Local digital: staging geographies and sonic identities through auto-tune effects and streaming sites in North Indian popular music

This paper interprets the use of the Auto-Tune effect (ATE) in popular music from northern India. The paper sets out to demon- strate the value of using YouTube channels to identify regionally calibrated listenerships and to demonstrate how three channels in the state of Uttarakhand use the Auto-Tune effect to contribute to regional identity through music. While processes of globalization spread the use of the ATE around the world, a closer examination of its local expression in the music markets of India and Uttarakhand demonstrates that local contexts and local/regional industries influ- ence the way the ATE is applied.