Call: HORIZON-CL2-2022-HERITAGE-01-05
Title: Promoting Fairness of the Music Ecosystem in a Platform Dominated and Post-Pandemic Europe
EU nr: 101095088
Total Budget: 3.026.735 €
Total Budget VUB: 514.375 €
Contact: prof. Heritiana Ranaivoson
We have asked Heritiana 2 major questions to better understand Fair MusE:
What is fAIR MUSE about?
“In a digital media economy where the largest gatekeepers are data-analytics businesses the appealing content such as music – in audio as well as audiovisual formats – is used to attract and keep users active on the gatekeepers’ platforms for as long as possible.
FairMusE is exceptionally well suited to shed light on the economic, cultural, societal and technical context of the EU music ecosystem where a great variety of composers, performers, record labels and platform artists target very different audiences, in terms of size and geographical scope. Such audiences do not know how the main digital music gatekeepers treat, promote and commercially exploit their works.
So, the major objectives of Fair MusE are 3-fold: 1. Providing an interdisciplinary analysis of fairness in the music industry; 2. promoting and enhancing transparency concerning music industry practices and standardisation in music data collection; 3. assessing the risks created by the reinforced dominance of the largest online platforms.
Hence, the FairMusE approach to the notion of fairness will consider the various challenges raised by the advent and domination of platforms such as YouTube, Spotify and, more recently, TikTok.
Thus, aiming at more transparency, competitiveness and sustainability in the music sector in Europe. On top, fostering fairness will entail preserving and promoting Europe’s cultural and linguistic diversity, for which music has always been a key sector.”
Why is it important for VUB?
“At VUB, our research group will be involved in the political economy of media and cultural industries, and the impact of digital technologies. It will lead the project’s research in the domain of the economics of content platforms, to explore the innovative business models in the music platform economy and analyse the music industry’s ever evolving value networks.”
Aim
The overarching goal of Fair MusE is to promote fairness for music creators and stakeholders from an interdisciplinary perspective, thus leading to a more transparent, competitive and sustainable music ecosystem in Europe.
Methodology
Fair MusE focuses specifically on the domination of online platforms and their algorithms and will investigate:
(i) the legal responses that have been proposed in the EU;
(ii) the changes these platforms have brought to the music industry and music professionals;
(iii) the impact of such algorithms on music consumption.
Fair MusE will provide an interdisciplinary analysis of fairness in the music industry involving music creators and stakeholders in the research; promote and enhance transparency concerning music industry practices and standardisation in data collection in the European music ecosystem; and assess the risks created by the reinforced dominance of the largest online platforms prompted by COVID 19 as well as making policymakers, stakeholders and the general public aware of such risks.
Impact
Fair MusE will provide an innovative, strong and future-proof set of co-created responses and solutions: the 'Music Copyright Infrastructure', a data-sharing model agreement enhancing transparency; a 'Music Data Dashboard' of statistical indicators on the economic and societal value of the European music sector; the 'Fairness Score', a tool to assess music services and social media in terms of fairness’ multiple facets; and a ‘White Paper’ embodying policy recommendations to enhance competitiveness, sustainability, transparency and fairness of the EU music ecosystem.
Our consortium is a carefully designed interdisciplinary group of academic and industry partners with strong expertise in the fields of law, economics, political science and computer science, supported by an Advisory Board composed of a highly qualified and broadly representative group of industry experts.
