<p>Aim: The aim for this study of Swedish daily press is to see how the musical reporting is structured for the newspapers I have chosen to analyse. My main purpose is to investigate how the newspapers reporting are distributed between artists who belong to either a major record company or an independent record company. With this research I want to find out if there are any economic backgrounds to the content and if the reporting is equal to the market production.</p><p>Method/Material: For this study I have studied, by quantitative research, every piece of musical reporting in seven daily newspapers for two weeks. Through thorough research I have determined the belonging of every article’s record company. I have compared the newspapers with each other to see how the reporting differs. I have also collected information concerning the economic aspects of the music business to investigate if the reporting is equal to the market production.</p><p>Main results:</p><p>- The representation of major and independent record companies in Swedish press is distributed as the following: 60 % Major and 40 % Independent.</p><p>- The national press and regional press both show a distorted picture of the record company representation while the evening press and free press show a more truthful representation according to the market share holdings.</p><p>- There are signs of a scope economic structure in Bonnier which cannot be fully verified.</p>

Aim: The aim for this study of Swedish daily press is to see how the musical reporting is structured for the newspapers I have chosen to analyse. My main purpose is to investigate how the newspapers reporting are distributed between artists who belong to either a major record company or an independent record company. With this research I want to find out if there are any economic backgrounds to the content and if the reporting is equal to the market production. Method/Material: For this study I have studied, by quantitative research, every piece of musical reporting in seven daily newspapers for two weeks. Through thorough research I have determined the belonging of every article’s record company. I have compared the newspapers with each other to see how the reporting differs. I have also collected information concerning the economic aspects of the music business to investigate if the reporting is equal to the market production. Main results: - The representation of major and independent record companies in Swedish press is distributed as the following: 60 % Major and 40 % Independent. - The national press and regional press both show a distorted picture of the record company representation while the evening press and free press show a more truthful representation according to the market share holdings. - There are signs of a scope economic structure in Bonnier which cannot be fully verified.

<p>Problem: Record companies are facing a downturn in sales of music. This is seen as consequence of the growth of distribution of music through Internet by file sharing networks such as BitTorrent networks. On one side there are record companies who feel threatened of the illegal file sharing, and on the other side file sharing BitTorrent networks has increased dramatically in number of users since they first approached. Some record companies have responded by taking hostile actions towards the BitTorrent networks and their users with lawsuits and penalties for illegal file sharing. Other record companies and artists have joined forces with BitTorrent networks and see them as an advantage. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore and analyze if, and how record companies can collaborate with the BitTorrent networks. Method: A hermeneutic inductive approach is used, in combination with qualitative interviews with both record companies and BitTorrent networks. Conclusions: It is argued that record companies can find a way in communicating and cooperating with BitTorrent networks. Instead of adopting hostile approaches and trying to restrict the technologies adopted by end users, companies should open themselves up and accept the current changes initiated and developed by BitTorrent networks. Thus, it was concluded that companies have to concentrate around collaborating with BitTorrent networks rather than fiercely protecting old business models. By opening up to the users, record companies will adopt open innovations approach that is characterized by combining external and internal ideas, as well internal and external paths to market, thus obtaining future technological developments. As for the BitTorrent networks, by going from outlaw to crowdsourcing mode, the networks’ creative solutions can be further harnessed by record companies. Finally, strengthening relationships between customers and music artists can be considered as beneficial for both record companies and BitTorrent networks. Thus, giving opportunities for customers to win special items, tickets for concerts, watch sound check, eat dinner backstage with the group, take pictures, get autographs, watch the show from the side of the stage, etc. can lead to valuable relationship in a long run.</p>

<p>Purpose/Aim: The purpose of this thesis is to define and analyse how Swedish record companies work with digital musical content distributors. A more narrow aim is to show how the record companies and with the digital musical content distributors iTunes Music Store and Spotify create incentives for consumer’s to use legal digital music channels through the Internet. To further circle the core of the problem following questions have been asked: How does the record companies provide iTunes Music Store and Spotify with digital content and what is done by the record companies to retain control over the material? How do the record companies view digital musical sales and what incentives are given to consumers to buy music digitally? Finally, What position of power do iTunes Music Store and Spotify have on the digital content arena?</p><p>Material/Method: The data collected for this thesis is retrieved through personal interviews with representatives from three of the four major record companies Universal Music, Warner Music and EMI and their Swedish branches.</p><p>Main results: The consumer’s access to digital content through iTunes Music Store and Spotify is of the utmost importance and is a prerequisite. Even if the record companies choose to not demand DRM protection on their products it does not stop Apple from keeping their Fairplay protection. In this way Apple is the company controlling the files, even if the Record Companies have made their decision based on research, which has shown that sales go down if the music files are DRM protected. The record companies have chosen not to get involved with the sales of digital content. This results in power being shifted to E-tailers such as iTunes Music Store and Spotify. The incentives the consumers are given to buy music digitally are found in the surplus value, which is supported by iTunes Music Store and Spotify. These surplus values are such services as recommendations of music or artists. Different packaging solutions, such as subscriptions through an Internet provider, do not raise the value of the music. The value is added to the Internet provider’s products and not the music, but they do guarantee a steady income for the record companies.</p>

Purpose/Aim: The purpose of this thesis is to define and analyse how Swedish record companies work with digital musical content distributors. A more narrow aim is to show how the record companies and with the digital musical content distributors iTunes Music Store and Spotify create incentives for consumer’s to use legal digital music channels through the Internet. To further circle the core of the problem following questions have been asked: How does the record companies provide iTunes Music Store and Spotify with digital content and what is done by the record companies to retain control over the material? How do the record companies view digital musical sales and what incentives are given to consumers to buy music digitally? Finally, What position of power do iTunes Music Store and Spotify have on the digital content arena? Material/Method: The data collected for this thesis is retrieved through personal interviews with representatives from three of the four major record companies Universal Music, Warner Music and EMI and their Swedish branches. Main results: The consumer’s access to digital content through iTunes Music Store and Spotify is of the utmost importance and is a prerequisite. Even if the record companies choose to not demand DRM protection on their products it does not stop Apple from keeping their Fairplay protection. In this way Apple is the company controlling the files, even if the Record Companies have made their decision based on research, which has shown that sales go down if the music files are DRM protected. The record companies have chosen not to get involved with the sales of digital content. This results in power being shifted to E-tailers such as iTunes Music Store and Spotify. The incentives the consumers are given to buy music digitally are found in the surplus value, which is supported by iTunes Music Store and Spotify. These surplus values are such services as recommendations of music or artists. Different packaging solutions, such as subscriptions through an Internet provider, do not raise the value of the music. The value is added to the Internet provider’s products and not the music, but they do guarantee a steady income for the record companies.

Problem: Record companies are facing a downturn in sales of music. This is seen as consequence of the growth of distribution of music through Internet by file sharing networks such as BitTorrent networks. On one side there are record companies who feel threatened of the illegal file sharing, and on the other side file sharing BitTorrent networks has increased dramatically in number of users since they first approached. Some record companies have responded by taking hostile actions towards the BitTorrent networks and their users with lawsuits and penalties for illegal file sharing. Other record companies and artists have joined forces with BitTorrent networks and see them as an advantage. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore and analyze if, and how record companies can collaborate with the BitTorrent networks. Method: A hermeneutic inductive approach is used, in combination with qualitative interviews with both record companies and BitTorrent networks. Conclusions: It is argued that record companies can find a way in communicating and cooperating with BitTorrent networks. Instead of adopting hostile approaches and trying to restrict the technologies adopted by end users, companies should open themselves up and accept the current changes initiated and developed by BitTorrent networks. Thus, it was concluded that companies have to concentrate around collaborating with BitTorrent networks rather than fiercely protecting old business models. By opening up to the users, record companies will adopt open innovations approach that is characterized by combining external and internal ideas, as well internal and external paths to market, thus obtaining future technological developments. As for the BitTorrent networks, by going from outlaw to crowdsourcing mode, the networks’ creative solutions can be further harnessed by record companies. Finally, strengthening relationships between customers and music artists can be considered as beneficial for both record companies and BitTorrent networks. Thus, giving opportunities for customers to win special items, tickets for concerts, watch sound check, eat dinner backstage with the group, take pictures, get autographs, watch the show from the side of the stage, etc. can lead to valuable relationship in a long run.

Record companies are suffering due to a downturn in recorded music sales. Innovative firms have developed digital music services that offer recorded music products to customers in new ways, yet sales are not what they used to be. Web 2.0 technologies have changed the customer’s tastes, expectations, and desires. Thus, a deeper understanding of the new “digital customer” is needed in order to better offer services in a way that he or she prefers most.

Record Companies in Sweden- 100 years of music business institutionalisation This thesis is about the development of Record Companies in Sweden over more then hundred years. The Aim is to understand the role of the record company in the change of the music industry by narrating and interpreting its development. The Record Companies did dominate the music industry in Sweden from its birth 1903 until after year 2000, when new forms of music business were born. Despite this the remaining record companies still have similarities with the firs gramophone company from 1903. The empirical story is based on some 20 interviews with central actors in the music industry together with a mapping of the independent music producers, published 2004 and material from other studies on the music business. The story is in it self an important contribution to research since it appears to be the first one done in this way. The conception of the record company as the dominant actor in the organisational field, the music industry, very soon became an institution. This institution has been created and developed in an institutional process that here is analysed in four themes: delimitations, dominant logics, and organising and ownership structure/actors. During the process the limitations for the record company and the organisational field is changing. The logic is being push towards either art or comers during different periods, different forms of organising are created and developed and actors turn up and disappear. A main conclusion is that the cognitive processes highlight the institutionalisation but also the normative and the regulative processes helps to explain. At the same time this must, as in the model developed in the thesis, be connected to the four themes in order to create the holistic understanding of the institutionalization of the music business in Sweden being demanded in the aim of the thesis. In the model the actors are being emphasized as most important in the creation, remaining, developing, changing and at the and also liquidation of the institutional conception of the record company as the dominant form of music business. Partly this could be explained by and in itself explain the lack of a strong common organization in the music business together with the rather limited impact from attempts of regulations. New and old actors are now defined as institutional entrepreneurs as they are creating the new music industry, forcing the record companies to step aside from its dominant role in the same way as the music publishers once did. They might even give the dominance back to the publishers, or maybe there will not bee yet another institution in the music industry or any dominant role. Maybe it will change into something completely different? The model developed and used in this thesis is proposed for use in other longitudinal studies especially in other art businesses and similar organizational fields. / Avhandlingen framlagd vid Göteborgs universitet.

<p>Record companies are suffering due to a downturn in recorded music sales. Innovative firms have developed digital music services that offer recorded music products to customers in new ways, yet sales are not what they used to be. Web 2.0 technologies have changed the customer’s tastes, expectations, and desires. Thus, a deeper understanding of the new “digital customer” is needed in order to better offer services in a way that he or she prefers most.</p>