Magali Speicher

If the world became mute, would music be remembered as an art form or a product?

Rooted in this digital era, the current commodification of the mainstream music industry is narrowing the boundaries for musicians. In a system, which causes leisure and communication to require shorter attention spans, new songwriting and marketing techniques adapted. It’s a vicious circle fed by the listeners and the suppliers.

The virtual realm grants musicians a higher chance to be heard. Simultaneously, showing their faces online became essential. Especially as a newcomer, it became harder to grow a fan base while rejecting these modern perimeters.

As a consequence, musicians find themselves stuck in the one-way track of photos and short videos, hoping to please the algorithms and stand out to make people’s thumbs pause for a few seconds. The track only leads downwards.

When I was working on my debut EP, I witnessed firsthand how this modern system militates against creativity. Since, I couldn’t stop picturing a future in which the damage has already been done and music has been devaluated by reckless consumerism.

Translated in three tableau photographs, mute. presents a dystopian vision of where we could be heading to.

In the video, I interview six professionals from the field as they elaborate on the foundations, developments and effects of these complications.