Brianne Selman, Brian Fauteux, and Andrew deWaard. “From Copyright Cartels to Commons and Care: A Public Infrastructure Model for Canadian Music Communities.” Partnership: the Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research 17.1 (2022). doi:10.21083/partnership.v17i1.6706. Open Access.
ABSTRACT: Using research on the political economy of the music industries, interviews with independent musicians about their lived experiences, and the authors’ experience participating in government copyright consultations in Canada, this article discusses how the market power of major music companies, and their capture of the policy-making process through lobbying, has made copyright reform an extremely limited avenue for remedying the variety of hardships facing musicians in the streaming media era. Against the continued consolidation and concentration of power within the music industries, we explore a case study of Edmonton Public Library’s Capital City Records as an alternative model that may inspire further initiatives that advocate for artists and users. We conclude by discussing a commons-based, public infrastructure and governance model that could serve as a tool to circumvent uneven power dynamics in the music industries, facilitate stronger music communities, and provide sustainable livelihoods for working musicians in Canada.
Andrew deWaard, Brian Fauteux, and Brianne Selman. “Independent Canadian Music in the Streaming Age: The Sound from above (Critical Political Economy) and below (Ethnography of Musicians).” Popular Music and Society 45.3 (2022): 251-278. doi:10.1080/03007766.2021.2010028. Open Access.
ABSTRACT: This article illustrates the precarious position of Canadian independent musicians in the streaming era. In the first section, we articulate the sound of the Canadian music industry from above, providing a macro-level political economy, looking at multinational conglomerates, streaming technology, financialization, consolidation, and inequality. In sections two and three, we listen to the sound from below using ethnographic methods, relaying the experiences of independent musicians within an increasingly precarious industry. Based on feedback from the musicians we interviewed, we conclude by providing a series of recommendations and ideas to foster a more equitable, community-based music culture.