12th International Music Business Research Days

3-4-5 November 2021

Erasmus University Rotterdam,

the Netherlands

 

AIMS

This conference focuses on the intersection between key transformations in the popular music industries. Music represents and generates value on various levels from the individual to the global, and in many different spheres from the cultural and social to the economic and political. Popular music is staged through multiple platforms, actors, businesses, intermediaries and policies. The current COVID-19-crisis both challenges the music industries and acts as a catalyst of new digital innovations. This is a vital moment to (re)consider the future directions of the music industries. While the music industries are characterized by continuous change and transformation, significant disruptions have always impacted its resilience. Such disruptions can be external shocks, including the current crisis, new technologies, political change or aesthetic-cultural innovations. From an ecological perspective, all transformations force the industry to reshape and rethink itself. This will likely result in both positive as negative consequences. We need to critically reflect on what the immediate and long-term future of music ecologies entails, who benefits and who suffers from such disruptions.

Focusing on a select number of interrelated themes, this conference aims to bring together scholars and professionals from various countries and disciplines. Participants bring their own perspective to the stage in an international exchange of ideas and current research insights about the contemporary music industries.

 

THEMES

The Music Business Research Days offer an interdisciplinary forum at the intersection of economic, artistic, cultural, social, legal, technological and further developments which contribute to the creation/production, dissemination/ distribution and reception/consumption of music. This interdisciplinary nature calls for methodological multiplicity and is open to scholars from all scientific areas. We invite submission of papers on – but not strictly limited to – the themes and example questions below:

MUSIC INDUSTRIES & BUSINESS

        Values: how are processes of value creation changing?
        Festivals: how to find a balance between rising headliner fees and fair pay for emerging acts?
        Platforms: are platforms the new gatekeepers?
        Sustainability: how to organize eco-friendly concerts, how to distribute wealth more equally?
        Risks: how to operate in an unpredictable market?
        Monetization: is livestreaming a business model?

ARTISTS

        Careers: is there a financially sustainable career in music?
        Education: how to prepare music students for a future in music?
        Revenues: is the superstar economy intensifying?
        Management: is self-management a viable option for artists?
        Performances: what are new online and offline formats for concerts?
        Entrepreneurship: are musicians reluctant entrepreneurs?

MEDIA & DIGITAL INNOVATIONS

        Playlists: how do playlists influence taste?
        Platforms: what are gatekeeping practices of digital platforms?
        Social media: do they help musicians to build their careers independently?

AUDIENCES

        Fans: how are relationships between artists and fans changing?
        Consumption: how does consuming recorded music relate to consuming live music?
        Inclusion: how can live music reach more diverse audiences?
        Technology: how do audiences experience live shows offline vs online?

POLICIES

        Governance: how to sustain a local music sector in times of crisis?
        Resilience: how to build strong live music ecologies?
        Equity: how to make sure that the live music industry works for all involved participants?
        Supply: how to sustain a healthy supply of grassroots music venues?

 

 

REGISTRATION

To confirm your participation, we would like to invite you to register and pay before 1 October 2021. Click here to complete the registration in Easychair.

The payment will need to be done separately by clicking on one of the following registration types:

 

 

PRACTICALITIES AND OTHER INFORMATION

    • The conference will take place on the campus of Erasmus University Rotterdam (Campus Woudestein).
    • Click here for visitors information (e.g. hotels and attractions in Rotterdam).
    • Accepted abstracts will be published in the book of abstracts of the conference. Any lists of references will not be published in the conference book. If necessary, you can update your abstract in Easychair until 1 October 2021.
    • Participants in the Young Scholars Network will need to upload their paper before October 1, 2021 via the submission page in EasyChair (choose ‘add file’ in the top-right corner on the page of your submission).
    • The best papers of this conference will be considered for publication in a special issue of the International Journal of Music Business Research (IJMBR). In case you want to be eligible for this special issue, full papers should be sent before October 1, 2021 via the submission page in EasyChair (choose ‘add file’ in the top-right corner on the page of your submission). They should not exceed 7,000 words (including abstracts, figures, tables, references and appendices) and follow the author guidelines of the International Journal of Music Business Research (IJMBR). A first selection will be made after the conference by the editors, after which a double-blind peer review process is in place for these submissions.

 

CONFERENCE ORGANIZATION

The conference is organized by the POPLIVE research team and supported by IMBRA, the International Music Business Research Association. It is hosted by ERMeCC, the Erasmus Research Centre for Media, Communication and Culture in cooperation with Creating010. For more information, please contact: imbrd2021@gmail.com.

 

Contact

Slavomira Martiskova

mailto: vmbrd@mdw.ac.at

Department of Cultural Management and Gender Studies (IKM)

University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna

Anton-von-Webern-Platz 1, 1030 Vienna, Austria

Tel.: +43-1-71155-3418

 

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