Is music streaming bad for musicians? Problems of evidence and argument
Is music streaming bad for musicians? Problems of evidence and argument
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音乐流媒体对音乐家有害吗？
DOI：
10.1177/1461444820953541
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发表时间：
2020
影响因子：
5
通讯作者：
D. Hesmondhalgh
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
D. Hesmondhalgh
围绕音乐流媒体服务的增长存在巨大争议，这些服务现在是国际音乐产业的核心。一组重要的批评涉及音乐创作者从这些服务上分发的录制音乐中获得的金额。许多人声称，音乐流媒体让音乐家比以前更难靠音乐谋生。本文确定并讨论了围绕这些批评的论点和证据的一些重要问题，如下：（a）对音乐流媒体服务提供的“按流”费率的关注令人怀疑，（B）未能将流媒体服务视为更广泛的音乐和所有权系统的一部分，（c）在考虑系统性问题时倾向于简化，以及（d）当评论者声称、暗示或假设该制度已明显变得不那么公正时，所提供的证据有限。然后，它讨论了关于如何改进该系统的辩论，特别是是否可以采用“以用户为中心”的支付系统，而不是目前的“按比例”系统。这篇文章表明，与以前的唱片音乐系统相比，更多的音乐家而不是更少的音乐家现在可以从唱片音乐中赚钱。但它也提出，目前的制度保留了其前身的显著不平等和普遍恶劣的工作条件，并且更好的辩论需要流媒体服务和音乐业务的使用和支付更加透明。
Great controversy has surrounded the growth of the music streaming services that are now central to the music industries internationally. One important set of criticisms concerns the amount of money that music creators receive for the recorded music that is distributed on these services. Many claim that music streaming has made it harder than before for musicians to make a living from music. This article identifies and discusses some significant problems of argument and evidence surrounding these criticisms, as follows: (a) a dubious focus on ‘per-stream’ rates offered by music streaming services, (b) a failure to see streaming services as part of wider systems of music and ownership, (c) tendencies towards simplification when systemic problems are taken into account, and (d) the limited evidence provided when commentators claim, imply or assume that the system has become notably less just. It then discusses debates concerning what might be done to improve the system, especially whether ‘user-centric’ systems of payment might be adopted, instead of the current ‘pro-rata’ system. The article suggests that more musicians rather than fewer might now be able to earn money from recorded music than in preceding recorded-music systems. But it also proposes that the current system retains the striking inequalities and generally poor working conditions that characterised its predecessors, and that better debate requires greater transparency about usage and payment on the part of streaming services and music businesses.