"A little music for the future": I. Allegro vivace

Michael Bühler - On the one hand, research1 in the field of "big data" (where behavioral correlations are derived from all the data collected about us) has recently established that cheerful music indirectly boosts share prices.

Not least against the backdrop of recent developments in Ukraine and elsewhere, it is to be hoped that this insight will prove to be true, in that the current of the so-called "New Classics" with its film music-like euphony, harmony and clear deceleration (as a counter-movement to the experimental, sometimes shrill and hectic sounds of contemporary classical music) will have a positive effect on people's behavior and ensure peace.

On the other hand, composers, but also artists such as Ai Weiwei, are now performing the task that a court jester used to be responsible for: the focus of his work was not primarily the amusement of the court, but artistic provocation and irritation. He was the only one who could truthfully reflect to the king how his people really felt without having his head cut off.

Art and music are therefore mirrors of our present and shape it in equal measure.

But how will our society develop in the future and what social function will music have?

Entire research institutes are dedicated exclusively to the question of what our society will look like in the future. Current data is used to develop possible or probable scenarios for how the economy, politics and society will develop. And music?

From an economic point of view, this sector seems to be too insignificant worldwide, so that music is not or hardly taken into account in the development of megatrends such as globalization, digitalization, individualization or silver society. In view of the realization that music itself influences the stock market price, however, this picture of the future seems incomplete if the effect of music on society is ignored.

In the absence of empirical data, let's try a little experiment: How would you answer the following questions for yourself?

Driven by technological progress, will concertgoers in 2040 no longer sit in the concert hall, but instead log into a virtual concert hall and make themselves comfortable in their own four walls during one of the regularly scheduled lockdowns with a glass of organic Prosecco and a pair of (hopefully no longer so clunky) eco-electricity-powered, CO2-neutral fair trade VR glasses on their head? And do you simply create a gender-neutral avatar for social interaction during the breaks between the maximum 7-minute "music snacks" (because thanks to the greatly shortened attention span, many people are already no longer able to cope with an entire Beethoven symphony) like in the film of the same name and chat live and in HD in the virtual foyer of Web 3.0 with other concertgoers about God and the world?

Pure fiction? Admittedly, the idea may be provocative and strange - but it doesn't seem quite so unrealistic in view of current developments.

As a consequence, however, universities and colleges must ask themselves what skills and knowledge must be provided for future generations of musicians and how this knowledge should be adequately imparted?

Will an emeritus professor in early retirement give a lecture in the auditorium at 08:00 on Monday and give students book tips? Hardly.

According to the "New Work" development, we will soon have to say goodbye to the idea of fixed lecture times. Instead, online studies, learning landscapes and flipped classrooms will take center stage.

The transfer of knowledge is no longer from old to young, but vice versa. This is because the so-called digital natives, who were born into our digital and completely networked world, are setting new standards with new ways of thinking. And forget about printed books! Digitalization is already developing so rapidly that printed books are already completely outdated before they are even on the shelves in bookshops. And according to the "knowledge culture" megatrend, even less will be learned "in stock" than today. People will no longer learn music history by heart, but will simply acquire the specific knowledge required for a particular challenge through so-called tutorial learning (e.g. via YouTube videos).

The questions and challenges relating to the social function of music in the future, as well as the music business, are actually right there on the table. That's why we need to look for answers in the here and now - and find them (as soon as possible).

1st Harvard Business Manager, 3/2022