Rethinking Materiality of Music: The Transformative Practices of Music Streaming

Abstract

This study examines the evolving materiality of music in the streaming era, arguing that music’s materiality in streaming contexts is not fixed and predefined, but a dynamic and relational phenomenon emerging through the interplay of user practices, technological affordances and cultural meanings. Drawing on qualitative interviews and online ethnography with indie music enthusiasts in China, the research explores two key aspects of streaming music consumption to examine music’s materiality: playlisting practices and users’ reflexive interactions with recommendation algorithms. The findings reveal a co-evolutionary relationship between user practices and technological affordances, where both users and algorithms actively shape the experience and materiality of music. Playlist curation emerges as a new form of meaning-making, transforming intangible streaming music into personalised, structured objects; while user-algorithmic interplay creates a dynamic environment where music perception and engagement are constantly negotiated. These cases illuminate a new perception of music materiality – one that is constantly emergent and relationally constituted. The article contributes to broader debates on the digitalisation of culture, the changing nature of cultural consumption, and the role of technology in shaping cultural experiences. It invites a re-examination of the concept of materiality in the context of digital platforms.