By Olivia Tschida. Sunday, October 4th, 2020.
Contemporary band Boney Junes went live on Instagram this past Tuesday, connecting with fans like many modern-day music artists that rely on social media.
At one PM, central time, the duo of Taylor Dolletzki and Jacob Plough performed virtually for their followers. They played verses of some of their unreleased songs and covers of popular songs, including their latest song “Horizon.”
The band has been described as a “country-ish pop-rock duo,” but describe themselves as a combination of alternative, country, pop and rock. Livestream attendee Mara Jacob said, “a friend on Instagram suggested I listen to them. I think my favorite thing about them is the fact that they have amazing harmonies.”
Boney Junes’ music sounds and use of social media to see and get feedback from their fans is just one example of how technology has changed music. Today, more music is streamed from social media platforms, namely Instagram, than anywhere else.
Instagram has dominated the social music industry in recent years, over taking Snapchat for videos and stories in 2016. According to The Music Network, a popular source for music-related news, analyses, data, and careers, “In 2018, Instagram reported that it had 400 million daily users with the potential to add music to their stories.”
Not only has technological advancements changed the way consumers find and support musical artists, it has also changed the way music sounds. With access to all types and genres of music becoming more and more readily available, bands like Boney Junes are combining and reworking traditional music.
As John Deaux from All About the Rock, a music news website, writes, “Technology has simplified cross cultural interactions exposing musicians to new forms of music. The result has been the mixing of elements of different genres in order to create new forms of music.”
This blending and mingling of music genres have led to the rise of popular music such as afro-pop, electro-rock, neoclassical and cabaret music, to name a few. Enthusiasts like the duo Boney Junes are excited and interested to see where advancements in technology will take music in the future, and how they and their fans will have to adjust with the times.
Taylor Dolletzki (left) and Jacob Plough (right) performing on Instagram Livestream. Photo by Olivia Tschida, September 29th, 2020.
Jacob and Taylor. Photo by Peter Jacob, November 17th, 2019.
Infographic:
“Every Song on the Hot 100, Organized by Genre.” Dates from 1958 to 2016. Source: The Data Face, Jack Beth.
Sources:
Murphy, S. (2020, January 07). Here’s how music consumption has changed over the last decade. Retrieved October 04, 2020, from https://themusicnetwork.com/music-consumption-decade/
Rubin, E. (2019, December 18). 11 ways the music industry has changed over the past decade. Retrieved October 04, 2020, from https://www.insider.com/how-music-industry-changed-2010s-decade-2019-12
How Technology is Changing the Music Industry. (2018, January 17). Retrieved October 04, 2020, from http://musicfirstcoalition.org/technology-changing-music-industry/
Deaux, J. (2017, December 21). The Impact of Technology on the Music Industry. Retrieved 2020, from http://allabouttherock.co.uk/impact-technology-music-industry/
Beck, J. (2016, September 7). The Evolution of Music Genre Popularity. Retrieved September 2020, from https://thedataface.com/2016/09/culture/genre-lifecycles
