Master

a new matricial artistic object

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34629/rcdmt.vol.2.n.2.pp74-95

Keywords:

Music, Popular music, Classical music, Philosophy of music, Aesthetics, Technology

Abstract

This theoretical-conceptual essay, with a philosophical-aesthetic orientation, seeks to examine the impact of new audio technologies – especially in the digital realm – on the redefinition of musical works, reflecting on how, in popular music, the master – the final file of the production process authorized for distribution – attains the ontological status of a matricial artistic object – that is, the normative reference from which the copies are generated. For a more precise problematization, this dynamic is set in contrast with that of classical music, where live performance and representational fidelity seem to tendentially remain central. Drawing on a range of theoretical frameworks, practical examples and even hypothetical scenarios, the essay also analyzes how the studio has become a site of aesthetic creation, where sound design carries an equivalent aesthetical and artistic weight to that of traditional musical parameters. It concludes that, being integrated into daily life through repeated listening – a possibility introduced by the master –, popular music becomes a ubiquitous and functionalized cultural artifact, reflecting the transformations that have radically reconfigured modern societies.

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Author Biography

  • João Vilar, Universidade de Aveiro

    Natural de Vale de Cambra, João Vilar é compositor, produtor, intérprete e investigador. Frequenta atualmente o Programa Doutoral em Música (Composição) da Universidade de Aveiro. O seu trabalho enquanto investigador tem-se centrado nos estudos de música popular, bem como nas relações hibridistas entre esta e a música erudita.

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Published

2026-01-29

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Master: a new matricial artistic object. (2026). RHINOCERVS: Cinema, Dança, Música, Teatro, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.34629/rcdmt.vol.2.n.2.pp74-95