The economy of musical discovery in the digital age

Special report: Activities run on digital platforms (II)
A revolution in amateur practices?
By Sophie Maisonneuve
English

Acknowledging the changes that have occurred in the economics of music production and distribution with the “digital revolution”, and its implications in terms of consumption, this article analyses the effects thereof on the ways in which amateurs discover new music. What is the role of commercial devices, and in particular of recommendation algorithms? Is the “digimorphosis” of music consumption practices complete in this respect? Are “digital natives”, in particular, fully converted to the digital regime? Based on a survey of some 30 in-depth semi-structured interviews with individuals aged 17 to 34, this article attempts to answer these questions.

Keywords

  • music consumption
  • music discovery
  • recommendation devices
  • cultural prescription
  • strong links/weak links
  • algorithms
  • uncertainty
  • experience goods
  • singularities
  • fispositif/disposition
  • commitment
  • expert
  • material prescription
  • “digital revolution”
  • amateur
  • “arts of doing”
Go to the article on Cairn-int.info