Notes on commodification and mediaization of religious music

Arc of this course:

(1) "Traditional" topics: holistic world-view. Concepts of "music" and "religion" are often not emic, hence artificial with respect to belief and practice.

• Recitation of sacred texts
• Chanting devotions
• Production of emotion (trance)
• Relation between religious and aesthetic expressions
• Relation between religious music and cosmology
• Religious discourse about music
• General: Ethnomusicological focus on relation between (etic) music and culture-society (religion, etc.)

(2) Differentiation of systems: art, religion, law, science, etc. within discourse and practice (emic difference)

• In particular: Music system is differentiated from religious system

• Differentiation: Corresponds to complex industrial society, monetary economy, division of labor

New topics arise:

• Religion in the music system (e.g. Christian rock, Christian jazz - in concert)
• Music in the religious system (e.g. Christian rock, jazz - in church)
• General impact of religion on music system
• General impact of music on religious sytem

• Media (technology), commodification (globalization)
  • Technology (concomitant of industrial society) enables media, music media, music mediation, accentuating the differentiation of systems.
  • Media system arises (media/techno-financial and global)
    • technology
    • media channels
    • production
    • distribution
    • consumption
  • Media logic
    • logic may vary depending on application (music, religion, etc.)
    • profit and power remain driving forces throughout
  • Instead of investigating relation of "music" and "culture-society", ethnomusicology now contends with 3 domains: "music", "media", and "culture-society".
    • Relation of "music" and "culture-society" ("religion") is mediated, impacted by media system.
    • Media system also affects both "music" and "culture-society" ("religion") directly.

- Driving forces: $, technology, power - Triadic