Cloud Control

Crowned the king of communication, there’s no denying that social media is thriving worldwide. Some argue that social media could bring about a participatory culture or potentially democratise the economy. Other observers are more sceptical and stress social media’s realities as tools of control and power. However, no one can deny that social media is an undeniable force in today’s world, as discussed in this TED talk.

For the next few weeks, I have chosen to explore and discuss the musical world, that is, ‘SoundCloud’. I was familiar with the reputation of the site but I had never truly engaged with it. SoundCloud is a social sound platform where anyone can listen to or create sounds to share them with anyone in the world. After creating an account, I was able to keep tabs on my favourite artists, record labels and new outlets as their posts filled my stream, just as a Twitter or Facebook feed would. It appeared that SoundCloud would be a crucial step to branding yourself as an artist as it had a very popular reputation throughout the social networks.

Image 1: SoundCloud (2016)

Unless I was an artist myself, I was practically powerless. My greatest contribution was through reposting and liking my favourite songs, and through this – I was granting those artists even more power. SoundCloud has even introduced a monetization option for artists which enables them to make money off their creations. Allen argues that ‘power is no more to be found ‘in’ the apparatus of rule than sound is to be found ‘in’ the wood of musical instruments. It is, as suggested, a relational effect, not a property of someone or some ‘thing’’ (2003, p.5). Famous celebrities were considered the ‘elites’ in the SoundCloud world. ‘The elite are the few who have power; the masses are the many who do not. The elite are the few who control what is valued in society and use that control to shape the lives of others’ (Dye, 2005, p.5).

John Allen believes there are six specific modalities of power, which are ‘domination, authority, seduction, manipulation, coercion and the like to possess their own relational peculiarities’ (2003, p.2). SoundCloud relates to the seductive power as artists are exploiting the elemental language of music to keep listeners captive. However, seduction holds a ‘modest, suggestive’ quality which ‘leaves open the possibility for people to reject or remain indifferent to its pervasive exercise’ (Allen, 2003, p.10). This makes sense when it comes to a music sharing network as listening to a new song has a hit-or-miss type of power.  As I continue being a member of the SoundCloud community, I will be able to recognise the more powerful influences.  

References

Allen, J. (2003). Lost Geographies of Power. Malden: Blackwell Publishers.

Dye. (2005). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narrative and the Making of Place, week 2 notes [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Shirky,C. (2009). The power of social media. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/playlists/397/the_power_of_social_media

SoundCloud. (2016). Suggested Tracks [Image]. Retrieved from https://soundcloud-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Suggested_Tracks-1024x563.png