Page 76 - AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report 2014

AC/E digital culture ANNUAL REPORT 2014When we talk of the possible points in common between music and transmedia we are immediately faced with the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, which might be translated as “total work of art”. Attributed to Richard Wagner, this term refers to artistic works that combine music, theatre and the visual arts. In the case of transmedia music, rather than being combined in a work itself, such as an opera, the sound narrative tends to be distributed via various media and platforms.concept behind the band that would act as a narrative vehicle to tell a story (each record being a “film” and every song a “scene”). The moment came when I realised that this story could be understood much better as a complementary text that explained it and from there it was but a short step to thinking about writing the novel. This made us realise that this concept could go much further, to video clips, short films and so on. Time and resources will determine how far we get with thisconcept.” (Mautor, 2013).The crisis affecting the music market can not do other than encourage this kind of initiative. If, two decades ago, the videoclip burst onto the musical marketing scene with force, today it is the social networks and their viral content that are charged with taking songs beyond sound.NOTES REGARDING THE FUTUREBy now, as the reader will have realised, the adjective “transmedia” has become the ideal accompaniment for all kinds of cultural or communicative activities. Over recent years it has not been strange to hear colleagues talking about transmedia branding, transmedia education, transmedia politics and so on. The transmedia concept is currently fashionable. Just as happened with multimedia in the 1990s, many companies now package their communication products under this label, even the ones that are not transmedia! Nevertheless, we should be clear about two things: The transmedia concept might cease to be fashionable, as happened with multimedia, but the logic of transmedia storytelling is here to stay. In the face of audience fragmentation transmedia storytelling offers a possible strategy to reconstruct an audience niche around a narrative world. If those working in the world of communication should ever replace the transmedia concept for another one, theIn transmedia music the sound‐story is distributed in various media and platforms that go beyond sound itselfIn the sphere ofmusic, there arealreadytransmediainitiatives ofgreat scope,such as thelaunch of therecord Year Zero by the band Nine Inch Nails, in 2007. On that occasion this industrial rock band organised an international Alternate Reality Game (ARG) which included various textual components distributed during the tour. The information needed to progress in the game—a game based on a apocalyptic fantasy story—was disseminated via T‐ shirts, USB memory sticks, videos on the Web, lithographs, advertising brochures and the like. In 2012 the band The Bullits also experimented with a multiplatform musical narrative using Twitter, YouTube, the Web and the graphic novel. According to their leader, Jeymes Samuel, “All media, be they for recorded music, video, or Facebook are canvasses for telling wider stories. [...] I want film directors and musicians to embrace technological devices much more. Imagine the Beatles still existed and the narrative for a new album started as a feed on Twitter”. (Cheshire, 2012).Some Spanish bands are already experimenting with transmedia storytelling. For example, the metal band The YTriple Corporation has just launched their first record accompanied by a novel (everyone who downloads the album can enjoy a couple of free chapters). According to their leader, Salva Rubio,“Everything started from my intention to create aAC/E WHERE WE ARE HEADING: DIGITAL TRENDS IN THE WORLD OF CULTURETHEME 6: TRANSMEDIA STORYTELLING: NEW WAYS OF COMMUNICATING IN THE DIGITAL AGECURRENT PAGE...76