Platformed! How Streaming, Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence are Shaping Music Cultures (Pop Music, Culture and Identity)

✍ Scribed by Tiziano Bonini, Paolo Magaudda

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2023
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 168
• Edition: 1st ed. 2024
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Grounded in more than a decade of field research, this book uses empirical examples, quantitative data, and qualitative interviews with young music consumers as well as music industry professionals to understand how the platforms behind music production, distribution and listening work in our digital society. Bringing together the perspectives from science and technology studies, media studies, and the political economy of digital platforms, the book outlines the process of mutual construction between music digital platforms and the cultural value of music in today’s society, and also reflects on the complicated relationship between the power of platforms and the agency of listeners.

✦ Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Contents
About the Authors
Chapter 1: Introduction: How Digital Platforms are Changing Music
References
Chapter 2: Streaming: Where It Comes From
2.1 The Paradox of Music and the Role of Technological Innovation
2.2 Not Just Progress: The Case of the Vinyl Record
2.3 A Brief History of the Evolution of Digital Music
2.4 The Age of the MP3 Format
2.5 Music Streaming, from Radio to On-Demand Content
References
Chapter 3: Platforms: Why Music Depends on Them
3.1 What Are Digital Platforms?
3.2 The Rise of the Platform Society
The Micro Level: How Platforms Work
The Meso Level: The Platform Ecosystem
The Macro Level: Platform Society
3.3 How Platforms Transformed Cultural Industries
3.4 Platforms in the Music Industry
3.5 A Short History of Spotify
References
Chapter 4: Algorithms: Who Selects Music for Us
4.1 How Platforms Choose the Music for Us
4.2 How Music Selection Is Changing: From Old to New Gatekeepers
4.3 The Differences Between Old and New Gatekeepers
4.4 Playlists, Algorithms, and Curators
4.5 The Role of Human Curators in Music Selection
4.6 Playlists Between Editorial and Algorithmic Selection
4.7 “The Winner Takes It All”: New Economic Inequalities in the Age of Platforms
References
Chapter 5: Listeners: How They Shape Music Consumption Practices
5.1 Are Streaming Music Listeners “Lean-Back” Listeners?
5.2 Two Traps to Avoid Falling Into
5.3 From Music as an Object to Music as a Service
5.4 From MP3 Player to Smartphone
5.5 A Free Subscription Does Not Equate to Listening Freedom
5.6 The Interaction with Algorithms
5.7 Listeners’ Choice and the Multilayered Musical Experience
5.8 Resistance, Tactics, and Anti-programs
References
Chapter 6: Artificial Intelligence: Where the Music of the Future Is Heading
6.1 Will Artificial Intelligence Replace Musicians?
6.2 Spotify, AI, and the Creator Technology Research Lab
6.3 The Multiplicity of Assemblages in AI-Generated Music
6.4 LANDR and the Automation of Audio Mastering
6.5 New Forms of Music Distribution: Blockchain and Non-fungible Tokens
References
Chapter 7: Conclusions: What Is the Value of Music
References
Index