This is a really interesting small study on what's working with music livestreams. It's also a good example of how to present research. (quick thread) nmbx.newmusicusa.org/livestream-com…
First, the study acknowledges its limitations up front. It's a quite small sample size, and a specific group of respondents whose experience may not be representative of broader populations.
Importantly the authors make an effort to identify gaps in the data: "none of the respondents identified as disabled/having a disability ...we do not have the perspective of anyone who is blind/low vision or deaf/hard-of-hearing [... ] trying to navigate livestreams."
Secondly, the authors approach both their areas of inquiry and their findings with curiosity. Even their top-level takeaways reflect complexity.
When you see studies presented in a lot of popular media (whether music/tech/trade press or news/politics) it doesn't often get nuanced in this way. Often you see more of a PR approach, which gets more coverage but can be less informative.
Think about these things when you read about music business studies & research. Are they making limitations of the data clear? Are they identifying important gaps in the data? Do their findings reflect nuance? This will help you avoid getting misled by bad data & weird agendas.

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More from @future_of_music

20 Feb
Much of the chatter about Twitch and Metallica and copyright is getting the facts and the history wrong. Quick thread.
The short version is that people are confusing the DMCA itself with particular companies' choices about how to implement the DMCA. That works to the benefit of huge companies like Amazon (owner of Twitch); they end up escaping scrutiny.
Jeff Bezos is worth $197 Billion. Twitch can afford to pay for music licensing! And any artist who controls their own publishing has the ability to waive their exclusive rights if they want to perform their own material and don't mind that the service isn't paying them.
Read 22 tweets
1 Jan
The @FCC was required to release its Communications Marketplace Report before the end of 2020. Congress requires the agency to assess what's happening in the competitive landscape every 2 years. So they did, late yesterday. (THREAD) docs.fcc.gov/public/attachm…
This is the first time the report has been prepared by the FCC's new office of Economics and Analytics. FCC staff put a lot of work in, and it's useful to have this data publicly available, but there are some real problems, as noted by both @JRosenworcel and @GeoffreyStarks.
The report centers economics but comes up short on analysis. Most of the data comes from industry or investment banking firms. When they're the ones funding the research, the research reflects the questions they're interested in.
Read 24 tweets
11 Dec 20
There’s a new bill that harmonizes penalties for illegal streaming services with penalties for illegal download services. FMC has long supported harmonization while wanting to make sure policies don’t have unintended consequences. So how is this bill?
Turns out, it’s pretty narrowly tailored to deal with truly bad actors! Even more narrow than previous attempts to deal with the problem. Unfortunately one of the problems with internet policy is that rhetoric gets heated.
The last couple times bills dealing with these issues were floated, some people made outlandish and frankly dishonest claims, like that it would have sent Justin Bieber to prison.
Read 4 tweets
10 Dec 20
THREAD: one factor leading to low payouts on streaming services is that the market is distorted by competitive services that pay artists nothing at all. At the top of that list is FM radio. This impacts every artist, even those that would never get radio airplay.
Artists love noncommercial, public, college, community stations that serve their communities with diverse music and news programming, but they may never give commercial radio much thought. It's easy to understand why.
Since the 1996 telecommunications act, we've seen rampant ownership consolidation in radio broadcasting, and with that, more and more cookie-cutter playlists, homogenous formats, less diversity, and less local music.
Read 32 tweets
9 Dec 20
The @FTC is suing Facebook, along with State attorneys general. This is an important move that could help musicians.
Over time, have you noticed that Facebook has gotten less useful for musicians? Features that allowed you to easily communicate with fans slowly replaced with advertising tools you have to pay for? FB can get away with it because of monopoly power.
The lawsuit argues that FB has maintained its monopoly position with an anticompetitive “buy or crush” strategy.
Read 5 tweets
27 Oct 20
Quick thread on Spotify discontent: in any kind of corporate accountability work, activists usually end up making demands of companies, including things they know the targeted companies are unable or unwilling to do. It’s a pretty standard tactic and can help shift the discourse.
Some observers are going to look at “impossible demands” as a reason to dismiss activists, or claim that those calling for change don’t understand the issues. This is also a pretty standard tactic, and a risk of that approach.
With streaming royalties & music licensing, the details of agreements are complex, and often deliberately intransparent. Same is true of the business structures behind venture capital, private equity, revenue vs stock price--people get advanced degrees so they can understand it.
Read 16 tweets

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