<p>The purpose of this thesis is, through a case study, to analyse how the Internet is affecting smaller independent record labels' communicational efforts, and if these companies are dealing differently with this technological change. In order to accomplish this, a number of interviews have been conducted with smaller independent record labels. The findings have been analysed using a theoretical frame of reference covering innovation management and communicational methods. Our results show that the Internet has had an effect on these labels’ communicational efforts, either directly through an increased use of online communication or indirectly through the decreasing effectiveness of some traditional channels. However, as many traditional channels are still being used, smaller independent record labels are now managing an increased number of channels simultaneously. Furthermore, the degree of online communicational efforts varies depending on musical genre, being more commonly used in popular music genres. For labels with a high online activity, social networks play a prominent role, with considerable effort and time allocated towards working with these. Also, these companies are very attentive to the rapidly changing online environment with the aim of staying at the forefront of this development.</p>

The purpose of this thesis is, through a case study, to analyse how the Internet is affecting smaller independent record labels' communicational efforts, and if these companies are dealing differently with this technological change. In order to accomplish this, a number of interviews have been conducted with smaller independent record labels. The findings have been analysed using a theoretical frame of reference covering innovation management and communicational methods. Our results show that the Internet has had an effect on these labels’ communicational efforts, either directly through an increased use of online communication or indirectly through the decreasing effectiveness of some traditional channels. However, as many traditional channels are still being used, smaller independent record labels are now managing an increased number of channels simultaneously. Furthermore, the degree of online communicational efforts varies depending on musical genre, being more commonly used in popular music genres. For labels with a high online activity, social networks play a prominent role, with considerable effort and time allocated towards working with these. Also, these companies are very attentive to the rapidly changing online environment with the aim of staying at the forefront of this development.

Digitaliseringen, uppkomsten och den ökade populariteten av on-demand musikstreamingtjänster har förändrat musikbranschen i snabb takt. Tidigare studier visar att digitaliseringen har påverkat sättet hur media skapas, publiceras, distribueras och konsumeras. Studier om digitaliseringens effekter på kreatörer och distributörer inom musikbranschen visade sig däremot vara få. Det ansågs därför som en möjlighet att utforska hur artister och oberoende skivbolag uppfattar digitaliseringens effekter för att minimera den nuvarande kunskapsluckan. Den explorativa sekventiella studien bestod av två faser och baserades på en kombination av olika metoder. Den initiala studien utgjordes av tre kvalitativa intervjuer och resulterande arbetsteorier prövades därefter i en kvantitativ enkätundersökning (n=81). Resultatet indikerar att större andelen av oberoende skivbolag har anpassat sina affärsmodeller och utvecklats till s.k. 360°-musikföretag. Resultatet visar vidare att digitaliseringen har till viss grad påverkat sättet hur musik skapas och produceras, med en tendens mot en mer individualistisk och digital process, och vidare medfört en förenkling för artister att publicera sin musik. Artisternas intäkter har däremot inte förbättrats och många upplever att arbetsklimatet har försämrats. Resultatet visar att digitaliseringen sedan uppkomsten av musikstreamingtjänster har medfört omvälvande förändringar, dock verkar dessa inte ha lett till en demokratisering av musikbranschen utan enbart till en förflyttning av makten från skivbolagen till musikstreamingtjänsterna. Både artister och oberoende skivbolag uppfattar att den nära framtidens främsta utmaningar å ena sidan är att uppnå en skälig betalning för artister, samt å andra sidan att framgångsrikt marknadsföra musiken för att nå igenom bruset. Det indikeras vidare att regler och lagar är nödvändiga för att kunna säkerställa en hållbar utveckling av musikbranschen. / The emergence and continuously growing popularity of on-demand streaming music services has changed the music landscape rapidly and new services are entering the market at a high pace. Prior studies show that digitization has affected the way media is created, published, distributed and consumed. The literature review revealed a knowledge gap regarding the effects on music professionals and provided an opportunity to explore how artists and independent record labels perceive the aspects of digitization. The study followed an exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach and consisted of two phases, an initial study including three qualitative interviews, and a quantitative follow-up study, in which working theories that had resulted from the initial study were tested through an online survey (n=81). The results indicate that many independent record labels have changed and adapted their business models and turned into so called 360° music companies. The results further show that digitization developments have to some degree affected the way music is created and produced, with a tendency towards a more individualistic and digital process, and that it has become easier for artists to publish their music; their incomes have however not improved and for many artists the working climate has become harder. The results show that the emergence of on-demand streaming services has disrupted the music industry, instead of having a democratic impact, the power that record labels used to have appears to have shifted to streaming services. Both artists and independent record labels perceive the achievement of fair payments and successful promotion to be the main future challenges. It is indicated that regulations and laws that prevent exploitation are necessary in order to ensure the music industry to be sustainable in the future.