5 - Live or Memorex? Changing perceptions of music practices

The shift from analog to digital cultures has impacted on our understandings of "liveness" in sound. The chapter seeks to address this challenge to past understandings not merely through changing constructions of performance, but also in the broader context of sound as active information moving freely online. Considerations of artists and consumers are drawn upon; however, it is proposed that such terms are no longer mutually exclusive as we all become "users" of sound: engaging, reshaping, and sharing digital information. Drawing on the thoughts and responses of musicians, sound recordists, and producers, Live or Memorex? addresses the changing meaning of "live." How audio is captured, manipulated, and presented in a digital context has impacted on music's exchange value, its functionality, and its use value. It has transformed our relationship with music products, increased our fascination with past music cultures, and created conflicts around authenticity, dynamics, and sound textures. The chapter looks to artists as early adopters and key users to build on wider readings of "live" in the shift to a predominantly digital ecology.