Social networks, legal innovations and the “new” music industry

Abstract

Purpose -Digital technological innovations are commonly perceived to be radically disrupting the power or role of corporate actors within the music industry and their established industrial practices and interests. In particular, the internet is widely regarded as having produced a ''crisis'' for the music industry. While such assumptions reflect the predominance of technological deterministic thinking in relation to the music industry, this paper aims to draw upon historical insights from past research on radical technical innovation processes to inform this approach to examining some of the key innovations that have occurred in the music industry in the digital era.Design/methodology/approach -This paper draws on a range of qualitative data obtained primarily from a recently completed Irish-based music industry research project, primarily comprised of interviews conducted with key music industry informants and personnel.Findings -Key findings indicate that ongoing legal innovations, combined with the widespread adoption of social networking sites and other online content platforms are (amongst other factors) serving to maintain and bolster the position of major music copyright owners.Originality/value -In the context of the contemporary ''knowledge economy'', the authors propose paying special attention to one specific area of policy innovation -that related to the intellectual property rights (IPRs) regime. In particular, they place emphasis on the copyright strand of IPRs in shaping the outcome of digital platforms for the promotion and dissemination of music. In doing this, they consider the evolution of a re-configured music industry ''structure'' which re-conceptualises the music artist as an ''all-encompassing bundle'' of rights through which a diverse range of revenue streams are increasingly streamlined back to a small handful of major copyright owners.

Exploring the Competitive Advantages of an Innovative Online Music Production Framework Combined With Deep Learning

“…In the current technological development and knowledge economy background, the structural evolution of the music industry will also have an impact on the relationship between the music production industry, particularly the protection of copyright and the relationship between profits [51,63,64].…”

Exploring the Role of Deep Learning Technology in the Sustainable Development of the Music Production Industry

“…Digital technology has continued to evolve into online audio streaming technology [26] and cloud digital locker [27] technology, which bring convenience to consumers. However, the music industry needs to adjust itself to this new technology, especially in the areas of copyright protection and business loss and profit, which will affect the sustainable development model of every enterprise in the industry chain [28,29].…”

Rapid Internationalization Emerging Markets Multinationals from Latin America: The Case of the AJE Group

“…Based on these discussions, one can conclude that the music industry is considered as a "creative industry"; because artists and audiences can have their own creative use of new digital technology. In this regard, Preston and Rogers (2011) argued that Internet and new digital technologies have enhanced opportunities for independent artists, and this new digital environment encourage a "do-it-yourself" approach, even for audiences. On the other hand, independent artists can more easily use from the new digital media in order to advance in the path of their promotion.…”

“…As emphasized by Kjus (2016), distribution is the center of music industry in new media context. However, along with all the benefits of digital technologies, the internet is noted as a sort of "crisis" factor for music industry in some researches (Preston and Rogers 2011), and some researchers have noted the dangers of music digital "piracy" (McCarthy 2013). Eventually, based upon the strongly explanations, Koh, Murthi, and Raghunathan showed that, in the presence of "legal" distribution channels for digital music (like Beeptunes in Iran), the negative effect of online music piracy on physical music sales has weakened and finally "digital music, not online music piracy, substitutes for physical music" (Koh et al 2014).…”