From Ritual Authority to Algorithmic Visibility: The Transformation of Musical Authority in Traditional Music Practices

Abstract

In recent decades, the rapid expansion of digital platforms has fundamentally reshaped the production, circulation, and valuation of cultural expressions, including traditional ritual music. Within this transformation, questions of authority, autheticity, and legitimacy become increasingly complex, particularly for music traditions rooted in sacred contexts and community based knowledge systems. Understandinghow ritual music navigates the pressures of digital visibility is therefore crucial for broader discussions on cultural sustainability and heritage governance in the digital age. This study explores the evolution of the authority of traditional Indonesian ritual music within the context of the digital age, emphasizing the interplay between community legitimacy grounded in local socio-cultural practices and the principles of algorithmic visibility fostered by digital platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. This study applies an interpretive qualitative methodology that integrates field ethnography with digital ethnography to examine ritual music practices in both offline community settings and their portrayals in online environments. The results show that ritual music's status has changed, with new algorithm-based legitimacy determined by quantitative metrics like views, likes, and shares having to contend with traditional legitimacy built through knowledge transmission, community recognition, and sacred contexts. Algorithms on platforms serve as influential agents that actively construct hierarchies of value and visibility, transferring the center of authority from conventional figures to technological systems. This establishes a dual framework of authenticity and converts cultural capital into a form that can be amassed through digital performance. Nevertheless, traditional communities should not be viewed as mere passive entities in this process. By employing strategies of selective curation, safeguarding sacred boundaries, and intentionally adapting content, they exhibit cultural agency in addressing the challenges posed by platformization. The resulting hybridization demonstrates a proactive approach to preserving the continuity of ritual significance while leveraging opportunities for documentation, education, and cultural acknowledgment within the digital age.   Consequently, the evolution of authority in ritual music within the digital age signifies an active interplay among established values, technological frameworks, and the agency of communities in safeguarding cultural heritage in the face of unavoidable social transformations.

Keywords: ritual music, traditional authority, digital platform, algorithm, hybridization

DOI: 10.7176/JLLL/109-05

Publication date: February 28^th 2026