Uploaded July 2019 | Updated September 2026, 6 hours ago
crosstowntraffic2018.wordpress.com
This presentation took place as part of the conference Crosstown Traffic: Popular Music Theory and Practice, which was hosted by The University of Huddersfield from September 3 - 5 2018. This event combined the IASPM UK&Ireland Biennial Conference, the 13th Art of Record Production Conference (ARP), an ISMMS conference, and the additional participation of Dancecult.
A recurrent theme within popular music studies has been discussion of how the field can integrate different disciplines and professions, for example exploring both music and its context; involving both practitioners and researchers; and encouraging interdisciplinary and collaborative work. Many different issues make such approaches challenging, and various different popular music focused subject organisations have developed somewhat independently of one another. This conference brought four such groups together, to exchange knowledge, collaborate, and encourage crosstalk.
/// SUPPORT
Popular Music Studies Research Group (PMSRG), University of Huddersfield research.hud.ac.uk/pmsrg/#
Centre for Music, Culture and Identity (CMCI), University of Huddersfield
research.hud.ac.uk/institutes-centres/cmci
The International Association for the Study of Popular Music UK and Ireland Branch (IASPM UK & Ireland)
iaspm.org.uk
Association for the Study of the Art of Record Production (ASARP)
artofrecordproduction.com
Dancecult Research Network (DRN) studies into electronic dance music culture
dancecult-research.net
International Society for Metal Music Studies (ISMMS)
metalstudies.org
/// ORGANIZERS
IASPM UK&I: Rupert Till
ARP: Katia Isakoff, Shara Rambarran
ISMMS: Karl Spracklen
Dancecult: Graham St. John
University of Huddersfield: Jan Herbst, Austin Moore, Lisa Colton, Toby Martin, Catherine Haworth, Mark Mynett
/// CREDITS
This online project was edited, collated, and made available online by Chris McConnell, Jack Zissell, and Colin Frank.
/// PRESENTATION DETAILS
In search for the ‘not yet’. The prospective in Finnish trackers’ and topliners’ creative agency
Riikka Hiltunen - University of Helsinki
Email: riikka.hiltunen@gmail.com
/// ABSTRACT
Writing and producing songs to international pop music markets is a highly competitive effort. Music trends circulate fast and there are numerous professional songwriters worldwide, aiming at same markets. Record companies spread the word about artists searching for new songs so widely, that at least in theory anyone has a chance to write a song for some of the top artists in the world. In Finland there are also professional songwriters, trackers and topliners who partake in this “competition” of creating future hits.
How do these songwriters face the future, when the artists are constantly looking for something new and ground-breaking? On the other hand, when the time period between writing a song and an artist recording it may be prolonged to several years, how do songwriters make sure that the song does not sound outdated when it is finally out there?
In this paper I analyse Finnish songwriters’ attitudes towards the future by using French economist Michel Godet’s (2001) typology. Godet’s thoughts have been used in futures studies and strategic management, and applied in business and politics. Godet leans on the concept la prospective by French philosopher and futurist Gaston Berger (1964), which means anticipatory and proactive attitude towards the future. My research material consists of theme interviews and observations of songwriting processes on international songwriting camps. This paper is related to my PhD project in which I analyse future consciousness (see e.g. Lombardo 2006) of Finnish mainstream pop songwriters.
crosstowntraffic2018.wordpress.com
This presentation took place as part of the conference Crosstown Traffic: Popular Music Theory and Practice, which was hosted by The University of Huddersfield from September 3 - 5 2018. This event combined the IASPM UK&Ireland Biennial Conference, the 13th Art of Record Production Conference (ARP), an ISMMS conference, and the additional participation of Dancecult.
A recurrent theme within popular music studies has been discussion of how the field can integrate different disciplines and professions, for example exploring both music and its context; involving both practitioners and researchers; and encouraging interdisciplinary and collaborative work. Many different issues make such approaches challenging, and various different popular music focused subject organisations have developed somewhat independently of one another. This conference brought four such groups together, to exchange knowledge, collaborate, and encourage crosstalk.
/// SUPPORT
Popular Music Studies Research Group (PMSRG), University of Huddersfield research.hud.ac.uk/pmsrg/#
Centre for Music, Culture and Identity (CMCI), University of Huddersfield
research.hud.ac.uk/institutes-centres/cmci
The International Association for the Study of Popular Music UK and Ireland Branch (IASPM UK & Ireland)
iaspm.org.uk
Association for the Study of the Art of Record Production (ASARP)
artofrecordproduction.com
Dancecult Research Network (DRN) studies into electronic dance music culture
dancecult-research.net
International Society for Metal Music Studies (ISMMS)
metalstudies.org
/// ORGANIZERS
IASPM UK&I: Rupert Till
ARP: Katia Isakoff, Shara Rambarran
ISMMS: Karl Spracklen
Dancecult: Graham St. John
University of Huddersfield: Jan Herbst, Austin Moore, Lisa Colton, Toby Martin, Catherine Haworth, Mark Mynett
/// CREDITS
This online project was edited, collated, and made available online by Chris McConnell, Jack Zissell, and Colin Frank.
/// PRESENTATION DETAILS
In search for the ‘not yet’. The prospective in Finnish trackers’ and topliners’ creative agency
Riikka Hiltunen - University of Helsinki
Email: riikka.hiltunen@gmail.com
/// ABSTRACT
Writing and producing songs to international pop music markets is a highly competitive effort. Music trends circulate fast and there are numerous professional songwriters worldwide, aiming at same markets. Record companies spread the word about artists searching for new songs so widely, that at least in theory anyone has a chance to write a song for some of the top artists in the world. In Finland there are also professional songwriters, trackers and topliners who partake in this “competition” of creating future hits.
How do these songwriters face the future, when the artists are constantly looking for something new and ground-breaking? On the other hand, when the time period between writing a song and an artist recording it may be prolonged to several years, how do songwriters make sure that the song does not sound outdated when it is finally out there?
In this paper I analyse Finnish songwriters’ attitudes towards the future by using French economist Michel Godet’s (2001) typology. Godet’s thoughts have been used in futures studies and strategic management, and applied in business and politics. Godet leans on the concept la prospective by French philosopher and futurist Gaston Berger (1964), which means anticipatory and proactive attitude towards the future. My research material consists of theme interviews and observations of songwriting processes on international songwriting camps. This paper is related to my PhD project in which I analyse future consciousness (see e.g. Lombardo 2006) of Finnish mainstream pop songwriters.
