On Digital Platforms and AI for Music in the UK and China

Nick Bryan-Kinns, LI ZIJIN, and Xiaohua Sun

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract:

Digital technologies play a fundamental role in New Interfaces for Musical Expression as well as music making and consumption more widely. This paper reports on two workshops with music professionals and researchers who undertook an initial exploration of the differences between digital platforms (software and online services) for music in the UK and China. Differences were found in primary target user groups of digital platforms in the UK and China as well as the stages of the culture creation cycle they were developed for. Reasons for the divergence of digital platforms include differences in culture, regulation, and infrastructure, as well as the inherent Western bias of software for music making such as Digital Audio Workstations. Using AI to bridge between Western and Chinese music traditions is suggested as an opportunity to address aspects of the divergent landscape of digital platforms for music inside and outside China.

Citation:

Nick Bryan-Kinns, LI ZIJIN, and Xiaohua Sun. 2020. On Digital Platforms and AI for Music in the UK and China. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4813414

BibTeX Entry:

  @inproceedings{NIME20_69,
 abstract = {Digital technologies play a fundamental role in New Interfaces for Musical Expression as well as music making and consumption  more  widely. This paper reports on two workshops with music professionals and researchers who undertook an initial exploration of the differences between digital platforms (software and online services) for music in the UK and China. Differences were found in primary target user groups of digital platforms in the UK and China as well as the stages of the culture creation cycle they were developed for. Reasons for the divergence of digital platforms include differences in culture, regulation, and infrastructure, as well as the inherent Western bias of software for music making such as Digital Audio Workstations. Using AI to bridge between Western and Chinese music traditions is suggested as an opportunity to address aspects of the divergent landscape of digital platforms for music inside and outside China.},
 address = {Birmingham, UK},
 author = {Bryan-Kinns, Nick and ZIJIN, LI and Sun, Xiaohua},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.4813414},
 editor = {Romain Michon and Franziska Schroeder},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {July},
 pages = {357--360},
 presentation-video = {https://youtu.be/c7nkCBBTnDA},
 publisher = {Birmingham City University},
 title = {On Digital Platforms and AI for Music in the UK and China},
 url = {https://www.nime.org/proceedings/2020/nime2020_paper69.pdf},
 year = {2020}
}