Perceptions in the Music Industry : How the Music Industry Perceives Itself in Regards to Fairness in the Distribution of Revenue in Music Streaming

Abstract

For as long as I have known of the existence of the music industry, I have heard two sides of its fairness towards artists. This was the case when I was a child and teenager, during the cassette- and CD-age, as well as my adult life, in the age of digital music and music streaming. I was curious not just to whether or not it was a fair business, but what the different perceptions of the industry was, especially today in the streaming age. My father once told me: "If there are two sides to a story, neither are true." The goal of this thesis is to find how the music industry perceives their current situation. I found it interesting to see if different associations of the music industry have the same perception. Whether they all possess the same knowledge, and if not, where it might differ, as well as what the "truth" might be. To answer this, my research-questions is the following: "What are the different perspectives in the music industry in regards to fairness and what kind of knowledge does the different bodies possess of the distribution?" I will in the discussion-chapter of the thesis review a possible practical solution to the challenges highlighted by my informants, based on my overall findings. The thesis is based on in-depth interviews with informants from the music industry and a panel debate of representatives from the industry, together with literature about the industry, rapports on streaming from UiO, MFO, and the Norwegian Cultural Government, and a master thesis on the consumers' perceptions from UiA.