Towards a postdigital sensibility : how to get moved by too much music

Article explores the affective consequences of the new mode of instant access to enormous levels of musical recordings in digital format. It is suggested that this "musical superabundance" might weaken the individuals ability to be affected by music in everyday life, while at the same time leading to a renewed interest in collective experience, in ways which are not limited to established notions of musical "liveness". According to a theory of affect influenced by Spinoza, what is at stake is the capacity of the body to be affected by music. The article proposes that a renegotiated relationship between collective and individual modes of experiencing music can be conceptualized with help of Spinozas distinction between two kinds of affections: actions and passions.