ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how the consequences of musical abundance exacerbate the precariousness of musical work by increasing competition in all directions. It examines the contribution made by the French economist Jacques Attali, who suggested that by observing a society’s relationship to music, one could predict its economic future. The chapter also explores the impact of the market fragmentation on commercial music practices, as Simon Reynolds suggests in his book Retromania. The age of musical abundance has led to a situation of hyper-competition as music stakeholders compete not only with each other but also with multiple other forms of entertainment that is readily available. The chapter discusses how music as a cultural phenomenon has been represented as having predictive abilities or as a cultural product that is somehow ahead of or a driver of societal change. Music industries are embedded within much larger complex networks of telecommunications, technology and media industries.
