The impact of technology on cultural policies : Incidence des technologies sur les politiques culturelles : avenir de la musique

This report seeks to provide an overview of the major factors influencing the creation, manufacture and distribution of music during the last 150 years or so, up to the present, and to speculate on what changes we might expect in the next 10 years. [...] This paper is divided into three main sections: • a brief history of music technology • a summary of the current state of music technology and the future of music technology, and • a discussion of the future of copyrights and technology as it applies to music creation and distribution. [...] This report will attempt to cover the entire spectrum of creative activity beginning with the artist (which in this case would be a musician), some of the creation tools that they use (pianos, guitars, etc.), how they record their music (the technology associated with the creation and preservation of master performances), the distribution of musical artifacts, and continuing up to the listener. [...] Page 3 Technology and Music A brief history of music technology and its impact on the culture of music Technology and innovations in the culture of listening. [...] There is also the sentimental factor of being able to own a copy of an artistic work that one values, and the feeling of being able to contribute to the financial well-being of artists that we admire.