Episode 11: Streaming Culture with Dr. David Arditi

Aug 18, 2021

On This Month's Episode, we are talking to Dr. David Arditi Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Texas Arlington, and author of Streaming Culture: Subscription Platforms and the Unending Consumption of Culture This episode not only dives into Dr. Arditi's fantastic book, we also discuss the ways various forms of content have been altered by the rising 'stream', leading us back to the common problem of Capitalism.

Production Notes:

Basics of Dr. Arditi (2:13-7:23)

• Ph.D in Cultural Studies 
• Avid Musician 
• Discussion of his other Published work
• The Myth of Revenue decline due to file sharing 

Basics of 'Streaming Culture'(7:24-17:45)

• Dr. Arditi's Methodology 
• Why Streaming Culture matters and its relationship to Capitalism
• Defining Terms: Culture Industry, Mass Culture and Unending Consumption 

Historical Context: (18:03-49.28)

• Expansion of the Means of Consumption 
• The Album Replacement Cycle 
• Cultural Lag and Backwards Compatibility 
• Digital vs. Physical Media 
• Data Mining Capitalism 
• Collaboration to increase profits 

Social Analysis: (49:40-85:13)

• Unending Consumption and the Devaluing of Content 
• Paradox of Choice and Content Satisfaction 
• Content Volume and the Labor to produce it
• Exploited Labor through the "Independent Contractor " Model 
• Solutions and Subversions 

Outtro: (85:14-87:31)

• Plugs 
• Next Episode 

 

Social Media Links: 

Dr. Arditi @david_arditi 

The Sociologist's Dojo @theSociologistS

The Blog: The Sociologist's Dojo 

All Audio Links Covered under Fair Use:

Victor Wooten

Sour Deluxe 

Aria 'Blackbird' Cover 

Lupin Theme 

Jimmy Carter Speech 

Akala: Bullshit