Back to Basics I: What is Curation?

When one thinks of the word "curation", the image of immaculate museums, handpicked artefacts, and austere showcases may come to mind. But when that word permeates into the world of music, it takes on a whole new life.

What then is music curation?

On a rudimentary level, music curation is all about the collection and organisation of songs that seem to flow into one another, distinct, yet part of a cohesive theme, sound, or mood. For amateur enthusiasts like me, this would mean browsing my entire music collection and being able to create playlists from them that work together.

So maybe you're deep into an assignment but need some calming background music to keep you going? How about being guilty of constantly clicking the fast forward button after every track to find the right song, even though you started off on shuffle mode? I know I have!

This is where music curation comes in. Creating that perfect playlist without interruption involves hours of listening, finding tracks that meld together, creating harmony in terms of the genre, the sound, and the overall experience - and finally being able to let the tunes take over.

All about creating the perfect playlist then?

"A music curator isn't just curating music; they are curating an experience, an atmosphere, a culture" - the Vibe Project

The answer is no. Curation today is more than just about cohesive collections of songs. Curation of music comes into play in various facets of its production, distribution, presentation, and consumption.

Think about the radio.

Which channels do you gravitate towards when you're out on a drive and why? Maybe you like their collection of songs, the genres they cover, or the format of the radio shows? All of this is presented to you after carefully curating not just the songs that they play, but the order in which it is presented, the atmosphere they are trying to create through your speakers, and the brand image they want to promote.

What about your favourite artists? A musician is more than just their talent and sound alone. Artists have their own styles, not just in terms of musicality, but in the way of self-representation. As Atton suggests, curation is all about the content that is represented and the control one has over it (2014). For artists, this means autonomy over the way they dress, the language they communicate in, the persona they create for the public eye, their digital presence - and the cohesion of this entire narrative in the music they produce. All of this is part of what takes places in the self-curation of artists. Remember David Bowie's iconic 'Ziggy Stardust', Eminem's 'Slim Shady', Beyoncé's 'Shasha Fierce', or Lady Gaga's flamboyant red carpet looks? All examples of self-curation!

What about your favourite YouTube Channels, online magazines and podcasts, or maybe the last music festival you attended before the devastating pandemic? All of these undergo curation before they reach you - the audience.

Metal Hammer Magazine

Rolling Stone Website

Music Podcasts

Glastonbury Festival

Essentially, curation is everywhere

While this may sound ominous, its success lies in its effortlessness. In the digital era where everything is curated and presented to us, it may seem like you lose a sense of authority over what you are listening to. But on the flipside, curation makes room for creative autonomy and the chance to bridge the gap between the science and the art - between the skillset of knowing what sounds work together and the data-driven approach to understand what sounds the audiences gravitate to and what gets them to dance to the beat of the drum - both literally and figuratively.

Thus...

"Curation is a reflexive process: to assemble the contents for a musical ‘exhibition’ is not only to describe a historical situation but also to argue for how we might attend to it, appreciate and understand it." - Atton, (2014)

Word Count: 641

References:

Antunes, D. (2020). Epidemic Sound. Available at: https://www.epidemicsound.com/blog/music-curation-a-mix-between-art-and-science/ (Accessed on: 1st May, 2021)

Atton, C. (2014). Curating popular music: Authority and history, aesthetics, and technology', in Popular Music, Vol.33(3), 413-427.

N.A. (2017). Vibe Project. Available at: https://www.thevibeproject.co/blog/2017/10/15/whatisamusiccurator (Accessed on: 1st May, 2021)