The value of sound: Datafication of the sound industries in the age of surveillance and platform capitalism

Abstract

The current digital landscape is based on platform capitalism and on the cloud concept in which different services (music platforms, instant messaging services, live music companies, sellers, device companies, music major labels, radio players) try to control music/sound circulation. The new century started with the development of new devices — the iPod, smartphones, AI speakers — and distribution modes (podcasting, streaming) and the emergence of voice interaction to control devices. In this context, this paper develops a value chain defining the diverse key intermediaries in the management, accumulation, distribution, and access to information phases.

Editorial Monográfico Nº 46: 100 años de la radio en Iberoamérica. Estudios de radio y futuro del medio

“…Aunque la radio ha manifestado cierto inmovilismo o pereza en comparación con la prensa o la televisión para aprovechar las nuevas oportunidades digitales, en la última década, sobre todo, las empresas radiofónicas se han visto obligadas a dar pasos hacia la reinvención de sus procesos de producción, gestión y distribución. Como consecuencia, investigaciones sobre el podcasting, la plataformización de la distribución sonora o la datificación de la empresa radiofónica también empezaron a cobrar relevancia en el ámbito hispanoamericano (Piñeiro-Otero & Pedrero-Esteban, 2022;Fernández-Sande & Rodríguez-Pallares, 2022;Terol-Bolinches, Pedrero-Esteban & Alaejos, 2021;Gallego-Pérez, 2021;Galán, Herrero, Vergara, & Martínez, 2018).…”

Doing Digital Migration Studies:

“…As such, voice also plays a primary role in machine-mediated local and transnational communication-from the telephone to the oral/aural renaissance occurring in today's digitized media context (Gallego, 2021). The case of migrants is no exception, as online voice calls and messages on messaging platforms are present in everyday digital practices (Greene, 2020;Zijlstra & van Liempt, 2017).…”

“…The implementation of voice biometrics in Germany can be considered the meeting point between the logic of techno-solutionism and the increased market interest in voice biometric technology (Gallego, 2021;Kang, 2022;Turow, 2021). The former refers to the techno-solutionism and hype that leads governments to attempt to solve complex social issues through the latest technological innovations, without first meticulously understanding situations that may be not suited to digital disruption .…”

“…Consequently, asylum seekers are used as a testing ground for experimentation with data-driven practices such as biometrics which, against border authorities' claim of mechanical efficiency, cause the risk of failures that further endanger the most vulnerable groups . The latter trend instead concerns the recent large investments made in speech recognition to make voice a central medium of interaction within networked technologies and online services, with companies interested in measuring and translating the information of the human voice into data for digital profiling and other purposes (Gallego, 2021;Kang, 2022;Turow, 2021).…”

Big data in radio broadcasting companies: applications and evolution

“…Paradoxically, no specific research has yet been conducted that addresses the application of BD in the radio broadcasting sector, in contrast with the various studies available on BD in the advertising management, marketing, and corporate communication fields (Miklosik; Evans, 2020; Bustamante-Alonso; Guillén-Alonso, 2017; Selva-Ruiz; Caro-Castaño, 2016; García-Bonal; Papí-Gálvez, 2015) or the very recent advances linked to the value chain of datafication in the audio industry (Gallego, 2021).…”