[DISCARDED] The Dull Wars

[Jutsa]

OK, this is a pretty goofy one that, admittedly, is both based on reality and totally unrealistic, but tbf the fact that it's actually been an issue IRL
is fascinating enough that I wanted to try making an issue about it.
(not that I've particularly high hopes for it, but I figured I'd give it a try)

Title: The Dull Wars
The Issue: Advancements in music production technology have made it easier than ever for musicians to experiment with music outside of standard tunings, creating a somewhat brighter, darker, or alien sounding piece of music. The issue? Decades ago, a treaty was established amongst @@NAME@@ and several of its neighbors, concerning trade and, specifically, the fundamental prohibition of any piece whose "A" is not specifically tuned to 440 hz.
Validity: All.

Option 1: "It's right here, section article 22 subsection 282, that Symphony A be analyzed as being in 440 hertz," observes lawyer and classical musician hobbyist @@RANDOMNAME@@, holding a magnifying glass over the sprawling document. "The pitch inflation of ye olden days have caused insurmountable cases of strained vocalists, inconsistency, and whinier violins. And as history as shown, history repeats itself. We must reaffirm that all works have their 'A's be precisely 440 hertz, and forcibly change or destroy any piece that doesn't comply."
[effect] being out of tune is a felony

Option 2: "C'mon man, get with the times," says hip DJ @@RANDOMNAME@@, making ghastly noises on @@HIS@@ xenharmonic keytar. "Technology's come a long way since then, and people want their music to pop. If anything, mainstream radio musicians and producers should be embracing the creativity. It's not like Maxtopia would care if my new hit single, Don't Look Back In Frustration, is 42 cents high. And if they do, just back out of the treaty or somethin'."
[effect] foreign relations and global trade have been compromised in the name of experimental music

Option 3: "We all know A was supposed to be 432 hertz before old musicians wanted to sound more exciting," new-age thinker @@RANDOMNAME@@ proclaims, wearing chakra symbols on the places they represent. "It's in tune with the natural frequency of the universe! We should create a new government agency specifically dedicated to restoring all current works and converting them to 432 tuning."
[effect] live concerts and radio music have temporarily vanished

[Australian rePublic]

Why would anyone sign such a treaty?

[Jutsa]

Idk, countries in our timeline did. see article 282 subsection 22

ed: also, tried to explain it as best I could in option 1. Added "inconsistency" to it as well.

[Ko-oren]

This is one of those moments where anything made up just doesn't hold a candle to RL's madness. No clue if this will make it, but it never hurts to try.

I'd change option 2's effect from "ally relations" to "international relations" or "foreign relations", I've never heard that wording before (but that might be me).

[Jutsa]

Done

[Australian rePublic]

Not having any musical knowledge, I don't know what each "A" frequency is supposed to sound like. This poses a problem for people like me. Also, option 1- changing old works? Isn't that already done during remastering? Also also, does this only effect A notes, or are other notes also effected?

[Jutsa]

Hmm, good points. Kinda hard to explain to a non-musically-involved person, might need to relook at this.

But simply put:
a) You can't really tell, it's more of a contextual thing that is subtle but for many people, definitely there.
b) True, but this would imply that remastering would be enforced by the government.
and c) all notes would be affected, yes. Unless you want your music to sound really, really out of tune.

EDIT: Editing cause I didn't wanna bump this, decided to close this draft after consideration and deciding that it's
just too niche, somewhat trivial (even if it is technically a IRL issue), and too complicated to easily explain while also adding humor and not making it longwinded.
In other words, I just didn't find it good enough. :\