Extremely Online: Cultural Borrowing, Mixing, and Transformation in Internet Music
The formation of distinctive Internet cultures, accompanied by the increasing importance of digital mediations for popular culture consumption, has culminated in both popular and academic discussions around the idea of Internet-based music scenes or communities as a cultural phenomenon, referred to as “Internet genres” or “Internet music.” This dissertation presents a comprehensive framework for and definition of Internet music through ethnographic and textual analyses of three separate scenes: vaporwave, hyperpop, and phonk. It interrogates issues of cultural borrowing and hybridity within these Internet music scenes, and how representations of racial, gender, sexual, and national identity are negotiated by both producers and fans. It also explores how the dynamics of the online platforms through which these scenes manifest (including, but not limited to their tendency toward anonymity, low barrier to entry for producers, and blurred lines between producers/consumers) shape these scenes, including how the algorithm-driven organization of these scenes and the influence of meme cultures impact how different identities and cultures are portrayed through these musics. Ultimately, this project interrogates how social and cultural identities and differences come to be constructed and articulated in online environments, and how in a “post-Internet” age, individuals are increasingly using popular media to make sense of their relationships with digital technologies.
Music, Communication, Web studies, Digital culture, Internet music, Platform studies, Popular music
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