Data, Digital Futures
Staff Researcher
Digital Colonialism in the Global Sphere

Colonialism has consistently been a force in the global purview, including the technological space. In recent years, the expansion of artificial intelligence has vastly increased corporations’ global influence. As the world’s technologies continue to advance and innovate, individuals must keep a watchful eye on the ways in which digital colonialism might repeat harmful practices from the past.

Digital Colonialism in the Global Sphere
entertainment, Film
Staff Researcher
Part I: Playing the Game: The Convergence of ...

Due to the popularity and booming business of video games, Hollywood studios have capitalized on popular game titles by developing new content based off of their intellectual property (IP). This study sets out to better understand video game IP’s impact on film and television markets and what specific elements might impact an adaptation’s success. 

Part I: Playing the Game: The Convergence of Video
Artificial Intelligence, Conferences, museums
Brett Crawford
Future of Museums Summit 2024 Key Takeaways

Sustainability and AI were at the forefront this year at the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) Future of Museums Summit. What role will museums play in creating climate-friendly communities? And how can AI be used to maximize efficiency, increase accessibility, and deepen engagement? Read key conference takeaways from Xueer Ho and Dr. Brett Ashley Crawford.

Future of Museums Summit 2024 Key Takeaways
Analytics, Data, Management
Ian Hawthorne
Data Cultures Part II: Breaking Free from the ...

An overemphasis on data-driven work within the nonprofit sector has been shown to result in cycles of disempowerment, driven by third-party data demands of funding bodies.. This compounds due to the many market orientations nonprofits need to adopt, particularly prevalent among the arts. A key to navigating these markets and funder requirements lies in identifying a specific data culture best fit for your organization and investing in resources and training in order to achieve that framework sustainably.

Data Cultures Part II: Breaking Free from the Cycle of Disempowerment
Accessibility, Artificial Intelligence, museums
Staff Researcher
Envisioning the Future of Museum Accessibility ...

With AI’s ability to automatically produce content and process complicated datasets with high accuracy, museums worldwide are exploring ways in which this innovative technology can help them better achieve their missions and advance accessibility efforts. Through case studies, learn about three applications of this technology: content digitalization, language accessibility, and visual description.

Envisioning the Future of Museum Accessibility Through Artificial Intelligence

music

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April News: Entertainment Industry Divided on AI Tools

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April News: Entertainment Industry Divided on AI Tools

This month, music and film are at the forefront as each battles with the future uses for burgeoning tech. While AI-generated film visuals seem to be coming up short, progress toward realistic AI-generated music is starting to send shockwaves. On the consumer side, music streaming tools are being released to allow more listening experience customization. Across the industry, artists are celebrating ways that some these new tools can enhance their work, while speaking out against potential impacts on jobs, compensation, and creative freedom.

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Jazz Artists and the Business of Music: Digital Collaborations and Live Streaming

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Jazz Artists and the Business of Music: Digital Collaborations and Live Streaming

Throughout history, jazz has been on the cutting edge of social and cultural change. It has always represented a means of freedom and self-expression in both the brightest and darkest of times. Jazz artists have historically pushed the boundaries of their own genre, as well as others. How does the genre continue to transform in the digital age?

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AI in Spotify’s New ‘AI DJ’

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AI in Spotify’s New ‘AI DJ’

While Spotify has been a frontrunner in the AI field for a decade, its increased infusion of AI into its algorithmic content suggestions has put it into the spotlight with its ‘AI DJ.’ Consumers return again and again to Spotify largely for its enhanced personalization that few other streaming platforms can match. While AI is central to that personalization, it hasn’t surfaced without baggage and some consumer retaliation. It is also worth considering how this technology will further perpetuate algorithmic biases that disproportionately affect Black musicians.

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Three Platforms of Value for Independent Artists

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Three Platforms of Value for Independent Artists

Indie artists have been traditionally excluded from major labels due to their obscurity and improbability of generating revenue, causing difficulty in creating a career. Nowadays, however, independent artists have more power and capacity to survive, even thrive, without the help of a major label. The advent of the internet, streaming, and social media, as well as legislation regulating for rights of independent recording artists, have pivoted the music industry in the 21st century.

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Music Piracy Through NFTs: Copyright Infringement in the Age of Blockchain

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Music Piracy Through NFTs: Copyright Infringement in the Age of Blockchain

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, have gained massive popularity in recent years, touching industries from fashion to video games. NFTs occupy a unique space under copyright law, but are subject to the basic rules other art forms are. The law protecting digital assets, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), was passed in 1998 before NFTs were prevalent. The DMCA allows any artist to request a work be taken down if it is something they have ownership over and did not authorize its publication. This extends to artists with any ownership stake, whether they are a singer-songwriter with sole ownership over a song, or a whole team of writers and producers. While NFTs have the potential to benefit musicians, the music industry has fallen victim to the copyright issues NFTs present. Music industry professionals should understand the vulnerability of their work and consider monitoring NFT marketplaces to get ahead of being victims of copyright infringement.

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Virtual Music Collaboration Tools: The Alteration of Rehearsal and Performance Spaces Post-Pandemic

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Virtual Music Collaboration Tools: The Alteration of Rehearsal and Performance Spaces Post-Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many who had the option began to work from home or work remotely as a safety precaution. Apollo Technical conducted a survey which suggests that in May 2020, over 26% of employed individuals worked from home. Over the course of the pandemic, that number increased to about 70%. Technology is capable of incredible things, making this remote work possible without the presence of an office or communal workplace. For musicians however, this is a different story.

Using VR & AR in Live Music

Using VR & AR in Live Music

Virtual Reality technology puts the user in a computer-generated environment, allowing them to interact with simulated elements via a headset. On the other hand, Augmented reality incorporates elements that are generated, be it visual, audio, or other sensory elements into the real world via technology. AR technology lets the user position his or her smartphone to a point in the physical world and bring it to life by adding virtual components via this technology.

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Expanding our Live Streaming Future: Refining and Developing New Arts & Entertainment Experiences

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Expanding our Live Streaming Future: Refining and Developing New Arts & Entertainment Experiences

Livestreaming has become a burgeoning global industry, recording eight billion hours of content watched in the last quarter of 2020 (May, 2021). This research projects examines the industry before the COVID-19 pandemic, how it evolved during the pandemic, and its future opportunities. From October to December 2020, over eight billion combined hours of content were watched as livestreams on the top three largest platforms, Twitch, YouTube, Facebook Live (May, 2021). Using data from industry leader interviews, a national survey, and case studies the team reveals the power and current technology limitations to livestreaming for the live entertainment industry.

Can Computers Be Creative? A Look at AI Use in Music Composition

Can Computers Be Creative? A Look at AI Use in Music Composition

When we think about AI, it generally is with some amount of wariness. We’ve all seen too many science-fiction movies where sentient robots take over the world, but we’re mostly certain that the creativity needed for these sentient beings to overtake us doesn’t exist. Artists, musicians, and creatives especially have historically been comfortable with the knowledge that their livelihoods were not in danger of being replaced by AI because of the inherent creativity necessary in those industries… until now.

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Could It Be Sentience or Just Expert Coding? The Emerging Role of Robots in the Arts

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Could It Be Sentience or Just Expert Coding? The Emerging Role of Robots in the Arts

Few innovations represent the intersection of humanity and technology more famously than that of the robot. Like art, robots are the result of humanity’s urge to create something new in its own image – and, also like art, they have become an inescapable part of our world. In a post-pandemic world whose inhabitants have become accustomed to virtual experiences, these robotic arts roles, including facilitating virtual museum visits, performing through a computer program rather than a script, and creating what maybe approaching original and creative art, are probably here to stay.