Música na cibercultura

The social appropriation of digital technologies for music creation, recording and distribution has generated, among other factors, an intense reorganization of the long established patterns of consumption, requiring an overhaul of the business models of the phonographic industry, and a strengthening of the so-called indie music scene. In this reconfiguration of the music production chain, new players enter the scene – such as mobile phone carriers – and the long-standing oligopoly of the four major players (Sony-BMG, Universal, Warner and EMI) are under considerable threat. The polemical issue of cyberpiracy needs to be examined in the light of the new consumer practices in play within cyberculture. This paper analyzes the results of a field study conducted with college students from the two major megalopolises in Latin America: São Paulo and Mexico City. The research was coordinated by the author, in partnership with Dr. Octavio Islas, Chair of the Cyberculture Department at the Monterrey Institute of Technology. Our comparative study focused on the new consumer practices of Brazilian and Mexican college students on the Internet. Their views on common practices in cyberculture, such as file sharing and remixing, are considered here. Methodological issues that permeated this research are also discussed.