Low-latency Networked Music Collaborations: Does ‘good enough’ do enough good?

LoLa is a cutting-edge technology that enables low latency, real-time collaborations across vast distances using high-bandwidth, low-jitter networks. It has the capacity to transform how music is made and experienced. It has been utilized on a relatively small scale to date, primarily for teaching and performances associated with music colleges and concert halls. In this article we discuss various ways in which LoLa technology is “good enough” by describing examples of recent networked music performances “anchored” at Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland. We discuss the ways in which processes and outcomes were “good enough” for the sound engineer, participating musicians, and audiences. We then consider ways in which this work can be understood to have a social purpose and suggest further opportunities for putting this immensely powerful technology to use for the greater good. We argue that all who can utilize the potential of this technology have a responsibility to improve lives today and into the future