Mashup (culture)

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Participants in an online music scene who rearrange spliced parts of musical pieces form mashup culture. The audio-files are normally in MP3 format and spliced with audio-editing software online. The new, edited song is called mashup.[1] The expression mashup culture is also strongly connected to mashup in music. Even though it was not originally a political community, the production of mash-up music is related to the issue of copyright. Mashup Culture is even regarded as "a response to larger technological, institutional, and social contexts".[2]

History

The history of mashup culture in general can be dated back to the beginnings of

Hip Hop before,[2] it was only with the rise of the MP3 audio file along with easy-to-use computer mash-up programs that mash-up was transformed into an own culture as such. Especially peer-to-peer sharing was contributing to this phenomenon: People who create mashup music can easily distribute it and share it with other people through online programs.[1]

Forms of mashup culture

Cover of the Mixtape Mash Up 2 by DJ Jopez

Mashup culture is motivated by a number of different factors.

Statement of art

Mashup culture is sometimes regarded as a cultural movement against common, existing music that is published by the music industry. In 2002, a Newsweek article described the mashup of songs as a strategy of Londoner DJs to transform music they considered bad into something they could appreciate and were willing to listen to.[1] Even though mashup culture has its origin in online communities, it entered a more art-related realm. It is art used as a statement against the content music industry provides.[2]

Political statement

It can even be considered as a political statement against copyright laws and restrictions imposed by the government as well. "Reframing of the original narrative" is regarded as a way to create a new and unique product which leads to a "fresh perspective" of the original.[3] Murray states "there’s the question of the kind of Internet we want moving forward – one increasingly controlled by corporate

gatekeepers who get to sanction what creative expression looks like, or one in which the freedom of this expression is valued above share price". Copyright issues have always been limiting the possibilities of mashup culture. Those implications by law have led to the problem of online piracy.[1] Mashups are often created with illegally acquired content. This closeness to illegality has become part of this culture. "In some cases, the illegality of piracy contributes to the appeal of unauthorized copies online" states Shiga in her article Copy-and-Persist: The Logic of Mash-Up Culture
. Even though copyright laws were intentionally supposed to stop illegal downloads, they contributed to the appeal of mashup and to the culture existing around it.

Do-it-yourself culture

Another important aspect of the success of mashup culture nowadays lies in the do-it-yourself or DIY trend. Consumers are turning into producers as well, especially due to the simplification of online tools that help creating personalized content.

The audience is taking on a DIY spirit, each masher becoming a mini-Burroughs, cutting the music and pasting it on a blank sheet of MP3

— Serazio[2]

Mashup in current literature

DJ Spooky

Paul D. Miller, also known as

sampling as an essential part of our society. The book was published by the MIT Press and has been regarded highly by scholars such as Lawrence Lessig.[5]

See also

Literature

  • Weidenbaum, Marc (2008). "Mix and mash-up — An experimental musician explores how technology has transformed our cut-and-paste culture". Nature. 453 (33–34). Nature Publishing Group: 33–34.
    doi:10.1038/453033a
    .

References

  1. ^
    S2CID 55531490
    .
  2. ^
    S2CID 30186562
    .
  3. ^ a b Murray, Ben. (22 March 2015). "Temixing Culture And Why The Art Of The Mash-Up Matters". Tech Crunch.
  4. S2CID 33366354
    .
  5. ^ a b Weidenbaum 2008
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mashup_(culture)&oldid=1146314673"