Authenticity in Pop Music: Computer Generated Miku Hatsune vs. Marketing Generated Lana Del Rey

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Earlier in the week I tweeted a truly fascinating The New Yorker article exploring how urban pop music is constructed. Let’s continue looking at this theme with the latest PBS Idea Channel episode, which asks the question: is Miku Hatsune a more authentic Pop Star than Lana Del Rey?

Lana Del Rey might be “The Girl Who Launched a Thousand Blog Posts” but we think there might be something else really interesting here. How is it that she, a real person, pales in Pop Star Comparison to a computer program? With the rise of Miku Hatsune, a computer generated pop star from Japan, and the recent kerfuffle surrounding Lana Del Rey’s album release, we take a look at what it means to be authentic in today’s music world. Is Miku Hatsune, a piece of software, more authentic than human being Lana Del Rey?

Hosted by Mike Rugnetta
Made by Kornhaber Brown 

Previously on the Idea Channel:

Super Mario Brothers Is The World’s Greatest Piece Of Surrealist Art

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Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

Copy, Transform, Combine: Everything Is A Remix, The Complete Series

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For more than a year I’ve been following the documentary series Everything is a Remix, written and remixed by Kirby Ferguson. I’ve posted all the parts of the series so far and today here they are all compiled in one location for easier viewing. This is a must-see series for anyone who produces creative work. 

I am in awe of the amount of work that it clearly took to create this series. I am also highly appreciative of the depth of information presented. If you want further background, including a master list of all the works sampled throughout the series, please visit EverythingIsARemix.info. 

If you want to support Kirby, and really we all should, check out his next project This Is Not A Conspiracy Theory at Kickstarter. 


Part 2: Remix, Inc.

Part 4: System Failure

Two extras were created by Rob G. Wilson, with the support of Kirby, to further expand and themes expressed by the series.

Kill Bill

Lastly, always remember that life itself is a remix. 
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Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

PBS Arts: Off Book, Exploring Cutting Edge Art - The Complete Series

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PBS Arts: Off Book is a web-based series that explores cutting edge art and the people that make it. The 13 episode series focuses on the process, motivation and meaning of a new generation of artists. For the pass several months we've been following the series. Here are the 13 episodes compiled in one location. Visit the links to the individual posts to find out more about each episode.

 

Episode 1: Light Painting

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Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

Game of Thrones Transmedia Case Study

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Campfire worked with HBO to raise awareness for it’s new show "Game of Thrones", an adaptation of George RR Martin’s epic fantasy novels. To do this, Campfire brought the world of Westeros to life through a series of interactive experiences based around the 5 senses. 

The novels already had a passionate and connected fan base, so the strategy was to activate those fans and have them broadcast their excitement to a wider audience. The campaign managed to atract a large audience to the show, which where then surprised by the many unexpected storytelling twists and turns ultimately leading to that audience reading the books. 

There was a time when pretty much everyone I knew was reading the many thousands of pages that are the novels and all conversations began with a review of progress to ensure no spoilers were shared accidentally.

The second season begins on April 1, and looks to be equally enthralling.  

For more on transmedia do not miss our comprehensive summaries of The Futures of Entertainment conferences FoE4 & FoE5 featuring panels with Campfire staff. 

 

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Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

PressPausePlay: The Complete Documentary About Digital Culture

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Last year we shared the trailer and some background on the documentary PressPausePlay. You can now watch the whole film below, or visit their website to dowload an interactive version that further explores the themes of the movie. It is full of thought-provocking interviews with some of the world's most influential creators of the digital era.

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Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.