musoc.org about

About musoc.org

Musoc.org, online since June 2009, is a private, campaigning and educational not-for-profit voluntary organisation. Content & policies are determined by volunteer editors.

Musoc.org exists for the reasons listed below. It is not an evangelising site, nor is it interested in procuring 'broad church' support. References below to Art Music and Pop 'Music' are explained in Definitions and the FAQ.

§1 To repudiate cultural relativism in music

Cultural relativism is both a product and cornerstone of neoliberalism (global consumer-capitalism and postmodernism). Public opinion is shaped by a cultural oligarchy - the illuminati (middle-class liberal academics, journalists, bloggers) - cheerleaders for a materialistic, superficial way of life and the dumbing-down of the arts in the name of populism.

Yet two simple facts escape the postmodern apologists:

Art Music is not elitist in any other than a banal sense (in the same way that mathematics is, or considerably less so than Formula 1 motor racing); its 'elitism' lies solely in the fact that it's only fully accessible (in terms of understanding and competence) to listeners and performers who are prepared to invest significant time and effort (counted in years rather than hours).
Art Music is in many ways objectively superior to Pop 'Music': not in the sense that listening to it confers moral superiority on the devotee (as argued by 'old school' culture critics of right and left, like Matthew Arnold or Theodor Adorno), but rather in terms of actual musical (technical, aspirational and intellectual) substance.

For further clarification of both aspects, see the FAQ and Definitions.

§2 To provide a cultural oasis in the arid sands of global pop culture

Musoc.org is a voice for people who feel (or are leaning) a certain way about cultural imperialism, intellectual vandalism, neoliberalism and postmodernism; and particularly the effect these have on the music they love.

Almost uniquely, musoc.org promises: NO pop, NO celebrities, NO sport, NO ads, NO selling. See also the Anti-Pop.

§3 To campaign for a 100% state-funded, ad-free national FM or digital radio station (non-internet) dedicated solely to Art Music in every country in the world

Public access to great art should be free, not dependent on individual wealth.

A station playing, for argument's sake, 24 hours a day of CDs would cost a state almost nothing. Live broadcasts (of concerts, recitals & operas) and programmes about the music and its composers would still be very cheap compared to TV broadcasting.

Such a station, well promoted, would counter the global glut of Pop 'Music' broadcasters or the many cynically using 'bleeding chunks' of Art Music as fillers between advertising slots; it would give almost everyone the opportunity of tuning out of Pop and starting to discover Art Music of their own volition, and in the best way: through simple exposure, gradual and then more prolonged, and rehearing; eventually leading to internalisation of the music and a true understanding of what makes it music rather than 'music'.

§4 To campaign for much greater state funding for the sustenance and promotion of Art Music

This is in addition to a national radio station listed above. State funding should be provided:

to promote Art Music in schools and adult education, both the listening and performing aspects (after models such as the Music Services network in Local Authorities in England and Wales from the 1950s to the 1980s, or the much-praised 'System' in Venezuela today). In schools there should be no more scope to opt out than there is for the non-study of, say, mathematics, history or biology
to greatly subsidise (and even make free) tickets for recitals & concerts
to provide free on-demand access through public libraries to the whole repertoire (and beyond) of recorded Art Music
to help support the livelihoods of orchestras and chamber groups, e.g. through tax breaks, free transport, free instruments, recording agreements etc
to support composers through the endowment of dozens or hundreds of composition competitions, at all levels, from local community to international (with winners chosen by various permutations of professional musicians, audiences and co-participants, all experiencing the music in performance), and through performance guarantee agreements

This funding should not be at the expense of socially essential causes like health services, education or public transport, but from windfall taxes, the military, sport, royalty, tax breaks for the rich, and other areas that receive far more than a fair share of public funding. No art should be sponsored by business.

§5 To campaign for the illegalisation of (i) all Pop 'Music' (and Art Music) in public and work places which aren't licensed music entertainment venues, and (ii) all Pop 'Music' used in children's television and other media

(i) Everyone should have the right to walk down the street or visit public amenities or business premises without having to endure the noise of other people's hi-fis, TVs or personal stereos, or the crassness and blare of modern Pop radio. Private gardens and public and private vehicles should also be subject to strict noise nuisance regulations.

(ii) Programme-makers and advertisers should be banned from the cynical use of the simple rhythms of Pop 'Music' to grab children's attention and over time hook them onto the 'music' and associated culture, thereby priming them for an adult lifestyle centred on consumerism.

§6 To promote the use of the term 'art music' in preference to 'classical music'

For explanation, see 'From Classical to Art' in Definitions.