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Music Copyright in the Digital Age

About this project
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Martin Cloonan

Martin Kretschmer

Andreas Rahmatian

Kenny Barr

Lead investigator(s):
– Prof Martin Cloonan
Contributor(s):
– Mr Kenny Barr
Start Date: 1st October 2012
End Date: 30th September 2015

Summary

This project explored two emergent, but under-researched, responses to the ‘digital crisis’ facing recorded music: internet streaming and live performance. At the same time it located these phenomena within a broader historical analysis about the interplay between music, performance, technology, and law. This project was funded by a Kelvin Smith scholarship.

Project outputs include:

  • Kenneth Barr completed his PhD Thesis
  • Theorizing Music Streaming: Preliminary Investigations – the recording industry is in transition: from an industry of tangible music products towards an industry of intangible music services. Focusing on the music streaming service Spotify andits impact on the UK popular music market, this article scrutinizes key theoretical aspects of this shift from product to service. The article falls into three parts. The first probes existing literature, identifying three concepts valuable in constructing a theoretical framework for interrogating music streaming: ‘Basket of Rights’, ‘Disruptive Innovation’ and ‘Celestial Jukebox’. The second part theorizes how these concepts may be applied to Spotify. Building on this, the conclusion identifies aspects of music streaming ripe for research.this, the conclusion identifies aspects of music streaming ripe for research.
  • PRS for Music Festival and Concert Tariff Review – this blog explored the PRS for Music Review of Popular Music Concerts Tariff 
  • ‘Going for a Song’ – this workpackage contributed research into a new animation for Copyright User (copyrightuser.org)