providing evidence of skill in the performance – not just the manipulation of interfaces but a demonstration of recorded sounds that can be ‘reproduced’ in a live context. This combination of proof of skill (i.e. the audience witnessing the physical manipulation of sound) and performative agency (i.e. where sophisticated production technologies are deployed) subsequently contributes to the authentication of the performance (Knowles and Hewitt 16,17).
YouTube masterfully uses this agency to its advantage in the delivery of liveness – by transforming the sound recording from a physical object to digital content and consequently creating new cross-over genres of the live format (Holt 246). Two such examples of these include the new ‘concert film’ format seen by the 2018 Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour (Sheffield n. pag.) and Beyoncé’s ‘Homecoming’ documentary and live album based on her headlining Coachella performance in 2018 (Spanos n.pag.), both produced by Netflix. Both films engage with the contemporary audience; partly by means of the cultural innovation that platforms provide in different fields of popular music production (Holt 251). This innovation is supported by the New York Times who says about Beyoncé’s ‘Homecoming’ documentary – “At almost 140 minutes, the majority of ‘Homecoming’ is what many viewers have already seen (and, perhaps, seen again and again) this time through a greater variety of angles and Instagram-like filters” (Harris n. pag). The article then goes on argue that, “The performances from the first and second weekends (denoted by the differing colour schemes and costume choices) are seamlessly intercut; this technique is particularly effective early on, when the performer’s outfits shift from all-yellow (Weekend 1) and all- pink (Weekend 2)” (Harris n. pag.). These observations illustrate innovation by means of re- constructing live performances through state-of-the-art editing technology, voice-overs and camera technique. This illustrates the fragmented nature of liveness which is technology’s most profound contribution to the authentic experience by means of re-constructing content to appear immediate. Moreover, the article goes on to mention that the ‘intimate’ and ‘candid’ Doshi 25
moments touted by Netflix are comparatively brief, appearing between long, uninterrupted musical segments from the show (see fig. 1). These moments will be enough to satisfy the overzealous Beyhive (referring to Beyoncé’s loyal fans and followers) and probably more casual fans and admirers, too” (Harris n. pag.). Ultimately, this illustrates that by means of activating immediate associations of ‘authenticity’ characterized by the inclusion of brief intimate moments, streaming platforms have capitalized on the fluidity of liveness through mediatized performance.
Figure 1: Brief, intimate moment: Beyoncé points her sceptre to camera
The fascination of digital natives with liveness, can be witnessed by the numerous documentary-style concerts offered on streaming-giants such as Netflix, investing big- budgets for even bigger ratings. This is perhaps one of the most significant occurrences in the era of modern liveness; as movie ticket prices continue to rise and platforms strike bigger deals with distributors, laptops are quickly transforming into the modern movie theatre (Pigeons and Planes n. pag.). With YouTube described as one of the internet’s most observed and used media (Grünewald & Haupt 1), the platform’s technological contribution to all other streaming mediums is a vital component to shaping liveness.
In a world where technological mediation has re-determined the way in which we experience most art forms, music has been transformed the most. Since the dominance of the internet has enabled the divide between the virtual and reality to become increasingly blurry, it is the focus of this research to shed light and generate awareness on modern consumption patterns of liveness within the media. In doing so, the study hopes to explore whether what we experience as ‘authentic’ is truly authentic at all. Doshi 26
3.0. Theoretical Framework 3.1. Curating the live
“Because live performance is the category of cultural production most directly affected by the dominance of media, it is particularly urgent to address the situation of live performance in our mediatized culture”. — Philip Auslander - Liveness: Performance in a Mediatized Culture 2
As discussed in the previous section, liveness is no longer a simple system of processes through which musical works are delivered. The contemporary landscape of live performance is greatly influenced by a sophisticated interaction between technology and art form; and it is this new ‘televisual’ medium of liveness that has become an establishing element of cultural formation (Auslander 2). As technological developments move well beyond their originally intended use, live and mediatized forms of entertainment compete for audience attention; with mediatized forms gaining an advantage (Auslander 6). This advantage largely stems from a collective effort of technological reproduction (sound recording), the interactivity of platforms and innovative marketing efforts that attracts the modern user with engaging content in order to capitalize off their attention.
Moreover, mediatized forms of liveness threaten music’s traditional performance paradigms (Sanden 20). It does this through the merging of opposite music tendencies (for example: instrumental music and electronic sounds), creating a ‘no-man’s-land’ within the larger landscape of liveness. This is enabled by means of reasserting bodily presence in performance while simultaneously purging such presence in favour of disembodied sound production (Croft 60). As a result, traditional live music does not have to compete with mediated music separately but has instead come to be merged with recorded music to evolve into a more complex music market with an inherent duality (Frith 4). Taking these factors into consideration, I will now proceed to discuss certain key concepts of what live music looks like in the terrain of new media.
The first argument that finds relevance when discussing the way live music is constructed for viewer consumption is that of camera positioning. Auslander explains that the way in which the multi-camera set-up facilitates a television director to replicate a spectator’s wandering eye, provides a viewer with proximity to an event (Auslander 19). In the context of live music videos on YouTube, this holds true. YouTube functions visually just like a television and determines the points of focus for an audience member, despite claiming to be Doshi 27
completely ‘live’ in its approach. It could also be worth exploring whether this effect is amplified as computer consumption is a more private rather than public activity; and hence one is more easily absorbed into the content. While some live music channels do indeed engage in this construed approach of live performance to a lesser degree than others, it is worth noting that even one-take videos make conscious decisions while placing their artist within a frame. But who oversees such decisions? And how are these roles created?
Presently, the construction of liveness is determined by a multitude of mediators or ‘middlemen’ who are greatly protective of their roles as editors, producers, sound designers and camera people (Mulligan). To a large extent, these middlemen are the essential cogs in the larger machine of the music industry and govern the many social processes that lie beneath what is finally delivered as a live performance. In the more traditional context of the music industry, one might have referred to them as ticket sellers, concert producers or label executives. Today, with the complexity of music commodities on streaming platforms combined with the fluidity of technology, their roles are harder to identify. As a result, so is the influence exerted by them. Significantly, the largely technological fabric of liveness is playing a monumental role in enabling this. Music is a marketplace, and like any marketplace certain systems and processes are put in place in order to achieve profitability.
Drawing from sociocultural theory, Davis provides some perspective on the perspective of mediators. She explains that the idea of what a subject (or in this case mediators) may want to achieve, may be held internally within their mind, however, the realisation of these ideas depends on interaction with various ‘tools’ (Davis 504). These tools can range from culturally learned process, language and even physical tools such as technology (Davis 504). As a site that possesses each of these tools, YouTube makes it profoundly easy for these middlemen to benefit of the features of the platform in order to carefully craft liveness to achieve a particular outcome – audience engagement. Nonetheless, in addition to the greatly assistive nature of tools, the prevalence of middlemen under the guise of the digital also largely stems from the layout of the music industry as a whole.
George Yudice (2003) states that artistic expressions such as music serve as agents of varied economic development rather than being appreciated for their intrinsic aestheticism; consequently, the music industry is transformed into a site where multiple parties (artists, agencies, audiences and developers) compete with each other for more effective management and control, consequently creating strategies that challenge the current economic and social Doshi 28
order (Leon 131). This is done by making live concerts free to consume, instantly accessible to viewers, aesthetically pleasing and breaking the barriers of communication that previously existed between artist and audience. This demonstrates that while live music channels are presented to appear as ‘undisturbed’ as possible, content is still a product that is effectively managed to be shaped into another profitable opportunity. Moreover, with YouTube’s free business model, the expansion of digital media leads to neoliberal behaviour defined by supporting increased participation through consumption (Leon 129), an aspect that the platform has mastered.
3.2. Intimacy, Spontaneity, Relational Labour and Immediacy
“The experience itself was characterized by an immediate pleasure, an instantaneously received delight, which ruled out any mediating act of judgement” — Susan Davis: Liveness, mediation and immediacy – innovative technology use in process and performance 505
Liveness in music possesses a characteristic that allows it to significantly surpass other forms of music consumption – its intimacy. Intimacy in this regard can be defined as an intensified feeling of warmth, a form of sociality which engenders a sense of togetherness despite material, economic and social factors that may indicate otherwise (Garcia 2). Other scholars have also built on this sense of feeling, by describing intimacy as a combination of concepts relating to what is heard, to the perception of the space around the performance and naturally to the performance itself (Hyde 1). While stadium tours and concert halls have proven this perception of intimacy to be true, streaming platforms have elevated this experience through the video format of the same. Philip Auslander argues that even the most intimate pieces, whereby the viewer is a few feet away from the artist, is still presented with the opportunity for even greater intimacy through close-up monitors (Auslander 39). He states that ironically, in the context of television, immediacy and intimacy were the same qualities that allowed it to displace live performance (Auslander 35, 36). Live performances on YouTube are embodiments of such statements, with most channels designing their camera work around close-up shots that are so intimate they almost seem intrusive to the artist’s personal space. An example of this can be seen in Netflix’s film, ‘Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé, in which this intimacy can be clearly seen (see fig. 2). Set design and production can strategically shape lighting, the number of audience members and the spatiality of a Doshi 29
venue, thereby creating the perfect recipe to make the virtual audience wish they were there in person—or better yet, feel as if they were.
Figure 2: Intimacy in liveness: Beyoncé approaches and engages directly with the camera in close proximity
Another predominant component within liveness is spontaneity. While individuals differ in their ability to recognize spontaneity in a performer’s actions, it is greatly valued in a majority of the world’s music performance traditions (Engel and Keller n. pag.). The same scholars explain that the sensitivity towards spontaneous performance does not only correlate to the aesthetic appreciation of music but is instead integral in gauging the performer’s intentions in everyday situations (i.e. judging whether their behaviour is intended to deceive) (Engel and Keller n. pag.). Therefore, curating visuals that emphasize spontaneous decisions within a live performance plays a crucial role in forming perceptions of authenticity. Most importantly, Auslander cites Martin Barker (2003) who explains that spontaneous variability is based more on ideological rather than real experience: audiences strive to experience performances “as if they had elements of uniqueness, even though actual variations may be insignificant” (Auslander 64). To a large extent, this longing for a romanticized and natural experience of live music consumption can be linked to Nancy Baym’s idea of ‘relational labour’.
Baym describes ‘relational labour’ by explaining that the more technologically mediated society has become, the more emotions have come to be commodified as part of labour and the more emphasis is placed on embodied performances with a natural feeling (Baym 17). As a major constituent of YouTube’s participatory framework, Baym’s theory of relational labour is a defining factor when it comes to moulding perceptions of authentic live Doshi 30
content on digital platforms – this is further corroborated by the comments sections of case studies on YouTube which were analysed for this thesis that were heavily descriptive in terms of conveying emotions and reactions from users towards the live performance. Therefore, by initiating and maintaining a connection with other people through the platform’s interactive features, relational labour plays a profound role in the psyche behind live video curation (Baym 19).
The concepts described above validate that contemporary liveness is determined by presenting an intimate context, highlighting spontaneous actions and building on emotional connections between artist and audience. Still, it is necessary to ask how exactly each of these elements tie-in to create ‘socially constructed liveness’ as we experience it today. This study puts forth that answer as the power of immediacy. Davis cites Bolter and Grusin to explain that in order to create a sense of presence, the media tailor their efforts to come as close as possible to the “immediate lived experience” (505). This is achieved when platforms seem invisible and the audience consequently feels an instantaneous sense of presence, closeness and connection (Davis 506). YouTube is skilful in its efforts to create immediacy in live consumption by using technology to bridge the gap in areas where the true live concert falls short (i.e. the distance to the stage, initiating emotional interaction between audience members and a zoomed in focus on the performance alone). In this way, platforms reduce the psychological and physical distance between audience members (Davis 506). Consequently, liveness is ‘re-packaged’ to be consumed in a heavily personalized way. Nevertheless, it is worth pointing out that contemporary liveness is not just based on the impact of visual elements alone, but an added contribution from its auditory counterpart.
3.3. Natural is best: Audio in a live context
Where modern liveness is uniquely different to its predecessors (i.e. recording commodities) is in its audio-visual nature with sound playing a prominent a role in contributing to the shaping of the live experience. Auslander talks about the almost invisible use of microphones placed on actors’ bodies that only consolidates the perception of an amplified voice as “natural” (38). While Auslander places this within the context of theatrical performances, the sensory experience of audio is equal to that of its visual counterpart in shaping how live performance is absorbed. This is also supported by Baym who states that technologies such as microphones capture a voice no louder than a whisper and can put us in close sensory proximity with musicians despite being worlds away (Baym 10). This delivers Doshi 31
elements of rawness and vulnerability to music fans through the performance of the artist, by means of hearing ‘unmodified’ imperfections in the performance. However, the reality is quite different. The synthesis of technology within the performance transfigures the status of the performance to ‘modified’ while merely appearing to be ‘unmodified’ and this is a critical matter to address in the field of mediatized liveness. Auslander states that technologies of reproduction (i.e. electric amplification) are used in almost all live performances; some to the extent of losing their liveness altogether (Auslander 183).
Having first emerged from ecological psychology, Gibson defined an affordance as “what things furnish for good or ill” (Gibson 285). However, a more usable definition was later provided by Norman (1988) who explained affordances as the actual and perceived properties of a thing, that can explain how it can be possibly used. For example; since a chair affords support, it supports sitting (Davis and Chouinard 2). Interestingly, the layout of YouTube’s interface works very much in this manner – allowing users to engage with content of various genres through mechanisms that “request, demand, allow, encourage, discourage, and refuse” (Davis and Chouinard 2). In the context of liveness within YouTube, the theory of affordances provides a useful perspective to explain potential factors that either accelerate or decelerate the overall effect of liveness for the virtual audience. Through features that ‘allow’ discussion through comments, ‘encourage’ behaviour such as liking and ‘demand’ focussed video consumption, YouTube’s affordances play a defining role in propelling audio- visual behaviour induced by technology.
As the discussion above illustrates, in a world where offline and online constantly collide, live music on YouTube demonstrates what happens when two competing systems merge together to carve out a unique niche altogether. While each of the concepts explained above differentiate from each other, they are united by a common factor – adapting the human allure of the real experience to the technological fluidity of the virtual one. This subsequent integration of two contrasting domains, enables a new kind of liveness, one that runs so far beneath what is finally represented on the screen, that if made aware, the average listener would never perceive live videos the same again. Simon Frith sums this up well. He states that live performance matters for two reasons: on one hand, it publicly celebrates music commitment, whereby our understanding of the self through music is recognized socially. On the other hand, it is a site to explore how performance works for ourselves (Frith 14). Most importantly, he goes on to mention that where there are social desires, there will be entrepreneurs ready to meet them at a price (Frith 14). While the scholarly work mentioned Doshi 32
here is valuable in terms of navigating the present terrain of curated liveness; this study aims to demonstrate the specific role of YouTube in curating authentic viewing experiences. The following section will provide insight into these processes.
3.4. Authentically Broadcasted: YouTube and Authentic Content
“If authenticity is constructed and subject to continual change, then it clearly takes an effort to appear authentic” — Richard A. Peterson, In Search of Authenticity 1089
The internet has been subject to an onslaught of video content over the past few years. While several channels and websites dedicated to video curation have dominated Web 2.0, one platform remains at the forefront—YouTube. Since its inception in 2005 and with more than 100 million videos watched per day, YouTube plays a formative role in the modern landscape of new media (Cheng, Dale and Liu 229). In fact, its transformation has been so drastic that some authors have referred to the institutionalization of YouTube, or rather its evolution as a ‘virtual village’ made up of user -generated content (UGC) to professionally generated content (Kim 53). Notably, there is a significant amount of literature documenting the uses of such professional content. Manovich (2008) claims that sites such as YouTube enable explicit user customization, whereby modern media products facilitate users to communicate in a manner where opinion, content and conversation cannot be separated. The information derived from this is then used as ‘hooks’, elements which capture a user’s interest or attention, for the creation of further video content (Cayari 8). In this manner, YouTube users have created a community where technology facilitates innovative kinds of music creativity by means of challenging how one perceives a musician, music and the audience (Cayari 2). It is this particular finding that has great relevance to the present study, with ‘hooks’ forming the basis of what transforms live content from being acceptable to profoundly believable, i.e. its authenticity. In this manner, YouTube has proved to be critical in enabling the fabrication of authentic viewing experiences; with transformations in popular music also proving to be highly influential.
Popular music has been subject to several transformations in the 20th century which can be related to factors such as the changing size of performance venues, the use of new technologies and the segmentation of the mass market (Marshall 196). Interestingly, each of these factors have been centred around concepts of authenticity; debates have revolved around the expressiveness of the performance, their faithfulness to the music score, and how Doshi 33
the performer is determined to be authentic (Marshall 196). YouTube acts as a key mediator is this regard, playing host to numerous live music channels whose production style and content focuses on a clear delivery of these elements.
While each of these channels are united in their efforts to engage loyal audiences through immersive viewing experience, each channel differentiates itself from the other through an instantly recognizable aesthetic, unique to them alone. Examples of such channels include ‘Jam in the Van’ – a solar-powered studio van which travels across the United States to record a spectrum of artists across genres, ‘NPR Tiny Desk’ recognized for its mini- concerts that are filmed at a desk in the National Public Radio offices (see fig. 3) and ‘Sofar Sounds’ (see fig. 4) filming intimate concert sets in living rooms all over the world (The Music Mermaid n.pag.). As Moore mentions, identifying authenticity with originality is a common understanding across contemporary audiences and the originality that is imminent with these unique aesthetics are bound to instil perceptions of authenticity (Moore 210).
Figure 3: NPR Tiny Desk Concert Figure 4: Sofar Sounds Cape town
While aesthetic originality may indeed serve to be integral to the formation of authentic content, the concepts of expressiveness and faithfulness of the performance are still actively listened for in popular music and is a measure of what fans see as true musicianship. Nevertheless, the fluidity of platforms have altered the processes that previously governed this. Presently, new media technology has enabled authenticity in popular music to be fabricated through technologies of reproduction. Specifically, it has worked to authenticate the individual performance through perfecting sound reproduction technology (Marshall 198). In this manner, audiences are provided with a new kind of liveness; one where the authentic experience is governed by artificially curated content. Doshi 34
Marshall elaborates on this by talking about the prior use of the record in mediating the audience member’s perception of the concert. In popular music, much of music performed live has previously appeared in the recordings and is already familiar with fans. The concert is consequently not an introduction to the music but rather a “ritualized authentication of pleasure and meaning of the records through a lived experience; it heightens the significance of the records and the pop star” (Marshall 202). The concert then transforms into more of a display of personal commitment and a celebration of the artist rather than the technique and skill of them performing live (Marshall 202).
The record, according to Marshall, is a true representation of music; while the concert is the reproduction of ‘authentic’ recorded music (Marshall 198). What this means is that the technology of a twenty-four-track studio sound cannot be matched by the acoustics of a stadium or concert hall. Consequently, it becomes a common experience to sense the shortcomings of the live performance compared to the record commonly associated with the performer (Marshall 198,199). It is through these new technologies of reproduction such as the studio sound, that the meanings and experience of authenticity have also been changed. As a platform, YouTube further changes this equation by merging the record within the allure of the concert experience - all whilst appearing to remain neutral from the two. The seamless way in which this occurs is a crucial contributor to the shaping of liveness as ‘authentic’, with many YouTube users perceiving the virtual performance as superior to the record.
It can be argued that these changed meanings do not only pertain to the audience but also to contemporary popular music performers, who have come to imbibe the ideals of the industry by altering the intricacies of their performance. A higher emphasis exists today on expressing the lyrical and musical content of the song as well as authenticating the performance through acknowledging the direct nature of the address. From this, there is a personal sentiment that is freely exposed and expressed in the voice and action of the artist (Marshall 202). Furthermore, the participation and response from the audience is encouraged within the concert setting as well as during the performance of the songs. In this manner, the audience and performer maintain a ritualized dialogue (Marshall 202). It is worth pointing out that YouTube’s interface only enhances the ease of this dialogue by means of comments and likes. Through these features, the platform provides a deeply personal layer that is instrumental in shaping perceptions about an artist’s ‘authenticity’ by grounding initial reactions in discussion with likeminded users. Doshi 35
From the perspectives illustrated above, it can be determined that contemporary live music performances appear to include all the elements of the live, without necessarily being live at all. The layout of interfaces such as YouTube and the instantaneous delivery of content made possible by platforms only heighten the effect of ritualization and commitment and allow for platforms to thrive where reality has failed. Nevertheless, while these arguments provide possible explanations into new media technology’s impact on authenticity, there is one essential component that is pivotal in the re-structuring of contemporary liveness – YouTube’s participatory culture.
3.5. Constructing the Popular: Participation on YouTube
Interactivity is perhaps one of the most significant ways in which contemporary liveness has been modified and YouTube’s participatory culture remains at the core of this. New media technologies have had a keen interest in shaping the environment of interactive media as user participation helps maintain the stability of loyal audiences (Kim 58). Burgess and Greene explain that popular videos on YouTube are not reflective of reality but are rather “technologies of representation” (Burgess and Green 41). The criteria for popular videos are not just based on a pre-set criterion of their individual popularity, but also reflect an audience operating within their knowledge of YouTube’s functions. Regarding live music videos, this could suggest that the popularity and view-count of certain artists on YouTube are determined greatly by a group of users whose viewing choices are far more complex than just a click of a button. Burgess and Green state that YouTube calculates a simplified and atomized model of audience engagement. Through raw frequencies gained from views, comments and response videos, users determine what qualifies as popular content - they can either deliberately produce content that will be most likely to achieve attention according to pre-set criteria or can ignore it all together (Burgess and Green 41). However, while such findings demonstrate the significant power of collective participation, it is worth deliberating over the degree of contribution provided by the individual. Music, after all, is based on subjectivity and an ability to resonate.
Allan Moore sheds some light on this. He explains that for the engaged audience, the sonic gestures and acts made by certain artists are viewed as them investing authenticity in such acts. This does not imply an engagement with the acts themselves, but rather with the originator of such acts (Moore 214). This demonstrates that both Burgess and Green and Moore are complementary in their approaches of what determines successful audience Doshi 36
engagement. Moore’s theory of authenticity can be viewed as the stages that subliminally occur before executing decisions online. Once online, users then function as members of a community and operate within the set technological structure described by Burgess and Green. As Moore argues, “social authenticity is ensured in an act of judgement legitimate within a particular community, while subjective authenticity is validated by the individual” (Moore 215). Through the design of its interface, low barriers and collective interaction of affordances on its community, YouTube has transformed Moore’s definition of ‘social’ from community oriented to an un-mediated forum of two-way communication between both the artist and audience. This simultaneously transforms the platform into a centralized space where interests, passions and aspirations are made public knowledge; knowledge, which is then strategically crafted by brands to reach powerful communities.
3.6. Subliminal Branding and Liveness: a new ecosystem
“If you know what people are looking for . . . if you know where people are interacting . . . if you know what moves people, you can engage the human algorithm to immerse viewers and trigger meaningful interaction and vibration across the social graph”. — Brian Solis, Engage! The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate and Measure Success in the New Web, Preface ix
Brian Solis explains in the quote above, that knowing what triggers meaningful interaction is an essential component in the crafting of live content and ensuring its appeal to the numerous active YouTube communities as authentic (4). Solis states that there is an intrinsic shift taking place in our culture that is re-defining the way in which an audience is influenced. Moreover, it is the socialization of tools and information that elicit and enable new conversations to form the basis of interactive media (Solis 4). As a leading member of today’s interactive media, YouTube is one such ecosystem which has dominated the world of socialized marketing. After all, the platform reaches more 18-49-year olds than any television network (Kiernan n. pag). Music communities are active in terms of making their likes, dislikes and interests vocal. This outward display of user behaviour provides marketeers with a myriad of information to work with; and it is through this that influence is strategically targeted and re-applied to users in the further delivery of live content as ‘hooks’. In this way, YouTube is paramount in mediating the authentic experience. Doshi 37
Speaking in the context of rock music, Auslander argues that authenticity does not lie in the music alone but is instead shaped by culturally determined conventions. If we examine Auslander’s argument within the lens of YouTube, the platform acts an enabler of said conventions by means of its broader ‘participatory culture’ which acts as a window to cultural conventions (Burgess and Green 13). An example of such conventions can be seen in brands that are integrated into musical formats and productions, wherein they are seamlessly marketed. For instance, musicians may refer to fashion brands in their lyrics or even integrate a product in their music video which are examples of subliminal marketing. The analysis that will be conducted for this research will deep-dive into such phenomenon by observing creative integration of fashion brands in live music videos, that were either worn by the artist or mentioned in lyrics of a live performance.
While the sections above have linked YouTube as a cite of participatory culture and subliminal branding (both profound in shaping notions of authenticity), there is one integral function that determines the loyal user base of music communities – its value creation. Grünewald and Haupt demonstrate that YouTube’s economy is governed by exchanging different forms of value creation activities such as taste, reputation, cultural knowledge and relationships to other artists and fans as a form of economic value (Grünewald and Haupt 3). Regarding liveness, this could explain the largely ‘personalized’ sense of live music channels such as those analysed for the present research. As the analysis section focusing on case studies of live music channels ‘La Blogothèque’ and ‘COLORS’ will later demonstrate, live music videos on YouTube are designed around production concepts that intend to bring the viewer into the immediate space of the artist by identifying the viewer and what motivates them. The information retrieved from this is then proficiently and strategically utilised by the features of technology in order to shape the performance to deliver an authentic live experience. In this manner, liveness has come a long way since its journey from the stage to the screen.
The present theoretical framework has emphasized the evolution of liveness from its emergence as a system to describe musical delivery, to the highly complex and profoundly digital state that is currently embodies. The landscape of new media technologies has played a decisive factor in this, with platforms such as YouTube enhancing the fluidity of a live experience and its impact on authentic live content. As the previous sections have highlighted, contemporary liveness is no longer defined by professionals at the top of the music hierarchy but is instead determined by an active mass audience who is profound in Doshi 38
their role as both producers and consumers or ‘prosumers’ (Ritzer 61). The information that is derived from these prosumers is then strategically incorporated by several ‘middlemen’ who exist behind the veil of the platform and fragment authenticity through spontaneous, intimate, immediate, natural and emotional content. Consequently, contemporary liveness is ‘socially constructed’ and curated to present a mediated perception of the authentic experience. That being said, addressing the re-structured nature of liveness is fundamental to future developments in popular music and new media technology.
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4.0. Methodology
This thesis will employ a qualitative investigation whereby the popular video sharing platform ‘YouTube’ will be analysed in order to determine its role in constructing authentic viewing experiences through live music channels. So far, the theory and literature sections above have demonstrated that “where concepts are used to describe the relationship between live performance and its present mediatized environment, they yield a reductive binary opposition of the live and the mediatized” (Auslander 3). This means that there has been an integration of traditional liveness within contemporary streaming platforms such as YouTube. However, through this process, liveness is shaped by its mediatized environment and simultaneously re-packages itself to appear as far removed from this influence as possible. The literary theory that has been contextualized in the previous chapters will serve as a lens to observe this phenomenon in live music channels on YouTube.
In 2016, YouTube was the most utilized music service with 82% of users visiting the platform for music (‘Music Consumer Insight Report’ IFPI). Almost three years later, this trend has not changed. What such findings demonstrate is that music content is the most in- demand content on the video sharing platform, leading to an increasing amount of music channels. The allure of these channels provides users with the ‘next best thing’ to experiencing music in its purest form. Moreover, the immense popularity that these channels have garnered can be seen in the presence of articles such as ‘10 Best YouTube Channels from Around the World’ on Guiding Tech and ‘10 Music Performance Shows to Help you Discover New Artists on YouTube’ on Medium (Gupta; Ye).
4.1. Channel Selection
The profound shift of live music being adapted to platforms, can be witnessed in YouTube’s countless live music channels spanning every possible genre and featuring some of the world’s very best aspiring and established musicians playing in uniquely crafted settings. Keeping the unique conceptual design of each live music channel in mind, this thesis places two aesthetically different YouTube live music channels against each other in order to gain an accurate and reliable representation of modern liveness and its influence on forming perceptions of authenticity. In order to conduct this comparative analysis, this thesis selected channels ‘COLORS’ and ‘La Blogothèque’ on YouTube as case studies. Doshi 40
These channels were chosen for their strong conceptual orientation of live videos, endorsement of upcoming and established artists as well as their popular follower base. They were however, also selected as they represent different aesthetics in their production and conceptual styles, in addition to having a significantly different subscriber count. COLORS has 3 million subscribers while La Blogothèque has 522,411 subscribers as of June 20th, 2019.
COLORS
Labelled as the “most unique, avant-garde YouTube channel in today’s society”, this study selected YouTube channel ‘COLORS’ as one of its two channels to analyse. Based in Berlin, Germany - the strongly aesthetic nature of the platform is based around the idea that music like colours, fade into each other with few boundaries and is embodied in their tagline ‘all colours, no genres’ (Ye n. page.). From hip hop to electronic music and every genre in between, the radical channel promotes the most distinctive new artists from around the world and showcases their original sounds through its mise-en-scene like studio sessions set in a cube that changes colours according to what the artist is wearing. As the new trend-setter for music platforms, COLORS now holds profound media power.
It is also worth pointing out, that as the sole driver of the show’s programming, the content of COLORS is perpetually circulated by other media platforms who view it is a limitless source of quality content. Generating between 500,000 and 80 million views for their most popular artists, the COLORS shows often carry much more promotional power than a far more expensive music video (Thibault n. pag.). Most significantly, where the channel is an ideal object of study is in its delivery of liveness through a studio setting. By witnessing an artist deliver their performance in the environment of its original creation, audiences are predisposed to perceive liveness as undisturbed from any kind of external influence. This is a pivotal factor in the formation of authentic viewing experiences.
La Blogothèque
Having launched in Paris twelve years ago, La Blogothèque went viral for their ‘Take Away Shows’. Today, the production company continues to produce thousands of hours of music-based content. As pioneers in filming musicians in intimate settings and capturing impromptu performances, the channel has built a strong subscriber base along the way (around 522,411 subscribers and counting). Moreover, the channel has taken renowned indie Doshi 41
groups such as Jack White, Phoenix and Arcade Fire into the city of Paris for special once-in- a-lifetime performances by placing them in contexts of huge lofts, old castles and even elevators (Ye n. pag.).
By taking its audience on a musical journey through Paris, the media company’s mission is to “change the way people experience music” and they have managed to successfully execute this by curating beautiful, intimate and rare sessions with a wealth of established artists (‘Meet the Team: La Blogothèque’ Pias). With camera work that presents itself as raw, un-edited and stripped down – where the channel stands out from its numerous competitors is in its single-take, natural shots that appear unmodified and come as close to common perceptions of an authentic viewing experience as possible. These perceptions stem from clear depictions of intimacy and immediacy (with regards to unmediated forms of sound production) which is critical in establishing the authentic experience of liveness (Moore 211). Conceptually, La Blogothèque greatly differs from COLORS in a multitude of aspects; the most important of which is that in its profound effort to appear authentic, it loses the true sense of authenticity altogether, while appearing otherwise.
4.2. Data Analysis
The YouTube channels COLORS and Blogothèque were utilized as case studies, for which a content analysis of the top ten videos for each channel was conducted. This was determined by selecting videos with the highest view counts on each channel, resulting in a total of 20 videos. These videos were analysed according to their subscriber count, the date of origin, current view-count, likes, dislikes and description. Additionally, videos were evaluated according to their visual nature (camera angles, lighting, aesthetic curation, gestures of the artist and edit pattern) audio design (mood, acoustic style, vocal quality and production elements) and comments section (with a focus on the most popular comments as well as those that were relevant to larger themes within this study). It is worth mentioning, that as the focus of this study was to analyse the role of the interface in curating authentic viewing experiences, a higher emphasis was placed on visual rather than auditory elements.
4.3. Concepts to be analysed
In order to generate comprehensive insight into the present research question, this study analysed certain key concepts that were imperative to exploring larger themes of liveness and authenticity. Ten videos per channel were selected and critiqued under concepts such as ‘curating liveness’ (demonstrating the technical aspects that underlie the mediation of Doshi 42
live music channels) ‘staging spontaneity’ (referring to the unplanned yet planned nature of liveness as mentioned by Philip Auslander) and ‘when audio goes live’ (referring to facets of audio design that are integral to the presentation of the overall authentic experiences). Other concepts such as ‘notes on intimacy’, provided insight into the delicate process of facilitating intimate connections between artist and audience within the setting of the platform while ‘YouTube’s participatory culture’ described YouTube’s paramount role in the re-structuring of contemporary liveness through interactivity.
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5.0 Findings and Discussion 5.1 Curating Liveness: Key findings from YouTube channels COLORS & La Blogothèque
How do live music channels such as YouTube construct liveness as a form of authenticity? This thesis set out to explore possible answers to this question by conducting a content analysis consisting of ten videos each from YouTube channels ‘COLORS’ and ‘La Blogothèque’. Over the course of analysis, it was determined that new media technologies such as YouTube do not only facilitate but accelerate the way in which liveness can be edited and crafted for public consumption. While YouTube channels enable this via several means (such as the layout of its interface and high degree of interactivity), the present case studies determined that a deciding factor for authentic viewing experiences lies is in the contradictory perception of the live being better than the recorded. The following close reading will shed light on this processes that govern this over the course of the following sections: mediating the visual experience, staging spontaneity, when audio goes live, intimacy and liveness, YouTube as participatory culture and the reception of authentic viewing experiences.
5.2 Mediating the visual experience: camera angles, editing and aestheticism
With YouTube’s primarily visual nature, its mediation in this regard is the strongest. While both COLORS and La Blogothèque take pride in their portrayal of an artist in authentically live settings, certain patterns were uncovered that contradicted the legitimacy of such claims. One of the most prominent ways in which the visual experience is mediated is in the decisions made during the initial stages of the video’s conceptualization, specifically, the selection and use of camera angles. It is worth mentioning that a degree of importance has been provided to the analysis of camera angles as film theory has demonstrated camera angles influence in constructing and retaining coherent representations of stories (Kraft 291). In the present context, investigating the role of camera angles could prove valuable for the construction of authentic viewing experiences.
From the similarities noticed in the ten videos from COLORS, this study identified that each video comprised of three camera angles used interchangeably. These consisted of a low-angle wide shot (placing the artist in the foreground of the coloured cube) (see fig.6), a mid-shot (featuring the head of the artist until their waist) (see fig.7) and close-up shot Doshi 44
(filming the head of the artist till their upper torso) (see fig. 5). Interestingly, since the concept of COLORS is to mimic a studio session, the purpose that these camera angles served was to bring different visual perspectives of the artist’s performance while they remained stationary. A possible factor for this could be that in using repetitive camera angles creatively, the virtual audience is still able to maintain the ‘studio feel’ whilst enjoying the advantage of the immersive experience brought about by YouTube. An example of this can be seen in a video by COLORS artist Billie Eilish in her song ‘watch’. The video, having gained over 17 million views so far, films the artist from a low wide-angle shot, placing her in the centre of the cube. She is wearing all-black clothing which is starkly contrasted by the mustard yellow background against which she is performing. This presents an expectation for the song genre before she has begun to deliver her vocals. As the artist starts to integrate body movement and hand gestures interpretively, the camera moves to a mid-shot, filming the side profile of the artist up until her waist. This subsequently transmits the effect of witnessing a studio session in action and in doing so conveys a sense of authenticity delivered by the artist. This can be explained by theory from Allan Moore, who states that rather than engaging with the gestures and acts themselves, the audience becomes directly engaged with the originator of these acts and views them as investing authenticity into the performance (Moore 214). Most significantly, changes in camera shots are synced to pauses in percussion, which make the audio-visual effect on the viewer profound and any kind of mediation hard to detect.
Figure 5: close-up shot Figure 6: wide shot Figure 7: mid-shot
In contrast, the camera work of La Blogothèque is much more fluid and ‘naturalistic’ in its mediation style than its counterpart. Upon close examination, it was found that the camera work of the channel, consisted mostly of one-take shots, with the feel of a hand-held camera. Shots consisted of extreme close-ups that filmed the artists so invasively that they seemed almost intrusive. Each video was also prevalent with spontaneous imagery of the setting in which the artists were performing. This imagery ranged from shots of the city, to Doshi 45
passers-by, onlookers and even traffic. Since the concept of the channel is to film musicians performing in cityscapes and unconventional contexts, it was evident that the editing pattern of the channel concentrated as much on the environment as the artists. In a video by indie- rock band ‘Alt-J’, the video begins with an overhead shot of Paris introducing the setting. It then moves to a close-up shot of a man with a little girl next to him playing the glockenspiel (see fig.8). Meanwhile, the other band members are filmed with extreme close-ups interspersed with sporadic shots of dogs in the surrounding park (see fig.10). As the setting of the band changes, shots linger on interactions that are reflective of the nostalgic mood of the video in order to hold the curated effect. A perfect example of this is a sequence where a man and woman embrace as he turns a music box (see fig.9).
Figure 8: opening sequence Figure 9: scene during setting change Figure 10: band plays in the park
While the examples above illustrate that the curation of liveness begins at the early stages of conceptualization, where YouTube accelerates the reception of liveness is through its comments section. For COLORS, the decisions regarding colour choice not only set an expectation for the song genre, but also packages the artist in line with their performance style. This is embodied in the stark colour contrasts of the artists clothing choice against the backdrop colour. Examples of this can be seen in a video by British R&B singer Mahalia in her song ‘Sober’. In the video, the artist sports a head to toe red ensemble which is striking against the cobalt blue background chosen for her performance. This analysis determined that the reception for such visual contrasts were indeed acknowledged by users, with one user ‘Lollipop’ commenting “Colors: Ok Mahalia your colour will be blue. Mahalia: Okay I’m gonna dress in red”. The resonance with this can be seen in the 3,800 likes garnered by the comment. Interestingly, the show’s work with using colours to represent the aesthetic of an artist, has even allowed it to become a star attraction in its own right. In a video by Tel Aviv artist Dennis Lloyd in his song ‘Leftover’, one user ‘Luna’ comments “I’m gonna need you Doshi 46
guys to put the hexadecimal codes of the colors you use as the titles and backgrounds bc they are always so good. I always come back to your videos when I need color inspiration”. 1,300 likes were provided to this comment.
While COLORS builds on its mediation of the live through an artificial aesthetic, certain patterns were uncovered upon analysis which indicated that La Blogothèque conducts similar processes with a more naturalistically oriented approach; that draws from romanticizing the artist by placing them in unconventional locations or outdoor settings. The aesthetic that is generated by this process is presented in a video by British soul and folk singer Lianne La Havas. In her live video ‘No room for doubt’ the visuals feature the artist playing her guitar and singing through the neighbourhood of Montmartre in Paris (see fig.11). The dreamy and whimsical visuals of the artist walking through cafes, restaurants, tourists, artworks and street performers have a magnetic effect on the YouTube audience (see fig.12). As one user ‘BarbaraDayDream’ comments “God she’s like a walking poem. Beautiful”. The resonation with this comment can be seen in the 1500 likes provided by other users. Another user ‘Kristen Mcllargey’ notes “love the way this was shot. So romantic”.
What examples such as these illustrate is that while liveness’s mediation may stem from more common notions of camera work and edit patterns, a crucial component in how authenticity is ‘packaged’ is in the unique conceptual aesthetics that live music channels develop each performance around. It is through such aesthetics delivered by live music channels; whereby meaningful action is delivered, and value is generated (Grünewald and Haupt 3). This implies that while each performance may differ from each other in terms of content, they still contain a unique thumbprint - an easily identifiable link that keeps drawing its loyal followers back. This forms the foundation for what will later be coined as authentic viewing experiences.
Figure 11: Artist walks down Montmatre Figure 12: Street performer captured by camera Doshi 47
5.3 Staging Spontaneity
While analysing the videos of both channels, two structural elements were identified for both COLORS and La Blogothèque. These were spontaneity and staging. First, spontaneity. As illustrated within previously explained theory, spontaneity plays a vital role for the audience in gauging the intentions of the performer. It is worth noting that especially for La Blogothèque, the spontaneous actions and decisions of the artists performing through cities presented themselves numerous times and were vital indicators of the authentic nature of their performances. Such elements of liveness served as perfect reminders for the audience regarding the legitimacy of the performance, without it being live at all. An ideal example of this can be seen in a video by band Bon Iver and their video ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ featured on La Blogothèque. With over 5 million views, the video starts with the camera following the band down a narrow stairwell and into a basement. While the band starts to set up their instruments, a resident of the building who is passing by is stopped by the cameraperson and interviewed about his thoughts on the musicians performing (see fig.13). To capture even more spontaneous interactions, two people enter from the back of the building where the band is stationed. A dog then enters the frame and starts interacting with the bandmembers (see fig.14). The decisions of the cameraperson to capture what would usually be categorized as behind-the-scenes footage as the opening sequence of the video, has direct intentions to instil a relatively unplanned or spontaneous feel to the rest of the live performance. This is adequately summed up by one user ‘Emily Rose’ who comments “Why can’t I ever be at the right place at the right time like this?!”.
Figure 13: Resident being interviewed about the performance Figure 14: Dog interacting with the band Doshi 48
While the studio session style of COLORS does not give it the room to exercise spontaneity to the extent with which La Blogothèque is able to, it still manages to do so subtly. From the ten videos studied, it was determined that COLORS presents spontaneity by adding certain elements to specific performances; these range from more prominent elements such as the inclusion of musical instruments or even as minute as placing a cigarette in the hand of an artist. An appropriate example of COLORS interpretation on spontaneity is in a performance by COLORS artist Daniel Caeser in his video ‘Best Part’. Having generated over 14 million views and 34,000 likes, the video opens with a mauve background. The camera films the artist in the middle of the cube and he is holding a white teacup in his hand (see fig.15). Interestingly, only after the first verse of the song and 1:28 seconds, does the camera move back into a wide shot to film the artist taking the first sip of the cup (see fig.16). What is interesting about this example is that while the placement of the teacup in the performance might very well be pre-meditated, this is not perceived by the YouTube audience. With one user ‘Kaito Ran’ commenting “Daniel hesitating whether or not he has enough time to drink tea is oddly relatable”. 5,400 likes were provided to this comment. Such instances of spontaneity are of great significance to this study, as they are strongly linked to notions of authenticity and intimacy - evident from the user’s inclusion of the term ‘relatable’. As Paul Sanden explains, the liveness of spontaneity is explicitly linked to an authenticity of expression (Sanden 72).
Figure 15: Opening image of video Figure 16: Wide-shot of artist sipping his tea
In the same manner that spontaneity lays the foundation for expectations of an authentic viewing experience, so does staging. Both COLORS and La Blogothèque skilfully Doshi 49
capture certain visuals that refer to common notions of liveness in the real world. The ways in which liveness is staged can be seen in the few extra seconds that the camera chooses to linger, or in capturing the interaction between strangers, even the close-up of an instrument. For La Blogothèque, an example of staging Liveness can be seen in a song by British soul singer-songwriter Lianne La Havas in her video ‘No Room For Doubt’. While the artist walks through the bustling French neighbourhood of Montmatre, the camera deviates from extreme close-up shots of the artist to a seven second interaction. Between 2:52 – 2:59 a waiter who is carrying an empty tray walks past the artist, acknowledges and smiles at her (see fig.17 and 18). By shifting the camera’s focus entirely on this momentary exchange, the reference to what one would commonly associate with liveness in the real world is registered by the virtual audience. As one user Misa Rai comments: “I love how that one guy smiles. Just very calm and happy. Kind of just living in the moment enjoying a nice quick performance”.
Figure 17: Waiter notices artist passing by Figure 18: Artist smiles in acknowledgment
In a similar manner, it was noticed that COLORS also inserts cues to stage liveness in order to transmit authenticity. In a video by Tel Aviv artist Dennis Lloyd in his song ‘Leftovers’, the opening shot of the 27 million view-count video consists of a low-angle shot of the artist with a trumpet in focus (see fig.19). Significantly, while the thumbnail of the video features the artist playing the trumpet (see fig.20) in reality, the artist only plays it halfway through the performance (specifically, from 2:08 – 2:44). The build-up that this eventually creates, provides the viewer with a more focused view of instrument. This demonstrates that while the artist does not play the trumpet at more points during the video, it was indeed staged to appear that way. The effect of this is embodied in the comment of one Doshi 50
user ‘DareDog101’ who writes “I just wanted to hear the trumpet”. This comment received 2,200 likes.
Figure 19: Opening shot of video Figure 20: Thumbnail of video
5.4 When Audio Goes Live
While this study emphasized the visual elements of live performance more than that of the audio, it is important to point out that certain facets of audio design greatly contribute to the shaping of authentic viewing experiences within liveness. As previously cited theory has demonstrated, the authentication of the individual performance has been problematized through perfecting sound reproduction technology (Marshall 198). For La Blogothèque, the channel’s outdoor-oriented audio design is embodied in a performance by indie baroque band Fleet Foxes and their song ‘Blue Ridge Mountain’. The video, having generated over 3 million views, opens with acapella harmonies. Interestingly, at 57 seconds into the video, the audience receives minor glimpse of greenery– suggesting the harmonies are being sung at a park. Nevertheless, it is worth pointing out that while the acoustics may appear to be set outdoor, realistically, this is not the case.
This circles back to Auslander’s theory which talks about the invisible use of microphones placed on actors’ bodies which amplify a voice as “natural” (Auslander 38). Moreover, the instruments of the band are only audible at 2:25 seconds into the song, when the band moves into an empty room. With the change in setting, the acoustics of the band’s harmonies also change. The pull and push of the acoustics within the performance is vital in delivering the natural feel of the audio which contributes significantly to the overall Doshi 51
experience of the video. Moreover, by designing the audio around live visuals, the raw and unedited feel of the live performance is much more profound.
COLORS does this differently. Upon analysis, it was determined that the liveness of its audio is highlighted by contrasting live elements with recorded elements. An example includes a performance by French singer-songwriter Angèle, and her song ‘Ta Reine’. Having received 25 million views, the audio of the song emits a great degree of smoothness combined with a light, airy, dream-pop sound. While the vocals of the artist act as the main driver of the video, the inclusion of pre-recorded background vocals at 1:57 brings forth an immediate ‘un-live’ element. This occurs once again at the end of the performance, with the artist improvising her vocals with supporting background harmonies. By contrasting pre- recorded elements within the context of the live performance, the liveness of the recording session is even more profound. Such examples depict that while visual curation may indeed be the driving force of curating liveness on YouTube, perceiving this liveness as authentic is dependent on the overall effect of the audio-visual.
This study also pin-pointed another key element within audio’s mediation – the presence of imperfections in order to certify authenticity. Several comments reflected this; one of which included comments by user ‘George Thompson’ for a video on La Blogothèque. He comments: “I love the rawness of this, the voice cracks and not hitting some notes like in the studio version. It brings a whole new level of emotion to the song (didn’t think it could get anymore emotional) which is absolutely incredible”. As an overarching theme, ‘rawness’ was consistently incorporated in the comments of users and proved to signify a fairly unedited version of the auditory element. One user ‘Morty Macmeth’ validates this in a COLORS video: “her voice is a little deeper and it’s only one vocal track, just so raw”. While the user could have no way of knowing for certain whether the performance is just one vocal track, the inclusion of rawness and vulnerability by means of hearing ‘unmodified’ imperfections presents audio as authentic.
5.5 Notes on Intimacy: Striking a Balance
In addition to the findings noted above, a critical element was identified that seemed to play a profound role in defining an authentic viewing experience – intimacy. While both channels enforced measures to consistently re-emphasize the ‘intimate’ nature of a performance, conveying intimacy through liveness is not always straightforward and a delicate balance needs to be met. An example of this can be seen in a video by band Bon Iver Doshi 52
on La Blogothèque which has generated over 25 million views. In a special performance as part of the channel’s ‘one to one’ series, the visuals start with a woman sitting down on a chair with a Tibetan bowl on her head (see fig.21). Text then plays on the screen explaining that “it was in Oct 2016, in Berlin, during michelberger music. Between each show they were kidnapping a member of the audience where they were taken to a secret room where an artist was waiting. Between the two of them, a unique experience”. The Tibetan bowl is then removed from the woman’s head to reveal a blindfold which is also taken off. She is surprised to see the artist sitting in front of her who introduces himself as Justin. An extreme close-up remains on the face of the woman as the artist plays the first few bars of his song, focusing on her expression alone (see fig.22).
It is worth mentioning that the focus of the camera for the first 2:18 seconds is not on the artist at all, but rather the reception of the woman who is alone and watching the performance of the artist. At three minutes, the camera moves to capture a different perspective - a side angle shot, to portray the artist and woman facing each other (see fig.23). There is no other furniture or objects in the room to serve as distractions from this interaction. The artist reaches down to adjust something, and the woman then turns her head to acknowledge the presence of the camera. It is this one momentary action that breaks the veil of what viewers would perceive as true authenticity to curated authenticity. While the ‘one to one’ concert seems to be designed around pure delivery and reception of authenticity through live music performance, the excessive focus on the woman’s reaction creates a forced sense of intimacy – one that is immediately picked up on by the viewer. This stems from what Nancy Baym coined as ‘relational labour’. She states that the more technologically mediated society has become; the more stress has been placed upon performances to deliver a natural feeling (Baym 17).
As one user ‘kstreet’ comments “Love this in theory, but the way they filmed it shattered the illusion of intimacy. Her body language makes it clear that she's trying to be calm but she's put on guard or disoriented by the observation of a camera/cameraperson, instead of being fully present in the moment with just him. This, but filmed with hidden cameras that she's told about later could be really special, though”. The resonance with this can be seen in the 1,100 likes provided to this comment. Nevertheless, other users had different opinions. In response to this comment, one user ‘Mauricio Thompson’ writes “see that's your first time here in La Blogothèque lol THERE IS NO La Blogothèque without camera movement or being present with the artist and the audience, that's exactly the organic Doshi 53
aesthetic that Vincent Moon created in this project in the first place, so just chill and enjoy this beautiful piece of video and art ;)”. What such examples illustrate is that while intimacy may be crucial in moulding the authenticity of a performance, its effectiveness is determined in striking the right balance. Too much documentation can lead to a split difference in opinions regarding the legitimacy of the video, while too little could threaten its liveness altogether.
Figure 21: Opening sequence Figure 22: First reaction of woman Figure 23: Side perspective
5.6 YouTube’s participatory culture
As theory has demonstrated, where YouTube stands out from other platforms is in its unique ability to merge participation with interaction (Khan 237). The multi-function nature of YouTube provides it with an edge. Live performances are not just passively consumed, but the facilitation of discussion by the platform grounds immediate reactions in an environment of other likeminded users. According to Davis and Chouinard in their theory of affordances, the mechanism of ‘request’ requests a certain line of action for a user, inviting subjects to engage in such a way that it evokes a particular outcome (Davis and Chouinard 3). In the current context, this outcome is audience attention, and the layout of YouTube’s interface is integral in executing this. The platform’s features to ‘like’, ‘dislike’, ‘share’ and ‘comment’ on a live video provides users with the possibility to not just witness a performance, but to engage with it in a meaningful way and share such meaning with others in the platform’s community.
Moreover, it is worth pointing out that each feature of YouTube plays a significant role in curating the reception of liveness. For example; while ‘likes’ and ‘dislikes’ serve as indicators for music preference, ‘comments’ provide space for music fans to discuss deeper aspects of a live performance or even provide additional information about the artist. As earlier literature has indicated, it is the socialization of information that has enabled new conversations to form the basis of interactive media (Solis 4). An extreme example of Doshi 54
information providing can be seen in a COLORS video by artist Dean on his song ‘Love’. One user ‘Just Birdie’ provides other users with the exact information on where they can find the clothing sported by the artist. Just Birdie: “*DEAN OUTFIT INFO* Long Kimono Jacket From H T. MANIAC SFB Jungle Dunk Sneakers from NIKE x UNDERCOVER [only available second hand tho] His hat Trefoil Cap from ADIDAS ORIGINALS. You welcome y'all. EDIT: I'm surprise a lot of people are glad I found his outfit. I got y'all fam Dean got one of the best fashion styles in Korean R&B”. This comment gained 2,900 likes.
It is worth mentioning, that while YouTube’s participatory framework facilitates information giving, it also enables a wide variety of discussion about the live performance itself. A COLORS video by artist ‘Kidd Keo’ and his song ‘Foreign’ demonstrates this. The video’s popularity amongst the YouTube community can be seen in its 48 million views and counting. However, upon close inspection, the comments section indicated that there were mixed opinions regarding the performance. Criticism of the performance could be seen in a comment by user IvanSoil who comments in Spanish (the performance is bi-lingual, with verses in both Spanish and English) “‘La verdad es que se la ha jugado bastante para salir en el Colors Berlin. Cambiando su estilo, puesto que canta y entona, a la vez que va to burlao. A mí me ha gustado”. This literally translates into “The truth is that he has gambled a lot by appearing for Colors Berlin. Changed his style, the way he sings and announces, and I feel very deceived by him. I used to like him”.
The resonance with this comment can be seen in the 6,400 likes and 45 replies provided. By providing likes and dislikes to both the performance itself and comments such as the one described above, liveness is mediated just as much from front-end mediators (YouTube’s users) as much as their back-end counterparts (producers, editors and videographers). These actors play an active role in YouTube’s participatory culture by using the interface’s affordances as a kind of currency, one where a ‘like’ or ‘dislike’ transcends an opinion into something much more profound. Such discoveries point back to formerly stated theory by Burgess and Green; through the raw frequencies generated from comments, likes and views, users either produce content that will qualify as popular through a pre-set criterion or can ignore it altogether (Burgess and Green 41).
Another vital component to the participatory framework of YouTube’s interface is in its time indication. By allowing its users to stop at the precise minute and second of a video through a hyperlink feature, users are provided with reference points for discussion with other Doshi 55
users. During this analysis, it was found that this feature served several different purposes – allowing commenters to be critical, comedic or even just to point out subtle aspects of the performance that would be otherwise missed. Examples of these ranged from the facial expression of the artist at a certain point in the performance or even to point out the actions of an onlooker. A perfect depiction of this can be seen in a video by Bon Iver on channel La Blogothèque. One user ‘Samantha’, comments “from 5:50 to 6:00 is the most beautiful voice on earth”. Other users talk about the actions of audience members in the video, another user ‘Matt Mort’ writes “5:00, how could you walk away from that enthralling performance?! I wouldn’t be able to move”. As earlier theory from Moore has highlighted, in allowing users to be instantaneously transported to specific points in the performance, users are able to express their ‘individual authenticity’ and verify this within the framework of ‘social authenticity’, further validating the individual’s experience of the performance (Moore 215).
5.7 The live surpasses the record: the reception of the authentic experience
While this study has thus far acknowledged the direct impact of liveness’s mediation on YouTube’s audience, the impact of authenticity is registered differently. This study identified numerous occasions which stressed the live version being just as good or even surpassing the record. Examples included comments by users such as ‘WhoaitsA’ who on a Billie Eilish song featured on COLORS comments: “sounds just like the original she’s the besttt”. The unanimous agreement with this comment could be seen in the 8,300 likes and 32 replies provided by other users. Interestingly, this re-affirms theory by Marshall, who emphasises the significance of the live event in authenticating the pleasure and meaning of the records through a lived experience (Marshall 202).
In addition to comparisons between the live and studio versions, this study also identified that authenticity was manifested in the hand gestures and actions of artists. This was noted by users such as ‘xs3NTRYx’ in a COLORS video by artist Mahalia. The user states “So I’ve watched a number of COLORS show, and Mahalia sells her performance more than any other artist I’ve seen. I don’t know if it’s the fact that she talks to the mic when she sings, and performs as if it’s a conversation, with hand gestures and all, but she legitimizes the lyricism behind her music through generosity in her performance 100%”. This comment is a direct indication of Moore’s theory in action, who states that the sonic gestures and acts made by artists are indicative of them investing authenticity in such acts (Moore 214). Doshi 56
Lastly, authenticity’s reception also manifested in comments that suggested ‘living in the moment’ without the audience in the video recording the performance on cell-phones. Examples include a comment by user ‘cody martinez’ who on a video by artist Bon Iver for La Blogothèque writes: “one thing I really love about this...these people will never get such an intimate performance ever again in their life from their seemingly favourite artist, yet they don’t have phones out. On the contrary they are closing their eyes and really feeling the music, a true audience showing the truest appreciation for a great musician”. 224 likes were provided to this comment. Significantly, the paradoxical nature of liveness that Philip Auslander writes about is in full effect here – specifically, that while live performance may be a product of media technologies, it’s emphasis on being separated from these technologies is integral to it being deemed as authentic.
From the twenty videos analysed for the present content analysis and through its strongly interactive nature, this study verifies that the role of YouTube in curating authentic viewing experiences exists is in its profound ability to place virtual liveness within a reality- based framework, allowing for instantaneous discussions between music fans spread across the globe. From the ten videos studied respectively for both COLORS and La Blogothèque, a string of commonalities and patterns kept re-surfacing. These patterns demonstrated that for a performance to be perceived as authentic, a set of certain criteria needed to be fulfilled. Specifically; that editing must seem unplanned and spontaneous, virtual interactions must reflect real life, audio must sound ‘natural’ and ingrained with emotion, intimacy must be portrayed to the right degree and YouTube’s features used as an economy. What this establishes, is that while the curation of liveness does indeed exist, the seamless way in which elements of curation are integrated into the platform’s interface allows it to unnoticed and perceived as an authentic viewing experience.
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6.0 Concluding Remarks and Further Research
This research set out to explore YouTube’s role in constructing authentic viewing experiences through live music channels. Based on contextualizing a detailed body of work from popular music studies, performance studies and platform studies, it was determined that the advent of the digital era on the music industry has been pivotal in the re-organization of liveness as the latest chapter in music commodities; with YouTube playing a pivotal role. Today, music fans are no longer presented with traditional forms of liveness associated with the separation of stage and audience, but instead are exposed to an immediate experience of the live with deeply immersive content. As the theoretical literature used in this analysis has demonstrated, contemporary liveness is governed by intimacy, spontaneity, interactivity and relational labour – each of which collectively interact to transform a live performance into an authentic experience through the technological fluidity of the platform. Moreover, the inter- changeable way in which the stage and the screen have come to be viewed has stemmed largely from ‘mediatized liveness’ with an array of mediators (producers, editors, sound engineers and camera people) capitalizing on flawless curation of live content through the information received from YouTube’s participatory culture.
In order to put these theories into practice, a comparative analysis was conducted focusing on two live music channels, each unique in their style and concept, and consequently carrying out a content analysis of the top ten videos on each of these channels. Results from the case studies of YouTube live music channels COLORS and La Blogothèque, produced findings in the form of patterns observed on several occasions which while representing liveness, was not necessarily live at all. Through a detailed visual analysis of camera angles, editing and aesthetic curation, a close reading of the comments section and an inquiry into audio design, it was found that the visual curation of live music channels tailor the audience’s reception of an artist by knowing what resonates as authentic, and crafting live content accordingly. This is also assisted by the information received from reactions to previous videos grounded in fan engagement and discussion facilitated by YouTube as a participatory and social platform. Through likes, dislikes and comments, the platform facilitates a unique environment that challenges the perception of a musician and their music through set criteria, and in doing so, ultimately influences what is deemed as popular or ‘authentic’. Doshi 58
It should be noted that this study faced certain limitations which should be viewed as areas of improvement for further research. A primary limitation to consider is that since the time of writing this study, figures recorded for categories such as likes, dislikes and view count will have significantly fluctuated. The findings of this study are therefore specific to the time in which this research was conducted and are subject to change. Consequently, the top ten most popular videos from each channel will have varied. Moreover, while each video was studied in detail, the sample size of ten videos per channel was not representative enough to make larger assumptions regarding consumption patterns of liveness. Furthermore, since both channels are based in Europe, the sample holds a western bias of authentic experiences and therefore lacks cross-cultural representativeness. What this study contributes, is a framework by which liveness can be studied through the lens of new media platforms such as YouTube and illustrates the importance of live music channels as objects of analysis which can inform research on authenticity in the age of modern liveness. Further research may choose to adopt different sites and channels for analysis on YouTube and may also study platforms such as Netflix and Tidal which are valuable and insightful case studies.
It is also worth mentioning that as the theory illustrated for this study approached authenticity as a social construction, this study lacked a musicological approach. This might have been beneficial in identifying specific melodic or harmonic features, eliciting certain emotions within the audience. Lastly, this research is biased towards representations of liveness that are inclined towards direct observation from the perspective of an audience member. In order to gain more holistic evidence, it would have been beneficial to include interview data from producers, editors and developers themselves which could have provided vital insight into YouTube’s back end processes.
Ultimately, what this study has demonstrated, is that the power of platforms is monumental not just in re-structuring the way in which music is consumed, but also in shaping our perception of how it should be consumed. Since relationships between musicians and their fans govern the present digital landscape, it is vital for audiences to build these relationships with a sense of awareness in order to identify influence on behalf of mediators when it occurs. For future research, it could be promising to hear from mediators and music fans themselves regarding perceptions of authenticity in order to add valuable feedback to this study. Research should also be conducted within other branches of media, as questions regarding authenticity are not only confined to popular music. Similarly, it would be Doshi 59
beneficial to embark on researching authentic listening experiences in addition to authentic viewing.
According to Moore, “‘authenticity’ is a matter of interpretation which is made and fought for from within a cultural and, thus, historicised position. It is ascribed, not inscribed. Whether a performance is authentic, then, depends on who 'we' are” (Moore 210). He continues, “However, if this quality that we call 'authenticity' does not inhere in the music we hear, where does it lie?” (Moore 210). This question by Moore aptly illustrates the urgency for authenticity to be questioned and identified in music. This is particularly manifested in the impact of new media technology on re-constructing contemporary liveness. To conclude, YouTube plays a pivotal role in creating authentic viewing experiences through live music channels; albeit with newly constructed ideas of what comprises authenticity.
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