Why Interdependence—Not Independence—Might Be The Future Of Underground Music

Mat Dryhurst, one of the music industry’s most outspoken and challenging visionaries, has penned a new op-ed about what the future of music could be were underground artists to adopt interdependence, and not independence, as their mantra.

Writing in The Guardian, the artist and technologist—who has collaborated on projects like The New Infinity and with Holly Herndon—discusses what the closure of major institutions such as Red Bull Music Academy and Berlin Community Radio might mean for rethinking the notion of collectivity.

Dryhurst suggests that by foregoing the romantic notion of independence and nurturing aspirations of underground interdependence, new institutional forms can emerge:

“I believe that those on the margins would do well to shift focus on to more ambitious and untested fund-generating efforts that emphasise the interdependence of musical communities of place and purpose. We need technical and economic concepts that reflect what working artists have long known to be true: an artist creating challenging work is dependent on resilient international networks of small labels, promoters, publications and production services to facilitate their vision. A vision of interdependence acknowledges that individual freedoms thrive in the presence of resilient networks and institutions.”

Head here  to read the whole piece.