Composing for Social Media: Exploring Instagram as a Concert Hall
Social media has become an integral part of our daily lives, reshaping how we communicate and interact. These profound shifts in social structures demand a rethinking of artistic creation. My recent work focuses on exploring Instagram Stories as a platform for artistic expression. How can this medium serve as a space for musical performance? What forms and narratives can it accommodate? What role can collective action and participation play?
Instagram as a Stage for Music
Instagram Stories, with their 15-second time frame, unique interactivity, and multimedia capabilities, offer exciting opportunities for musical composition. My goal was to unlock the potential of this format and discover how it could be used as a "concert hall" for the 21st century. This exploration goes beyond simply presenting existing works on social media—it’s about composing for the medium, embracing its limitations and possibilities to create music specifically designed for this digital stage.
The Process
I began by studying the mechanisms and patterns of Instagram usage. I observed how individuals, influencers, musicians, and artists interact with their audiences, analyzing posting frequency, content types, and engagement trends. Parallel to these observations, I composed a series of musical studies tailored to the Instagram Story format.
The result is a collection of short compositions ranging from 2 seconds to 2 minutes. These pieces experiment with storytelling, sound, and attention spans, reflecting the unique dynamics of social media consumption. The Instagram Studies serve as an experimental lab, pushing the boundaries of traditional composition and redefining what musical performance can be in the context of social media.
Goals and Insights
This project aims to position Instagram—and by extension, social media platforms—as valid spaces for artistic exploration. It envisions Instagram as a modern concert hall, where the fleeting 15-second Stories become windows for creativity. By composing directly for social media, I embraced the platform’s constraints, such as time limits and interactivity, to create works that resonate with this unique environment.
The work has sparked new ideas for future projects, laying the foundation for further exploration of how art and music can thrive in digital spaces. These Instagram Studies are not just experiments—they are stepping stones toward redefining the relationship between music and social media.
Social media is constantly evolving, and so must the art created for it. My work seeks to meet this challenge head-on, composing music that adapts to and reflects the dynamics of our digital age.
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