Abstract
Reformatted: Code, Networks, and the Transformation of the Music Industry is a much needed and welcome addition to the literature on the geographies of music. There is relatively little work in the field which addresses digital music and the impact of software on the industry, something which is surprising considering its dominance of the contemporary music scene. In this book, Leyshon successfully weaves together spaces of creativity, production and consumption, addressing how software has reshaped and continues to reshape them. Situated within discourses beyond geography, the debates Leyshon addresses are not necessarily new. Despite this, he does bring important new viewpoints – for example, drawing upon gift economies as a way to analyse file sharing communities such as Napster. At times, however, it did feel as if he was going over old and familiar ground.
Reformatted reveals the tensions between creativity, economy and technology, and while critiquing the impact of software, the increasing influence of digital technologies within music is not positioned as inherently negative. The supposed crisis in what continues to be a resilient music industry is counterbalanced by the potential freedom digital music provides for artists no longer tied to traditional music institutions. Software has not killed creativity; instead, it is forcing the music industry to become more creative in order to find ways to capitalise on music products. Importantly, however, despite the ‘democratization’ of the music industry through software, Leyshon shows how most musicians still find it a challenge to generate an adequate income from their creative outputs, something which may be exacerbated for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The book does not come across as overly nostalgic or as presenting a romanticised view of earlier incarnations of the music industry. This is commendable, but more attention could have been paid to the importance of expressions of sentimentality and romanticism within a music industry in flux. Such notions underlie important debates about authenticity which have long been central to music economies. As software alters the production, reproduction and consumption of music, it is also accompanied by nostalgia for older media such as vinyl records, with an increasing number of artists releasing albums on vinyl as well as digital formats, and the rise of small reissue labels, and record stores specialising in vinyl.
Reformatted is an exceptional resource for those interested in the geographies of music and creative economies. Leyshon has produced a concise and thoroughly researched body of work, which should encourage other geographers to direct attention to these exciting areas. Indeed, his closing comment, that it remains to be seen what long-term impacts the exclusionary and inclusionary practices of a software driven music economy has on the future of the industry, is an important prompt for others to pursue research in similar directions.