Abstract
Listen, Watch, Play and Relax: YouTube, Video Games and Library Music in Everyday Life During the PandemicJoana Freitas <#Biographies> , Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, PortugalJoão Francisco PorfÃrio <#Biographies> , Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, PortugalJúlia Durand <#Biographies> , Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal
Highlights
With the spread of Covid- and the consequent lockdown measures implemented by numerous countries, it didn’t take long for musicians and other professionals in the music industries to express a shared anxiety: what would be the impact of the pandemic on their work? From the new practices they would have to adopt, to the drastic decrease of their income, the possible solutions to the problems and the debate surrounding them have had public visibility when it comes to cancelled concerts and festivals, delayed album releases, bars and other live music venues that have closed down, and suspended music lessons.the media widely reported the concern felt by musicians whose main income sources derive from performance and the release of music through traditional record labels
An online article in Rolling Stone lamented the cancellation of the Coachella festival, of tours by both famous and lesser-known musicians, and the closure of large concert halls, beginning with the alarming statement that: “COVID- has totally upended music By mid-March, the coronavirus pandemic had effectively put the multibillion-dollar concert industry on indefinite pause and brought cataclysmic knock-on effects into the rest of the music business as well.”[1]. In this period, Wikipedia was already hosting a page called “Impact of the Covid- pandemic on the music industry,” with a listing of the various types of events affected: festivals, conferences, tours, concerts, artistic residences, contests, and award ceremonies.[2]
With the rapid dynamisation of digital music experiences from different musical genres and distinct forms of artistic production, new virtual spaces are being created in an attempt to connect producers, promoting debates about creativity and creation in times of crisis and the respective feedback from audiences.57Although it is not yet possible to determine how this matter will be transformed, the convergence between the dimensions of online music production and consumption and video games is undeniable; their music, soundscapes and transdiegetic relationships go beyond their origin in the virtual universe and become integrated into the daily lives of users, whether working, studying or relaxing, so consolidating empathic relationships during gameplay and enabling both virtual and non-virtual contact with other people
Summary
With the spread of Covid- and the consequent lockdown measures implemented by numerous countries, it didn’t take long for musicians and other professionals in the music industries to express a shared anxiety: what would be the impact of the pandemic on their work? From the new practices they would have to adopt, to the drastic decrease (or complete disappearance) of their income, the possible solutions to the problems and the debate surrounding them have had public visibility when it comes to cancelled concerts and festivals, delayed album releases, bars and other live music venues that have closed down, and suspended music lessons. The activities they involve allow players to feel a sense of normalcy They aren’t grounded in fantasy; rather, they run on a frontier-like narrative of building the land and connecting with neighbors to create community, fostering an environment where players feel they don’t compete but work together.[55] The global uncertainty of the near future impels the necessity to perform a number of adaptations and changes to daily lives to which the cultural industries, to borrow the language of Theodor Adorno, respond in the constant circulation of content and capital.[56] With the rapid dynamisation of digital music experiences from different musical genres and distinct forms of artistic production, new virtual spaces are being created in an attempt to connect producers, promoting debates about creativity and creation in times of crisis and the respective feedback from audiences.57Although it is not yet possible to determine how this matter will (continue to) be transformed, the convergence between the dimensions of online music production and consumption and video games is undeniable; their music, soundscapes and transdiegetic relationships go beyond their origin in the virtual universe and become integrated into the daily lives of users, whether working, studying or relaxing, so consolidating empathic relationships during gameplay and enabling both virtual and non-virtual contact with other people. By taking part in a music industry that is inextricably tied to the demands of audiovisual industries, they have worked through the pandemic by carrying on with the task that falls to library music composers; to create music that will be used in the media coverage of unfolding events, music that, in the meantime, is included in playlists that both reflect and predict all kinds of consequences and outcomes of the pandemic, from “medical tension” and “sombre news” to “online education” and “home workouts.”
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