Grounded in more than a decade of field research, this book uses empirical examples, quantitative data, and qualitative interviews with young music consumers as well as music industry professionals to understand how the platforms behind music production, distribution and listening work in our digital society. Bringing together the perspectives from science and technology studies, media studies, and the political economy of digital platforms, the book outlines the process of mutual construction between music digital platforms and the cultural value of music in todays society, and also reflects on the complicated relationship between the power of platforms and the agency of listeners.
1. Introduction: How Digital Platforms are Changing Music.-
2. Streaming: Where it Comes From.- 3. Platforms: Why Music Depends on Them.-
4. Algorithms: Who Selects Music for Us.- 5. Listeners: How They Shape Music
Consumption Practices.- 6. Artificial Intelligence: Where the Music of the
Future is Heading.- 7. Conclusions: What is the Value of Music.
Tiziano Bonini is Associate Professor in Sociology of Culture and Communication at the University of Siena. He has co-edited the book Radio Audiences and Participation in the age of network society (with B. Monclus, Routledge, 2015) and co-authored the book Algorithms of Resistance (with E. Treré, MIT Press, 2024).
Paolo Magaudda is Associate Professor in Sociology of Culture and Communication at the University of Padova. He is author of History of Digital Media (with G. Balbi, Routledge, 2018) and Youth People and The Smartphone (with M. Drusian and C.M. Scarcelli, Palgrave 2022).
