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KULMEDIA-Kultur- og mediesektoren

Music on demand: Economy and copyright in a digitised cultural sector

Alternative title: Musikkens medierte verdi: Økonomi og opphavsrett i en digitalisert kultursektor

Awarded: NOK 7.0 mill.

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Project Number:

271962

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Project Period:

2017 - 2021

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The use of digital media technology has fundamentally changing the ways in which cultural content, such as music and film, is produced and distributed, and the opportunities for earning revenue. This project har united scholars in media, music, economics and copyright in its interdisciplinary analyses of how artists and organisations maintain their economic interests and intellectual property rights (IPR) in the face of new media services. The analyses of the project are based on qualitative interviews with representatives of different parts of the music sector as well as a survey which has charted the experience of different actors with operating in an international music industry. The project has zoomed in on three questions: Question 1: how are agents of production and distribution negotiating the use and economics of copyright? These are some of the answers the project has found: - Our investigations indicate that songwriters, performers and producers enter into informal negotiations concerning the split of rights and that there are different views on what should affect the split. - Streaming services have participated in the development of new forms of direct licensing with the major labels/publishers, which challenges the bargaining power of other rights holders and collecting societies. - We find a need for the cultivation of shared norms for the splitting of rights and the use of copyright protected music, ask if the music sector might be inspired by the ethical guidelines and councils of the media sector? Question 2: how are Norwegian artists, record labels and management groups, particularly small and medium-sized ones, competing in globalised markets? These are some of the answers the project has found: - New media presents new opportunities for succeeding independently of traditional power structures and gate-keepers, but only if the required kinds of competency are acquired by those who ?do it themselves?. - Although streaming services are crucial tools for reaching out globally with Norwegian music, many in the Norwegian music industry feel disempowered and distrustful when faced with the global platforms. - The study confirms strong linkages between digitalization and globalization (markets and competition open up), while the linkage between digitalization and democratization (equal opportunities for all) are challenged. Question 3: How effective are state policies for intervening in the economy and copyright protection of music? These are some of the answers the project has found: - The Norwegian revision of copyright law engaged musicians and organizations in an extensive debate on the regulation of the music sector. - The EU directive on the Digital Single Market (DSM) har attracted broad attention, but there are diverging views on its significance in a Norwegian context. - The rise in streaming services and social media has increased awareness of the contracts that songwriters and performers sign with various kinds of intermediaries, which underscores the importance of the DSM-directive?s article 20 and the implementation of a "Contract adjustment mechanism". MUSEC has in various ways conveyed its findings and analyses to the public and the sector, which among other things have comprised a report from the mentioned survey aiming to reach industry professionals, public policy bodies as well as researchers. Encouraged by curiosity of several industry professionals, an extensive report was released in October 2020, with the title Digital Ambivalens: Norsk musikk i internasjonale markeder (Digital ambivalence: Norwegian music in international markets). The study will also be further developed and published as a scientific monography by Damm Akademisk during 2021. The project has also initiated a special issue on music and digital media in Norsk medietidsskrift (Norwegian media journal). The special issue was released September 2020 and comprised relevant contributions from researchers and projects in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The work of the project has been presented at a series of conferences, including The International Symposium on Media Innovation, ECREA, NordMedia, IASPM and IASPM Norden (the latter with a keynote presentation). MUSEC har in collaboration with the MASHED-project (also funded by the RCN) held the course "Music and Copyright" where we have conveyed our research to students at the UiO. In January 2021 we arranged a public closing seminar that gathered 250 participants from the academy as well as the music sector to discussions of MUSEC?s research and developments in the music industry.

Prosjektet har blant annet: - vist hvordan det foregår en «datafisering» av bransjens kunnskapsgrunnlag som innebærer nye arbeidsformer og måter å forholde seg til markeder i rask endring (se Maasø og Hagen 2020, og Hagen forthcoming) - utforsket hvordan digitale plattformer gir nye forutsetninger for forvaltningen av låtskriveres og utøveres arbeid i møte med internasjonale markeder (Hagen et al.) - konseptualisert hvordan strømming bidrar til endringer i musikkbransjens økonomiske strukturer (upstream and downstream, se Towse 2020) - teorisert de juridiske konsekvensene av overgangen fra salg av eksemplarer til lisensiering av musikkbruk i strømmetjenester - etablert hvordan forhandlinger om rettigheter foregår på mikronivå (mellom de som skaper åndsverk), mesonivå (mellom artist og plateselskap) og makronivå (mellom rettighetsforvaltende organisasjoner) (se Kjus 2019; 2021)

This project unpacks one of the most challenging issues of the cultural sector in the 2000s: how art and creative work is to be financed. The use of digital media technology is fundamentally changing the ways in which cultural content, such as music and film, is produced and distributed, and the opportunities for earning revenue. This project unites scholars in media technology, music, economics and copyright in its interdisciplinary analyses of how artists and organisations maintain their economic interests and intellectual property rights (IPR) in the face of new services and opportunities. Drawing on recent research into cultural industries, economics and copyright, MUSEC will (1) identify how negotiations of economy and copyright are taking place, (2) analyse the sustainability and competitiveness of Norwegian actors in globalising markets, and (3) evaluate the effectiveness of state intervention, both economically and legally. The interdisciplinary approach of the project entails multiple methods, including the qualitative interview, quantitative survey, document analysis and case study. It seeks genuinely new contributions to the study and discussion of the economics and copyright of music.

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KULMEDIA-Kultur- og mediesektoren

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