Global Entanglements, Music and the Commodification of Cultural Labour in the Age of AI

Tom Willma; Oliver Bown

Global Entanglements, Music and the Commodification of Cultural Labour in the Age of AI
Image credit: Tom Willma; Oliver Bown

Abstract:

A detailed page on the workshop is available here https://blogs.unsw.edu.au/ctrl/nime-2025-workshop-global-entanglements-music-and-the-commodification-of-cultural-labour-in-the-age-of-ai/.

Motivated by global discussions of socio-technical change and recent Australian legislative lobbying, this short-form, 3-hour workshop targets the commodification of cultural labour and current entanglements between social, political, corporate and technological actors in the music industry. The objective of this workshop is to hold a critically minded discussion between panellists from the Australian music sector and NIME colleagues, grappling with these sociotechnical imperatives both generally, across the industry, and particularly, within the context of live performance. The workshop offers an overview that survey’s sociotechnical change and AI use across global music industries and invites critical discussion of:

  • Key political-economic concerns in the music sector
  • Proposed frames for the NIME research community to engage with industry and develop strategies for ethical AI adoption
  • Directions for future discourses, policy considerations and further dialogues of sociotechnical transformation in the music industry

Discussions between panellists and attendees will be guided by three questions:

  • How to frame the political-economic changes that have been taking place in global music cultures, including but not limited to those involving AI and live virtualisation technologies.
  • How the NIME research community interfaces with music cultures beyond academia in an age of AI, particularly in the development of live music technologies.
  • What blind sports are being neglected by the current trajectory of political, industrial and academic discourses.

Joining us will be local music industry experts: Aakanksha Sidhu Artist Manager | Operations Manager at A New Approach (ANA) | Board volunteer at MusicACT & GUTS Dance.

Bryn Evans Songwriter and composer for TV, film, and media.

And NIME regular:

Andrew McPherson Imperial College London.