The Platformization of Music: Towards a Global Theory

Introduction

How are streaming and social media platforms changing the working conditions and creative practices of music artists around the world? How can we better understand the transformative impact of “platformization” through the lens of music? Online platforms - from Amazon to YouTube – have been both celebrated and criticized. The COVID-19 pandemic has only further entrenched these platforms in our lives.

Project Overview

PlatforMuse takes music as a medium through which to examine the impacts of platformization. It offers the first cross-national analysis of this transformation as understood by music artists. To date, most research into platformization is limited to case studies of particular platforms in particular countries. PlatforMuse provides a global perspective that is sensitive to the complexity of platformization.

National Contexts

The three national contexts that make up this project – the Netherlands, South Korea, and Nigeria – represent three very different models and stages of platformization. PlatforMuse asks:

1. How might the everyday experiences of music artists in diverse locations challenge some of the assumptions about how platformization proceeds?
2. How can this understanding help us to generate a truly global understanding of cultural production in the platform era?

Research Expertise

The Principal Investigator (PI) has extensively researched music platformization in North America, Europe, and Asia and is thus uniquely suited to realize the ambitious aims of this global project.

Collaborative Network

The project is embedded in a multidisciplinary research network and an advisory board comprised of academics, industry experts, and artists from the Netherlands, South Korea, and Nigeria.

Methodology and Goals

Through innovative methods, PlatforMuse promises to bridge and build upon diverse fields of study, including:

• Popular music studies
• Platform studies
• Media/cultural industries research
• Ethnomusicology

The aim is to develop an integrative framework for theorizing the global platformization of music and to open up new research agendas for the study of culture in our ‘platform society’.