Aram Sinnreich

Margaret Thatcher's Cultural Legacy

Yesterday, I contributed to an interesting story on Marketplace Radio regarding Margaret Thatcher's musical legacy. There's a lot to say on this subject, but my basic point was that Thatcherism catalyzed the punk movement, which was still largely regional, at exactly the moment that media deregulation in the US and elsewhere made British culture a hot export. In essence, Thatcherism ended up promoting its own critique abroad.

The text version of the story has more of my input than the audio version.

 

Code vs. Code event (video)

A few weeks ago, I spoke at an event with P2P defense attorney Ray Beckerman on behalf of Ben Kallos' bid for a NYC Council seat. Here's the full video of the event, which covers a fair amount of copyright, law & policy stuff:

KCBS interview: Spotify, Pandora, Royalties, IRFA

There's a lot of talk going on these days about the business model for streaming music, specifically about what fair royalty rates might look like, and how to move the business model forward while compensating everyone fairly. I plan to address this in a longer blog post soon, but in the meantime you might be interested in hearing my quick take, recorded during a KCBS radio interview yesterday.

The MP3 of the interview is available here.

Larry Gross on why Communication & Media Studies matter

My dad recently confessed to me that, even after reading 1-1/2 of my books and following my career for 15 years, he has "no idea" what my work or my field is about (my historian sister and law student brother have an easier time justifying themselves). While this is a bit close to home, it is unfortunately not uncommon for people I know to express confusion or even disdain about my chosen field. As the comedian Marc Maron responded when a recent interviewee on his WTF podcast said he'd majored in Communication as an undergraduate, "isn't that just a catch-all field for people who don't know what they're interested in?" (I'm paraphrasing). 

At the recent International Communication Association conference in Phoenix, ICA president (and my former doctoral advisor) Larry Gross gave a blistering speech, outlining several challenges faced by the academy in general and our field in particular. One of his points was the challenge of "cultivating engaged scholars and scholarship." In the course of these remarks, he delivered what I thought was a pretty spot-on description of why -- and how -- I do what I do:

Today we see political leaders everywhere agreeing on the necessity of imposing austerity on the 99% to pay the bills run up by the 1% -- and education is prominent among the institutions being sacrificed in the name of “fiscal responsibility.”

While conspiracy theories are often more fervently held than they are empirically sustainable, in this instance a fair case can be made for a conscious effort on the part of the “establishment” of the post-1960s era to roll back what they saw as an assault on their power.  The case rests in part on a 1971 memorandum that a successful corporate lawyer named Lewis Powell addressed to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  The memorandum outlined the dangers Powell believed the corporate establishment needed to comprehend and counter:

"No thoughtful person can question that the American economic system is under broad attack. This varies in scope, intensity, in the techniques employed, and in the level of visibility…what now concerns us is quite new in the history of America. We are not dealing with sporadic or isolated attacks from a relatively few extremists or even from the minority socialist cadre. Rather, the assault on the enterprise system is broadly based and consistently pursued. It is gaining momentum and converts…The most disquieting voices joining the chorus of criticism come from perfectly respectable elements of society: from the college campus, the pulpit, the media, the intellectual and literary journals, the arts and sciences, and from politicians."

The Powell Memorandum laid out in great detail not only the causes for alarm but a strategy for counter-revolution.  Powell’s advice has been credited with turning on the faucet that poured millions of dollars into funding right-wing institutes, think tanks and advocacy groups.  Powell understood the need for a long march strategy and his vision has been vindicated by the political shifts in the United States during the past four decades.  President Richard Nixon must have appreciated Powell’s wisdom, as he appointed him to the U.S. Supreme Court shortly after the memorandum was written.

In the spirit of the Powell memorandum the right wing in the U.S. broadened the focus of the counter-revolution from their perennial target of popular culture to encompass the domain of elite culture. Communication scholarship and teaching figured in an important way in the debates over the role of the academy because we are among those who can be accused of "diluting or displacing" canonical texts in favor of the degraded products of popular culture.

By devoting serious attention to the mass media, communications scholars were among the first members of the academy to question the sanctity of the elite cultural canon. In fact, I would argue that the status of communications study within the American academy suffered for years -- and probably still does -- from our association with mass culture. 

What these "threats" had in common, and what provoked the enmity of right-thinking politicians, journalists and academics, is that they represented a specter haunting our society: subordinates getting uppity, silenced voices starting to speak out, new perspectives shifting the center of gravity towards the margins. But, despite the ferocity of the counterattack mounted against them, the marginal voices and forces were not in fact remotely as successful as the public was told. 

However much communication scholars expanded – or corrupted – the curriculum, and however much they challenged the universality of traditional canons, the field of communication studies in the United States was also retreating from an explicit engagement in the realm of political economy at the very moment that upheavals in communication technologies and media industries were transforming the national and global landscape.  Whether by design or unhappy coincidence the critical engagement of communication scholarship with these momentous developments and policy debates diminished, along with the imperative to train our students to participate in and contribute to these important decisions.

The result is that public policy debates are taking place in the US today with little meaningful input from communication scholars, and thus often with too little socially contextualized and theorized empirical data and research to inform them.  While many of our programs train graduate students to study media effects, media content, and media processes, too few of our students are trained in the study of media economics, law, regulation and policy, and fewer still are able to do this in a way that produces research that is both academically rigorous and yet useful and accessible to policymakers, media activists, and interested citizens.

We’re all familiar with the condescension if not contempt with which many academics view colleagues who address lay audiences rather than scholarly peers and graduate students. One of the ironies of the hostility to writing that addresses a broad audience rather than a peer cohort is that one such audience is comprised of our undergraduate students (and even some of our graduate students and colleagues in somewhat distant corners of the discipline).  As Jan Radway put it,

“the largest and most predictable audience for the material we generate is not composed of our professional peers.  Rather it is made up of young men and women, aged roughly eighteen to twenty-two, ranged before us in the classroom, seeking not only professional middle-class validation, but often guidance and reassurance about the appropriate emotional, moral, and political standpoint to take with respect to a confusing and oppressive world.”

 

New article: "Welcome to Alphaville, Avoid the Ghetto"

Truthdig.com just published my new article, "Welcome to Alphaville, Avoid the Ghetto." It's about what happens when smartphones turn our entire life into a giant search engine, and then selectively hide the results without telling us.

...The world we see through our smartphones is a curated world, and its horizons are constricting, rather than expanding. Though they’re often billed as modern-day Diogenes’ lamps, outshining the light of day with the light of truth (or “augmenting reality,” in contemporary geekspeek), they would be better understood as corporate-sponsored guidebooks to our own lives, keeping us on the prescribed path and off the road less traveled....

For more, read the article on Truthdig.

Happy American Censorship Day

Today, in honor of American Censorship Day, I've replaced my standard banner with a cheerful black bar.

I do this as a form of protest against the spirit of censorship pervading the regulation of the Internet and other communications platforms -- specifically, the pending legislation known as ProtectIP and SOPA being discussed in a Congressional hearing today. This legislation would criminalize huge swaths of the Internet as we know it today, and put a politically unacceptable degree of censorship power in the hands of government and large corporations. I stand with organizations like Public Knowledge and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, as well as publishers like TechDirt and BoingBoing, in opposition to these measures, and I hope you will as well.

To find out more, and to take action, please visit AmericanCensorship.org.

 

Peter Maass lecture at Rutgers SC&I on Oct 3rd

I've somehow bamboozled my friend Peter Maass, the deservedly award-winning war correspondent and nonfiction author, to come give a talk at Rutgers in two weeks. I can't wait. Peter embodies that rare combination of intelligence, experience and humillity that makes for a great journalist, and a riveting lecturer.

The lecture is free! Hope you can make it. (You can download the flier here)

Draft Syllabus: Critiquing Marketing Communications

I'm preparing a brand new class for the fall, an online-only, masters-level course called "Critiquing Marketing Communications." It's part of our new masters program focusing on digital media. 

The basic premise is that marketing communications are one of the most common, and most influential, forms of communication in contemporary society. Yet it's largely sequestered in an academic ghetto. Most of the scholarship surrounding these communications either falls into the how-to category (e.g. Marketing 101) or into the realm of pure cultural criticism (e.g. Intro to Consumer Culture). What I aim to do is combine the practical and the theoretical, giving students a sense of how marketing works as an industry, and also access to some of the primary strains of criticism surrounding this form of expression.

Below is the final version of the syllabus. Whether you're in marketing, academia, or both, I welcome your feedback.

9/1-9/6: Unit 1 – Introduction: What are Marketing Communications?

Readings:

• Kleppner’s Advertising Procedure, Chap. 1 & 2.
• Mark Crispin Miller interview: http://to.pbs.org/qUpfQ1

9/7-9/13: Unit 2 – Marketing History & Landscape

Readings:

• Ogilvy, D. Ogilvy on Advertising, Chap. 18 
• Marchand, “Advertisements as Social Tableaux” in Advertising the American Dream
• Kleppner’s Advertising Procedure, Chap. 5.

9/14-9/20: Unit 3 – Foundations: Branding, Creative and Packaging

Readings:

• Ogilvy, D. Ogilvy on Advertising, Chap. 2
• Doug Atkin interview: http://to.pbs.org/ngHAFs
• Kevin Roberts interview: http://to.pbs.org/qzDF81
• NYT Article on Crispin Porter: http://nyti.ms/pXbEmy
• NYT Article on CP/BK breakup: http://nyti.ms/pr5LLQ

Optional, brief and recommended:

• Aaker on Brands (read 5 most recent blog posts): http://bit.ly/pjzy1G
• Video: Mad Men Carousel Scene: http://bit.ly/rdkbpL

Guest Interview: [name], President, [large advertising agency]

STUDENT BLOGGING BEGINS

9/21-9/27: Unit 4 – Foundations: Media Buying & Selling

Readings:

• Kleppner’s Advertising Procedure, Chap. 7.
• Baron & Sissors, Advertising Media Planning, 7^th Ed. Chap. 4 & 12 (thru p. 368)

Guest Interview:

• [name], Group Director, [large media agency]

STUDENT MODERATION OF DICSUSSION BOARD BEGINS

9/28-10/4: Unit 5 – Foundations: Public Relations

Readings:

• PRSA Code of Ethics: http://bit.ly/pLani3
• Bernays, American Public Relations: A Short History
• Boorstin, D. The image: A guide to pseudo-events in America, Intro & Chap. 1

Optional, brief and recommended:

• Article re: Kenneth Cole Twitter Fail: http://lat.ms/qObjN5
• PRwatch headlines: http://www.prwatch.org/headlines

Guest Interview:

• [name], Veteran PR consultant

10/5-10/11: Unit 6 – Critique: Mass & Consumer Culture

Readings:

• Gailbraith, J. K. The Affluent Society, Chap. 10 & 11.
• Schudson, M. “Historical Roots of Consumer Culture.” In Advertising, the Uneasy Persuasion.
• Ogilvy, D. Ogilvy on Advertising, Chap. 18

 10/12-10/18: Unit 7 – Critique: Branding

Readings:

• Klein, N. No Logo. Intro, Chaps 1-2.
• Quart, A. Branded: The Buying and Selling of Teenagers. Chap. 1.
• Frank, T. The Conquest of Cool, Chap. 11.
• MIDTERM ASSIGNED

10/19-10/25: Unit 8 – Critique: Race, Gender, Sexuality & Identity

Readings:

• Sivulka, “White Soap and Black Consumer Culture”
• Klein, No Logo, Chap. 5
• Ryder, “Talking Vaginas and Football Heroes: Gender, Race and Advertising” http://bit.ly/qIXGFC
• Sinnreich, “‘This Is What We Do’: Why I Hated Chrysler’s Super Bowl Ad” http://bit.ly/pDREqZ
• Article on Nivea ad: http://on.mash.to/p3LbbB
• Video: Colbert on Summer’s Eve http://gaw.kr/pKEaZ4
• MIDTERM DUE 10/25 at 11:30pm

10/26-11/1: Unit 9 – Backlash: Culture Jamming and Ad Busting

Readings:

• Lasn, K. Culture Jam, Introduction & “Spring”
• White, M. Toxic Culture. Adbusters. http://bit.ly/okEuHz
• Article: Ad-Free Sao Paolo: http://buswk.co/qbUUZ3
• Article: Junaio AR AD TAKEOVER: http://bit.ly/pWza3M
• Article: BP Twitter spoof: http://abcn.ws/pcASCt

Optional, brief and recommended:

• Sao Paolo Flickr set: http://bit.ly/pLugJX
• KAWS interview: http://bit.ly/qYg5z4

11/2-11/8: Unit 10 – Internet Marketing, 1995-2005 (Web, Email & Search)

Readings:

• Johnson, M. (1998). Rational Branding: Building Consumer Relationships Through Service. Jupiter Research.
• Mayar & Ramsay, Digital Impact: The Two Secrets to Online Marketing Success. Chapters 4, 5 & 6

Guest Interview:

• [name], co-founder, [interactive media research fim] 

11/9-11/15: Unit 11 – Internet Marketing, 2006-11 (Social, Mobile & Beyond)

Readings:

• The Hectic Schedule of a Social Media Manager: http://bit.ly/qwn64t
• Charlesworth, D. It’s About Good Link, Not Good Ink. Journal of Integrated Marketing Communications. (pp. 38-43 of http://bit.ly/qbkYFY)
• Mayar & Ramsay, Digital Impact: The Two Secrets to Online Marketing Success. Chapters 7 & 8

Guest Interview:

• Guest Interview: [name], Communication Director, [major social media company]
• [name], [principal, boutique communications agency]

11/16-11/22: Unit 12 – Critique: Digital Rights & Privacy

Readings:

• FB Beacon article: http://bit.ly/oNRsAF
• FB Beacon analysis: http://bit.ly/pfgvf3
• Vaidhyanathan, S. The Googlization of Everything. Chap. 3.
• Zittrain, J. The Future of the Internet: And How to Stop It. Chap. 9. http://bit.ly/oOCOGB

11/23-11/29: THANKSGIVING BREAK 

11/30- 12/6: Unit 13 – Epilogue: Ghosts in the Machine?

Readings:

• Lanier, J. You Are Not A Gadget. Chap. 1
• Baym, N. Personal Connections in the Digital Age, Chap. 2
• Video: Ray Kurzweil on the Singularity: http://bit.ly/qM1epu
• FINAL PAPER ASSIGNED 

12/7-12/13: Unit 14 – Conclusion

Aram on the Sundance Channel's "Love Lust" [video]

A couple weeks ago, I was interviewed pretty extensively for the "social networks" episode of the Sundance Channel's show "Love Lust." As the promo video below shows, it strikes a nice balance between education and entertainment, with a bit of a bias toward the latter.

You can download the full episode from iTunes here: http://bit.ly/aramonsundance

Arista vs. LimeWire: My Expert Report

Earlier today, LimeWire and the major labels announced they've reached a settlement in the damages portion of their lawsuit, ending the biggest P2P trial since Grokster. The settlement was reportedly for $105 million -- a big chunk of change, but a small fraction of the billions (revised downward from trillions) sought by the RIAA.

I haven't commented publicly on this case for the past six months, because I was retained by LimeWire as the primary expert witness for the defense. In fact, I was scheduled to take the stand today, and only found out yesterday afternoon that the settlement talks were likely to bear fruit.

I was actually really looking forward to testifying, both because I felt that the RIAA's argument was largely bogus, and I hoped to have a chance to contradict their claims on the record, and because I find the larger subject of the music industry's transformation such a fascinating subject.

Fortunately, most of the testimony I would have given on the stand is part of the court record in written form. To be specific, I prepared a 20,000-word (65 page) report detailing the many reasons for the downturn in music sales, the many sources of free music available to consumers, and some of the many mistakes the labels themselves have made, contributing to their financial woes. I also weighed in on the scale of damages sought, arguing that a large damage award would likely have little or no effect on the amount of free music available online.

I'll probably turn this all into a book one of these days, but in the meantime, you can download and read the report in its original form here. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.