The Devaluation of Music in Costa Rica: Threats to Artists and Cultural Institutions.

Barely five years ago, the historian Yuval Noah Harari predicted in his “21 lessons for the 21st century” how AI would completely change the consumption of music. with the growing boom of social networks like TikTok and more recently the incursion of ChatGPT, the future is inclined towards an algorithm that manipulates and decides our tendencies and musical tastes, which would be established from a wide range of parameters that contain an enormous amount of data about our previous behavior and even our biological constitution. This would mean a dehumanization of the concept of the musician as an artist and a kind of irreversible dissolution of the trade and profession. Despite seeming like a tale worthy of the pen sci-fi of Isaac Asimovtoday we can sadly affirm that this panorama is also being caused by some political projects in our country, which already point towards this phenomenon of devaluation of the artist; Although they are not related to advanced technology but to neoliberal ideas, they have now begun to hit our union hard.

Like other artistic manifestations, in the world of music we recognize two aspects that determine the course of its consumption. On the one hand, we have mass music, more related to entertainment, and it is one that constantly disseminates and replicates artistic products in various media, today primarily on digital platforms. And on the other hand, we have the expressions of art that are more directed to spiritual exaltation and to generate unique moments and states of wonder, but which are also for collective consumption. It was to the latter in particular that he was referring. Hegel by stating that “if in general we are permitted to regard human activity in the realm of the beautiful as a liberation of the soul, as a liberation from coercion and restriction, in short, to regard art as actually alleviating the most overwhelming and tragic catastrophes by means of the creations that it offers to our contemplation and enjoyment, it is the art of music that leads us to the final summit of that ascent to freedom”.

In recent weeks, a bill was presented that seeks to overthrow principles protected by the Copyright and Related Rights Law in force in our country regarding the public dissemination of sound recordings and musical production. With a total ignorance of international regulations, without any understanding of what a record product represents for an artist in terms of rights and economic income, but above all without any hint of human sensitivity and respect for the profession, the project aims to achieve that businesses, in general, can reproduce commercial recordings publicly and indiscriminately, without having to honor the due licenses for public communication of artistic works and services. It is a clear violation of the production of so many music professionals who work every day to make musical proposals of value, but also to generate their primary source of income with it. Unfortunately, easy access to streaming platforms for streaming makes one think that a subscription implies having acquired rights in fact for public dissemination, when in reality unrestricted use within commercial spheres or for the benefit of third parties is not contemplated.

Added to this, the dismissal -until now without justification of receipt- of the director of the National Music Centera body attached to the MCJ, and the already predicted substantial cuts in the culture budget for next year are putting institutions that have already been declared worthy of Costa Rican culture at serious risk, such as the National Symphony Orchestra and the National Concert Bands. Our country has historically enjoyed international recognition for the support it has given to cultural entities for several decades, and has been an example for other nations in the region. The most alarming thing at this time is that the political decisions that are taken regarding the immediate future of these institutions, derived from an administrative punishment for an alleged budgetary under-execution, could mean a huge setback in terms of musical management, production, and teaching. This will also put at risk the work of many professional musicians – who already feel like tightrope walkers in this increasingly uncertain artistic environment – and the course of the country’s cultural development. At the end of the day, the one who will receive the punishment will be the Costa Rican people and future generations.

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