FINDING YOUR VOICE - PREP FOR DEBATE 1

 


TIME - 3.30pm Monday 5th October 2020 
LOCATION - Zoom link Debate1 FYV

Debate Title: THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO BE A MUSIC FAN 
Chair: Neil Kulkarni 

Panel: For - Dan Summers, Owen Binns, 
Against - Jessica Brett, Claudia Bolland, Tristan Tearo

Debate summary - In recent years consumption of older/classic music among young people has skyrocketed, many complaining that contemporary rock, pop, and other genres simply don't give them the depth, meaning, feel or pleasure that older music does. The massive uptake in vinyl also seems to show that people prefer the older ways of accessing and listening to music. Was it better to have been music fans back in the 60s/70s/80s/90s, or are we living in a golden age for music fans with the access and variety the internet offers? 

Possible points/questions to develop 

these are what I can think of you may well have your own, check the useful links at the bottom of this post for potential launchpads for ideas . . .  

FOR - 

. . . increased access, bypassing record labels, Soundcloud/Bandcamp/Spotify bringing us more music than ever available before, independent artists able to promote/distribute themselves, sub-genres and underground music more able to be heard without dilution/crossover, a wealth of different platforms to hear music on, an infinite number of podcasts/playlists/radio stations/music media. 

AGAINST - 

. . . too much choice means we're deluged with rubbish, music media just seems to cheerlead everything, songs increasingly about a narrower range of subjects, musicians encouraged to sound like everyone else, X-Factor has made all musicians just cover-artists, record companies less willing to give an artist a chance to develop so artists need immediate hits to sustain a career, albums as promo devices for tours so 3 hot tracks and the rest meh, music increasingly seen as a middle-class hobby rather than a working-class escape thanks to the pitiful pay from streaming (Spotify etc) . . . . 

WHAT TO GET READY FOR MONDAY 

You can either do these as a blogpost on your Finding Your Voice blog (call the post Debate Prep 1) or simply as a word-doc - so long as you can access it during the debate + email it to me afterwards that's fine. 

1. A 100 word (minimum) personal statement of your position on the debate topic. 

2. A bullet-pointed list of the main points you're going to make - this will be similar to your personal statement but will be easier to use during discussion - add as many/little notes to each bullet point as you wish.

2. A short bibliography of any links that you used. 

3. AFTER the debate add a subheading 'Reflection' and simply say in a few lines who YOU think 'won' the debate, and how you might improve your preparation for the next debate. 

DON'T WORRY IF YOUR PERSONAL STATEMENT/NOTES ARE BRIEF

This is the first debate we'll be having and will fundamentally be 'experimental' - I'm not setting a time limit on it, it might last half an hour, it might last a full hour  - they will get better over the course of the coming weeks. The crucial thing I want you to get used to is the idea of developing/preparing for a discussion by doing some research and writing, and within the debate being able to both put your points across clearly as well as listening to others. 

One of the things that will improve the debates I think is if YOU PEOPLE start proposing what the debates could be about. This week's one is kind of off the top of my head - I would like it if things YOU feel passionate about can be debate topics in the future so get thinking about things you might like to discuss. 

CRUCIALLY DO NOT BE NERVOUS! It's just us guys, a small group and a friendly group too. There are no wrong/right answers to the debate question, just opinions and I want to hear yours. See you next Monday. 

Useful Links/Prompts

Debate.org Discussion

Is Old Music Better?

Dear People Who Think That New Music Sucks

Which is better? Old Music or New Music?

Science Explains Why Old Music Is Better

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