Contrary from what else is wrote on this site corruption does not need to take place digitally but can also take place in analog technology. Corruption in analog technologies has like digital corruption been used for artistic purposes.
On this page I will go over one instance of analog degredation. This instance is typically called 'Generation loss'. As data is copied in analog systems it is degraded as portions are lost due to the nature of the analog system. Cables, amplifiers, and other recording equipment can cause generational loss as audio is copied ad nausuem. In addition converting analog to digital and vice versa will also enact some generational loss.
In the past the audio industry saw generational loss as a looming issue, this was because music in particular was stored on tapes/tracks. Digital systems however eventually solved this issue. According to The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS, 2016) ""Generation loss is limited to analog recording because digital recording and reproduction may be performed in a manner that is essentially free from generation loss". However, generational loss is still evident in digital images with .jpg artifacts. These artifacts are well known and have become somewhat of a meme with 'deep fried' or 'nuked' memes which try to emulate generational loss through image editing.
Like those who digitally corrupt media now, in the past there were those who purposefully corrupted their art through analog means. I will give two audio examples below.
On December 1st 2021, Alvin Lucier passed. Lucier was a composer of experimental music and sound installations. In 1969 Lucier composed one of his greatest works, it was a sound art piece titled 'I Am Sitting in a Room'. The piece contains Lucier recording himself narrating a short text, which is then recorded by a tape recording in the room, and then played back into the room and re-recorded. The narration was recorded 32 times, with each successive recording Lucier's voice becomes unrecognisable as speech and we are left purely with the resonant frequencies of the room itself.
Below is Lucier's recording on Youtube. Which ironically will have the generational loss I mentioned earlier as analog is converted to digital.
The Disintegration Loops are four albums created by avant-garde composer William Basinski. These album were created through recordings of tape loops that gradually deteriorated each time they passed the tape head. Basinkski discovered this quirk of generation loss as he was transferring old recordings from magnetic tape to the new digital formats. Basinkski allowed for the loops to play for extended periods to deteriorate further the quality of the audio. The deterioration created a crackley quality to the audio with sporadic tapes in the tape.
The completion of Basinski's recording coincided with the World Trade Centre attacks in 2001. Basinski witnessed the attacks from his rooftop; the artwork features the New York City skyline after the collapse of the World Trade Centre. The music is dedicated to the victims of the attacks and was also played at part of The September 11 Memorial.
Below is the first and probably most famous piece from The Disintegration Loops; "dlp 1.1" on Youtube.