This is my last column for this year and what a year it has been. The hope and glee that marked its beginning soon gave way to widespread chaos and despair as a second wave descended upon us. As this column goes to press, the Omicron edition has already hit the headlines and we don’t know where we’re headed next.
There is an inspiring aggregation of offerings for the famous Chennai December season. While some organizations continue to have virtual festivals, others have decided to go offline, and some are attempting hybrid performances. Such presentation has created confusion among the listeners and the performers.
If online or hybrid is indeed the future, are we privileged only one month to load more and more hours of content, thereby establishing a law of diminishing marginal utility?
With companies like Spotify using the end of the year as a means to boost their traction figures, the delicate artistic ego has found another opportunity to engage in comparison. The “numbers game”, as a friend of mine called it, has seen a large number of bragging posts on social media, including the number of countries that have viewership (which is followed by a Facebook profile). is also mute, now viewable. Anywhere), the number of streams and hours that one’s music has been consumed and so forth. Nowhere do these figures reveal the quality of the audience or the progress of the performance – the actual feedback from the audience. For example, do we have the same kind of people who listen to our music multiple times or do many people listen for a few minutes and then get bored? To put it less succinctly, we are all now comparing the size of our homes as opposed to what is actually going on inside them.
powered by technology
I realize I sound like an old badass trying to judge a tech-obsessed world. But the fact remains that instead of we becoming more active and informed users of technology, companies driven by technology are now using us. With data being important, we are enhances skill and popularity rather than stepping back to see what’s really going on.
Technology in itself is not a terrible thing. Far from it, and I struggle with it everyday as an entrepreneur. And that means a lot of good things in other fields, including education and the arts. More and more audiences are getting used to interacting and learning online – and this has opened up new conversations, new audiences, and new ways to learn and absorb. It has brought the world closer to our collective ability to consume content.
But our obsession with numerical measures of success and the way it affects our psyche and mental health cannot be ignored. As we move into 2022, I sincerely wish we could use the lessons from the pandemic to slow down and work on our artistry in a more meaningful way. And step into a happier version of yourself. happy New Year.
The author is a renowned musician, teacher and Associate Professor at Kriya University.
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