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A new era for music criticism?

FRIDAY 26 SEPTEMBER

How can we redefine the role of music reviews in society to make new music relevant to more people?

  • Friday 26 September

In just ten years, music journalism in Denmark’s major newspapers has been cut in half. This is shown by a mini-analysis from the organization Art Music Denmark. At the same time, social media has exploded with audience-generated concert reports. On one hand, this represents a democratization of music criticism, where the traditional authority of professional critics is being challenged by both audiences and artists. On the other hand, it has led to a dilution of deeper conversations about music.

At this year’s Roskilde Festival, the independent music media outlet Passive/Aggressive is trying out a new model. Two individuals with no previous experience in reviewing art or culture will serve as this year’s reviewers in a newly formed audience editorial team. Based on this experiment, Mathias Schønberg, editor at Passive/Aggressive, explores how we can redefine the role of music reviews in society to engage a broader public with new music. He will discuss this with Torben Eik Jacobsen from the venue Gimle, which recently took over the volunteer-run review platform Bands of Tomorrow.

Join the conversation about where the public discourse on music is heading.

Participants

  • Torben Eik Jacobsen (he/him), Director of Gimle
  • Mathias Schønberg (he/him), Writer and editor at Passive/Aggressive, lecturer at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory, and Head of Communications at the Development Platform for Performing Arts

This session is presented by Musikbyen Roskilde and Roskilde Municipality