Logistical & Symbolic Struggle of Music Streaming

  1. Beyond the platform: Music StreamingProvide the citation and attach a pdf of the article 
    • https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/14614448211036356
  2. What is the abstract of the article? 
    • Research on music streaming has so far tended to normalize a view of streaming as an individual activity solely oriented towards the platform. However, as streaming media have become integral to everyday life and a key metaphor for digital society, we should pay attention to how streaming activities are embedded into social power relations. Furthermore, due to the complexity of streaming infrastructures, we should consider the social implications of ordinary expertise pertaining to the handling of digital streams. To this end, this article advances a theoretical view of music streaming as a form of logistical labour and a part of dwelling. Based on a focus-group study on music streaming, the analysis moves beyond the platform to explore social dominance in a cultural landscape where logistical expertise is increasingly important. The analysis shows how the handling of everyday infrastructures underpins complicit forms of logistical dominance and translates into symbolic violence.
  3. Was the study experimental or non-experimental? Explain, tell us what made that clear.
    • Non-experimental; This type of research did not manipulate any controlled variables.
  • Uses of music streaming services via smartphone in Sweden (2019: Depending on gender, age, and education level)
  • Three orientations in music listening in Sweden (2019)
  1. Was the research qualitative or quantitative? Again, explain.
    • Quantitative results based off of smartphone numbers recorded in Sweden during 2019 (Table 1). This is evident through the use of ordinal and nominal scales.
    • Qualitative research within Table 2 based off the variety of specific moods/situations people may find themselves in.
  2. What was the population studied? Why do you say that?
    • The population under study was the recorded number of Swedish participants during the year 2019.
  3. What sample was used for this study? Explain.
    • In table 1, the samples varied from age, gender, and level of education, and were displayed in the row percentages. In table 2, the samples showed varied moods towards a person’s ease of access towards music (Ex. “Music listening is important to me”, “I often get help from friends or relatives to be able to listen to music”, “I think it is difficult to find music I haven’t heard before”, etc.)
  1. What was the method of measurement?
    • If the research was quantitative, was the measurement scale used, Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, or Ratio?
  • Table 1 used a mixture of Nominal and Ordinal scales to gather their information from the focus groups.
    • If the research was qualitative, what data was collected?
  • In table 2 the data was qualitative; Data on the convenience of the listener was being collected.
  1. What was the method of analysis?
    • If the research was quantitative, what statistical tools were used to analyze the data?
  • Based on a procedure that factors scores into new variables via computational formulas.
  1. What was the conclusion of the study?
    • Social divisions ultimately come down to how people, also including non-users, relate to streaming media as part of their normal day-to-day environment. This leads us to the conclusion on how streaming is integrated into a person’s day-to-day lifestyle; “Streaming media have become a normalized part of everyday life and integrated into the environment, we should pay closer attention to how power relations unfold not just between users and platform industries, but also among people as part of their everyday dwelling. To meet these challenges and to compensate for certain limitations in previous research, this article has advanced a theoretical view of music streaming as a form of logistical labour.”
  2.  Why is this study useful to you? Explain in detail.
    • This helps me acquire a little more of an understanding of who is consuming most of the media, narrowed down into different categories, and how easy it is for the population to discover and access new/current media. Granted, this population does not speak for everyone as a whole (due to biases influenced by cultural differences, among other things). However, it will be helpful to have a better understanding when compared with other populations.
  3. What would be the next logical step in extending this study?
    • How much are people willing to spend on music streaming services?
    • How much do they currently spend on music streaming?
    • I think it would help to include other locations around the world due to cultural differences.

About ngtruan

Hello everyone! I'm a local Hays native going on my 4th year here at FHSU, and pursuing a degree in Media Production. I'm now 28 and currently work with my Dad managing our family business. I'm a full-time heavy equipment operator during the week and on the weekends I'm usually off at some venue performing with a local band as a guitarist. Feel free to reach out and say hey! Cheers! :)

2 thoughts on “Logistical & Symbolic Struggle of Music Streaming

  1. This topic is very interesting due to how big effect music has on people. It is very interesting to see how easy it is for people to discover new music, in different categories, on different platforms. It also is interesting to see who listens to what types of music.

  2. It was interesting to see a study that had been done on music streaming and found that streaming has become a part of everyone’s life in some form. I think there are a few things that can be clarified in your review.

    First, the sample in your article does note that they obtained the data through six focus groups, where they had 48 interviewees in these groups (Jansson, 2021, p.8). Secondly, I believe for the method of analysis it would have helped to be more clear on what tools were used exactly to analyze the research and break down the numbers. I found that they did utilize the Varimax rotation, which results in identifying crucial variables in a data set and it makes it much easier to understand the results of the data. Lastly, interviews were conducted with the participants and analyzed by researchers, so it would be a good addition to say that it was a mix of both qualitative and quantitative methods.

    When you are looking for this information sometimes the name of the statistical tools utilized are listed under the tables or mentioned later on within the methods section. Overall, it was an interesting study to read and learn more about how music streaming plays a role in an individual’s daily routine. I never thought that music streaming itself would have much of an impact, but now many people utilize different streaming services and have integrated music into their lifestyle.

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