title: Platform Disruption and the New Music Industry: The Influence of the Co-Creative, Networked Digital Age on Music Artists
Creators: name: Frenneaux, Richard
Publisher: name: Griffith University
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: networked music
subject: social media channels
subject: digital culture
subject: music creator
subject: Interview
subject: COVID-19 pandemic
subject: artist management
subject: United Kingdom
subject: Zoom
subject: United States

description: My experiences as an artist, writer and producer in the music industry have raised an important question: What does it mean to promote, create and distribute music in an industry undergoing substantial change due to the emergence of a participatory, networked digital culture? Over the past decade, my relationship with my audience has been reframed many times through changing online platforms, audience expectations regarding content, access and participation, and the ubiquity of personalisation. This study seeks to understand the effect of digital participatory culture on the artist and on the creative process by tracking a crucial evolutionary moment, a progression of music production and dissemination. Today, artists must adapt to a constantly evolving market, where networked music and social media channels influence frequent shifts in consumption patterns. Understanding the competencies of successful artists in the new music industry requires an understanding of how digital culture has influenced the exchange between artist, label and audience today, as well as how participatory exchange has influenced the exchange between artist, label and audience. Entrepreneurial, autonomous methods that engage consumers directly are becoming more popular. While there has been a great deal of published work examining the impact of participatory exchange on the consumer and the music industry (e.g. Choi &amp; Burnes, 2013; Negus, 2015; Wikström, 2014), there is very little published work regarding the impact on the creator, particularly the increasing impact of participatory exchange and the competencies expected of artists working in the ‘new’ music industry. Given the extent and pace of change, and the volume of emerging platforms that attempt to harness the potential for participatory exchange, it is timely to undertake a study of the impact of recent developments on the music creator. To gain a comprehensive perspective on these effects, a broad representative sample of industry workers was interviewed. The research undertaken as part of this thesis is unique in that it is one of the first ethnographic inquiries into competencies, co-creation and practices in the new music industry from the perspective of the artist. The opinions expressed by the interviewees provide meaningful insights into the mechanics of working artists today, the impact of platformisation on the music industry and their ever-changing relationship with industry and audience. Twenty-five participants were interviewed using an ethnographic method in key areas of the music industry, including artist management in the United Kingdom and the United States, independent and signed artists, publishers and record label employees. Due to travel limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, these interviews were undertaken remotely via Zoom. The objective was to gain a better understanding of the skills that artists have acquired to succeed in the digital era, as well as what it means to be an artist in today’s music industry.