The very nature of music as a cultural practice is changing across the world. MUSICSTREAM examines why and how this is happening, and the implications for the role of music in people’s lives.  

Hundreds of millions of people across the world now experience music via ‘streaming services’ such as Spotify and Apple Music, which offer on-demand access, by means of internet or mobile telephony, to vast catalogues of music, either ‘free’ (advertising-supported) or via subscription.  

Meanwhile, other ways of experiencing music, via radio, television and live performance, are changing. Social media and short video play key roles that are still poorly understood.   

A new system of music production, distribution and consumption has developed, and there are many controversies about it. Yet there has been no sustained, integrated analysis of this system, the considerable international variations within it, nor its effects on musical culture. 

MUSICSTREAM provides such analysis, focusing especially on Europe, North America and China, but also bringing together research from across the world via symposia and collaborative publication. 

Details of talks and presentations can be found here, recent publications can be found here, and more information about the core team, including links to their personal web pages, can be found here.

Funding

This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, in the form of an Advanced Research Grant awarded to Professor David Hesmondhalgh, at the University of Leeds (Grant agreement no.101020615)