Anja Nylund Hagen
My research interests intersect the fields of media use, everyday life, work life, music experiences, digital media platforms and the cultural industries. My PhD was about user experiences with music streaming services, such as Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal etc. My current postdoctor project is about the digitalisation of the music industry, with emphasis on changes in economy and copyright.I teach music and media classes at Deparment of Musicology and Department of Media and Communication, University of Oslo.
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This report provides a descriptive analysis of the Norwegian music industry before the corona pandemic, about 10 years after music streaming services became mainstream in professional distribution of recorded music. The results are based on the survey Norwe- gian music in international markets, conducted as part of the research project Music on Demand: Economy and Copyright in a digitized cultural sector (Department of Musi- cology, University of Oslo). The survey received answers from 555 respondents, including creators and performers of Norwegian music, as well as actors in record companies, management, music publishing, booking and more. Through analyses of how these in- dustry actors operate professionally towards global markets and use diverse types of media in their work, the survey confirms that the digitization of the music industry has been important for global reach, and facilitated new types of music export along the way. While an almost unified Norwegian music industry recognizes the importance of social media and music streaming services for global distribution and dissemination, the report also documents that the work with music through these platforms is happening with ambiguity and conflicting experiences. The industry is hit by digital ambivalence.
The variations are big in how opportunities and challenges are experienced across the actors. We find distinctions in how musicians and industry actors in the rhythmic/popu- lar music field versus the classical music field are affected by the digital ambivalence, with further consequences for their international approaches. Actors in the classical field are, very simplified, less dependent on digital media platforms, and hence their work continue more concentrated in fewer markets with concerts and musical performances as their main tasks. Actors in the rhythmic field are, on the opposite side, more digitally dependent (and also more commercially rigged per se), which push them to try to stretch out their global potential, in more activities and more media outlets.
Regardless of genre, our results find that the music industry actors experience several dilemmas in their professional realities. They have become dependent of using digital platforms in their work, despite they also recognize experiences of powerlessness, un- predictability, mistrust and too little competency and capacity in their ability to deal with the platforms in question.
An interesting distinction is found in how creating and performing artists compared to actors working as professional intermediaries, are experiencing the digital ambivalence. The intermediaries are representing the professional knowledge and tailored skills that are needed when Norwegian music is going abroad. The work of the intermediaries in- volves more expertise related to copyright, finance, digital media, diverse markets and more. Their work also includes more activities, in more countries, in collaboration with more professional partners. They use data from digital platforms to a greater extent, they are more negotiable, they know more about other industry partners, and are more successful with the applications they write. The intermediaries (and those who collabo- rate with intermediaries) are therefore experiencing the digital realm of the music indus- try with less unpredictability and more optimism. Put differently, while the report con- firms the idea of a connection between digitization and globalization, the idea of a connection between digitization and democratization (more equal chances for all) is being challenged.
The report depicts a great deal of industry slide in how Norwegian music companies are organized. Both intermediaries and artists combine strategic and administrative tasks as part of their professional music businesses. Core tasks are performed in both new and traditional ways, often offered as services by actors in various roles. This creates new opportunities, also for small businesses and independent artists. Nevertheless, these actors, often without international networks, teams, resources and capacity in general, of- ten suffer the most in digital ambivalence when they are facing of the complex global, music market with a lack of professionality.
In general, there is room for more professionalization in the Norwegian music industry. Both in terms of how digital media can be better exploited, and in terms of how the industry needs more competency and specialization among the professional players. Some intermediaries, such as music publishers, have a huge potential for development, both in terms of how they work and in terms of how they can provide knowledge to other indus- try actors about their work.
Interestingly, the digital ambivalence appearing in the music industry today seems to sum up two conflicting depictions of what it has meant for the Norwegian industry that once were regarded as digital pioneers in using music streaming services professionally. Here, several are claiming that being early with music streaming was significant for the global reach and knowledge about Norwegian music, while others are maintaining nega- tive perspectives of being the guinea pigs in a global and platform centered music industry.
Overall, a majority in the Norwegian music industry considers that key aspects of power, e.g. of gatekeeping and defining aesthetic trends, today have moved away from the industry players, to the hands of the global technology giants that are controlling the platform industry. This also means that the economic realm of the Norwegian music market has changed. In a platform centered music industry, the Norwegian market is too small in and of itself when everyone is competing via the same global platforms, with the total global music repertoire included. This forces the professional industry players out and about, both globally and digitally. The need for public funding related to work with music export is the same for all, however, and the tasks of writing applications for economic support is a natural part of working with music in Norway.
In conclusion, the experiences of digital ambivalence we have presented in the report, can be transformed into a stronger starting point for increased Norwegian music export, if the level of professionalization and competence related to a global and platform cen- tered music industry is strengthened in line with the further market developments.
The report is written in Norwegian.
The collection "Networked Music Cultures: Contemporary Approaches, Emerging Issues" presents a range of essays on contemporary music distribution and consumption patterns and practices. The contributors to the collection use a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches, discussing the consequences and effects of the digital distribution of music as it is manifested in specific cultural contexts.
Please contact me for the full version of the article!
The research was conducted in Norway, which currently boasts a globally pioneering streaming market. The study relies on a mixed-methods design using twelve heavy music-streaming users (ranging from seventeen to sixty years old) as informants. I began by devoting two months to sampling users’ self-reported practices and experiences with music-streaming services, combined with online observation and logging of all streamed tracks during this period. I followed up with individual in-depth interviews that were conducted while looking at the personal streaming-service interfaces together with the informants. This design is original to the dissertation and intended to make immediate experience sampling convenient for the informant. It is therefore also relevant for grasping everyday experiences of a taken-for-granted nature that arise in the context of mobile media and the ubiquitous Internet.
I develop my arguments through a discussion that draws on theoretical frameworks that fundamentally revolve around notions of human action, which is also a focus of my analyses (via user practices and experiences). The principal study finding involves the extent of the role that music has assumed in daily life as a result of streaming services. Streaming-related musical meaning is found to be intensely self-referential and personal, and streaming presents itself as a malleable lifeworld resource. I also argue that music-streaming services afford involvements in diverse modes of experience and practice that are realised through the role and impact of these services in everyday life, as demonstrated by the micro-dynamics that follow upon the act of streaming among individuals, the technology, the music and the context. The dissertation’s overall structure is divided in two: (1) the covering paper that will survey the research project as a whole, and (2) four articles written over the three-year course of the project.
This report provides a descriptive analysis of the Norwegian music industry before the corona pandemic, about 10 years after music streaming services became mainstream in professional distribution of recorded music. The results are based on the survey Norwe- gian music in international markets, conducted as part of the research project Music on Demand: Economy and Copyright in a digitized cultural sector (Department of Musi- cology, University of Oslo). The survey received answers from 555 respondents, including creators and performers of Norwegian music, as well as actors in record companies, management, music publishing, booking and more. Through analyses of how these in- dustry actors operate professionally towards global markets and use diverse types of media in their work, the survey confirms that the digitization of the music industry has been important for global reach, and facilitated new types of music export along the way. While an almost unified Norwegian music industry recognizes the importance of social media and music streaming services for global distribution and dissemination, the report also documents that the work with music through these platforms is happening with ambiguity and conflicting experiences. The industry is hit by digital ambivalence.
The variations are big in how opportunities and challenges are experienced across the actors. We find distinctions in how musicians and industry actors in the rhythmic/popu- lar music field versus the classical music field are affected by the digital ambivalence, with further consequences for their international approaches. Actors in the classical field are, very simplified, less dependent on digital media platforms, and hence their work continue more concentrated in fewer markets with concerts and musical performances as their main tasks. Actors in the rhythmic field are, on the opposite side, more digitally dependent (and also more commercially rigged per se), which push them to try to stretch out their global potential, in more activities and more media outlets.
Regardless of genre, our results find that the music industry actors experience several dilemmas in their professional realities. They have become dependent of using digital platforms in their work, despite they also recognize experiences of powerlessness, un- predictability, mistrust and too little competency and capacity in their ability to deal with the platforms in question.
An interesting distinction is found in how creating and performing artists compared to actors working as professional intermediaries, are experiencing the digital ambivalence. The intermediaries are representing the professional knowledge and tailored skills that are needed when Norwegian music is going abroad. The work of the intermediaries in- volves more expertise related to copyright, finance, digital media, diverse markets and more. Their work also includes more activities, in more countries, in collaboration with more professional partners. They use data from digital platforms to a greater extent, they are more negotiable, they know more about other industry partners, and are more successful with the applications they write. The intermediaries (and those who collabo- rate with intermediaries) are therefore experiencing the digital realm of the music indus- try with less unpredictability and more optimism. Put differently, while the report con- firms the idea of a connection between digitization and globalization, the idea of a connection between digitization and democratization (more equal chances for all) is being challenged.
The report depicts a great deal of industry slide in how Norwegian music companies are organized. Both intermediaries and artists combine strategic and administrative tasks as part of their professional music businesses. Core tasks are performed in both new and traditional ways, often offered as services by actors in various roles. This creates new opportunities, also for small businesses and independent artists. Nevertheless, these actors, often without international networks, teams, resources and capacity in general, of- ten suffer the most in digital ambivalence when they are facing of the complex global, music market with a lack of professionality.
In general, there is room for more professionalization in the Norwegian music industry. Both in terms of how digital media can be better exploited, and in terms of how the industry needs more competency and specialization among the professional players. Some intermediaries, such as music publishers, have a huge potential for development, both in terms of how they work and in terms of how they can provide knowledge to other indus- try actors about their work.
Interestingly, the digital ambivalence appearing in the music industry today seems to sum up two conflicting depictions of what it has meant for the Norwegian industry that once were regarded as digital pioneers in using music streaming services professionally. Here, several are claiming that being early with music streaming was significant for the global reach and knowledge about Norwegian music, while others are maintaining nega- tive perspectives of being the guinea pigs in a global and platform centered music industry.
Overall, a majority in the Norwegian music industry considers that key aspects of power, e.g. of gatekeeping and defining aesthetic trends, today have moved away from the industry players, to the hands of the global technology giants that are controlling the platform industry. This also means that the economic realm of the Norwegian music market has changed. In a platform centered music industry, the Norwegian market is too small in and of itself when everyone is competing via the same global platforms, with the total global music repertoire included. This forces the professional industry players out and about, both globally and digitally. The need for public funding related to work with music export is the same for all, however, and the tasks of writing applications for economic support is a natural part of working with music in Norway.
In conclusion, the experiences of digital ambivalence we have presented in the report, can be transformed into a stronger starting point for increased Norwegian music export, if the level of professionalization and competence related to a global and platform cen- tered music industry is strengthened in line with the further market developments.
The report is written in Norwegian.
The collection "Networked Music Cultures: Contemporary Approaches, Emerging Issues" presents a range of essays on contemporary music distribution and consumption patterns and practices. The contributors to the collection use a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches, discussing the consequences and effects of the digital distribution of music as it is manifested in specific cultural contexts.
Please contact me for the full version of the article!
The research was conducted in Norway, which currently boasts a globally pioneering streaming market. The study relies on a mixed-methods design using twelve heavy music-streaming users (ranging from seventeen to sixty years old) as informants. I began by devoting two months to sampling users’ self-reported practices and experiences with music-streaming services, combined with online observation and logging of all streamed tracks during this period. I followed up with individual in-depth interviews that were conducted while looking at the personal streaming-service interfaces together with the informants. This design is original to the dissertation and intended to make immediate experience sampling convenient for the informant. It is therefore also relevant for grasping everyday experiences of a taken-for-granted nature that arise in the context of mobile media and the ubiquitous Internet.
I develop my arguments through a discussion that draws on theoretical frameworks that fundamentally revolve around notions of human action, which is also a focus of my analyses (via user practices and experiences). The principal study finding involves the extent of the role that music has assumed in daily life as a result of streaming services. Streaming-related musical meaning is found to be intensely self-referential and personal, and streaming presents itself as a malleable lifeworld resource. I also argue that music-streaming services afford involvements in diverse modes of experience and practice that are realised through the role and impact of these services in everyday life, as demonstrated by the micro-dynamics that follow upon the act of streaming among individuals, the technology, the music and the context. The dissertation’s overall structure is divided in two: (1) the covering paper that will survey the research project as a whole, and (2) four articles written over the three-year course of the project.