Music Rights Management in the Digital Age

近年来，出现了一个令人兴奋的跨学科研究领域，旨在确定互联网技术对音乐产业的广泛影响（见Arditi, 2015； Hracs等人，2016;Leyshon, 2014; Meier, 2016; Morris, 2015; Watson, 2014; Wikstom 2013）。然而，音乐产业的快速变化对学术研究提出了重大挑战，我们的理解仍然存在重大差距。该项目的重点是填补当代音乐产业研究的重大空白，即数字版权管理和货币化。深入了解数字版权管理的问题不仅限于学术界，而且在行业本身也很重要。从流媒体服务到社交媒体再到YouTube等众多数字平台的版权收集问题，以及不同地区音乐版权制度的变化，使音乐版权管理成为一项复杂且不断变化的业务。与Sentric Music的合作，是一家位于利物浦的非常成功的独立音乐版权管理公司，代表着85,000名歌曲作者，为学者和专业人士提供了一个独特的机会，从概念和应用的角度出发，在我们对音乐经济价值链中这一关键部分的理解方面迈出了重要的一步。广泛的目标是对数字时代的音乐版权管理进行详细的学术检查，并在合作组织内进行应用研究和分析。更具体地说，这个拟议项目的特别创新集中在音乐版权管理与艺术家的社交媒体和在线资料之间的关系上。最近对独立音乐艺术家的研究（Hracs, 2015）表明，在与唱片公司签订合同的艺术家越来越少的时期，音乐在网上分发到一个高度拥挤的市场，独立艺术家（以及他们的经纪人，尽管艺术家经常承担自己的管理）必须积极努力提高他们的形象。鉴于社交媒体平台和在线照片和视频平台的兴起，特别重要的是在线观众建设，粉丝互动和审美劳动，这些活动既耗时又可能涉及音乐产业以外的合作发展（Hracs 2010, 2013, 2014），当然还有传统的录音和表演活动。音乐出版公司，如合作组织Sentric Music，允许艺术家从歌曲、视频、现场表演和同步中收取版税。然而，即使在行业内部，人们仍然不太了解的是，艺术家的在线活动，特别是通过社交媒体的活动，与通过版权管理产生收入之间是否存在联系。主要研究问题1)音乐的数字化如何影响音乐出版和音乐版权收集，以及音乐出版公司如何改变商业模式/策略？2)艺人的在线个人资料以及他们与粉丝群的建立和互动，特别是通过社交媒体，对他们通过音乐版权管理获得的收入有什么影响？3)可以收集哪些类型的数据，以及如何对这些数据进行有意义的分析，以评估在线个人资料对音乐版权创收的影响？4)音乐版权公司和艺人可以采取哪些营销、传播和社交媒体方面的协同策略，以最大限度地提高音乐版权的收入？5)出版公司如何更好地与艺术家沟通，鼓励他们完成版权管理方面的必要管理，使数字时代的收藏成为可能？

In recent years, an exciting inter-disciplinary field of study has emerged which seeks to determine the wide-ranging impacts of internet technologies on the music industry (see Arditi, 2015; Hracs et al., 2016; Leyshon, 2014; Meier, 2016; Morris, 2015; Watson, 2014; Wikstom 2013). However, the rapidity of change in the music industry presents a significant challenge for academic research, and there remain significant gaps in our understanding. The focus of this project is to fill a significant gap in contemporary music industry research, namely that of digital rights management and monetisation. The issue of developing an in-depth understanding of digital rights management is not limited to academia, but is also significant within the industry itself. The issues around collecting rights across a multitude of digital platforms, ranging from streaming services to social media to YouTube, as well as variations in music rights regime across different territories, make music rights management a complex and constantly changing business. The collaboration with Sentric Music, a highly successful independent music rights management company based in Liverpool which represents 85,000 song writers, offers the unique opportunity for academics and professionals to come together to make a significant step forward with regards to our understanding of this crucial part of the value chain in the music economy, both from conceptual and applied standpoints. The broad aim is to undertake a detailed academic examination of music right management in the digital age, underpinned with applied research and analysis within the collaborating organisation. More specifically, the particular innovation of this proposed project centres on the relationship between music rights management and artists' social media and online profiles. Recent research on independent music artists (Hracs, 2015) has demonstrated that in a period where fewer artists are signed to contracts with labels, and where music is distributed online into a highly crowded marketplace, independent artists (along with their managers, although artists frequently undertake their own management) must actively work to raise their profile. Given the rise of social media platforms and online photograph and video platforms, of particular importance are online audience building, fan-interaction and aesthetic labour, activities which are both time-consuming and may involve the development of collaborations beyond the music industry (Hracs 2010, 2013, 2014), as well as of course the traditional activities of recording and performing. Music publishing companies such as the collaborating organisation Sentric Music, allow artists to collect royalties from songs, videos, live performance, and synchronisation. Yet, what remains poorly understood, even within the industry, is if a connection exists between the activities of artists online, in particular through social media, and the generation of income through rights management.Key research questions1) How has the digitisation of music impacted upon music publishing and music rights collection, and how have music publishing companies altered business models/strategies in response?2) In what ways does an artist's online profile and their building of, and interaction with, a fan-base, especially through social media, impact on the income generated to them via music rights management? 3) What types of data can be gathered, and in what ways can this data be meaningfully analysed, to assess the impact of online profile on income generation from music rights?4) What synergetic strategies regarding marketing, communications and social media can be adopted by music rights companies and artists for maximising income generation from music rights?5) How do publishing companies better engage/communicate with artists to encourage them to complete the necessary administration around copyright management to to make collection in the digital age possible?