New book: Platformed! How Streaming, Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence are Shaping Music Cultures (2024)

Why are today YouTube and Spotify more important for music consumption than radio, television and the press? What happens when algorithms replace radio programmers and music critics? How did streaming, algorithms and smartphones reshape musical tastes and listening habits? And what future awaits music in the age of artificial intelligence? Bringing together the perspectives of science and technology studies, media studies and the political economy of digital platforms, this book attempts to provide an answer to these questions, outlining the process of mutual construction between music digital platforms and the cultural value of music in today’s society, also reflecting on the complicated relationship between the power of platforms and the agency of listeners.

The book is the fruit of more than a decade of field research by the two authors and uses empirical examples, quantitative data, and qualitative interviews with young music consumers as well as music industry professionals, to guide the reader through the understanding of how the platforms behind music production, distribution and listening work in the digital society.