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Telecom and Technology Actors Repositioning Music Streaming

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Platform Capitalism in India

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the development of music streaming platforms in India as spaces to explore the relations between historical players of the music industry (music companies, label, film companies) and players from the information and communications technology (ICT) sector—both Indian and international. More specifically, the chapter examines how the recent restructuring of the music industry is linked to the entry of Indian telecom operators (Vodafone, Bharti-Airtel, Reliance Jio) and global tech giants (Google, Apple, Amazon). The questions of evolution of content and economic models, of inter-sectoral relations between the music industries and other sectors, of tensions between domestic and foreign players, and transfer of value for creators will be discussed. I will conclude that similar logics of power struggles as observed at a global scale are at play in India, with ICT actors increasingly capturing historical music companies.

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank all the artists and music professionals interviewed for their time. Special thanks are due to Kenneth Hopkins, Mae Mariyam Thomas and Emmanuelle de Decker, for our passionate and fruitful discussions and for recommendations to several industry professionals during this fieldwork.

Interviews

  • Blaise Fernandes, Indian Music Industry (IMI), 24 November 2017, Mumbai;

  • Samron Jude, Musician, 1 February 2018, Mumbai;

  • Atul Churamani, Turnkey Music & Publishing, 2 February 2018, Mumbai;

  • Achille Forler, Ex CEO Universal Music, 20 February 2018, Mumbai;

  • Neeraj Kalyan, T-series, 23 February 2018, Delhi;

  • Manojna Yeluri, Artistik License, 28 February 2018, New Delhi;

  • Suresh Thangiah, Strumm Entertainment, 12 April 2018, Mumbai;

  • Dhruv Anand, Anand & Anand, 24 April 2018, New Delhi;

  • Karan Malhotra, Music Composer and Producer, 26 April 2018, Mumbai;

  • Ex-employee, Sony Music India, 4 May 2018, Mumbai;

  • Tejas Menon, Kaddak Apple Record, 12 May 2018, Mumbai.

Funding

The author received financial support for her research from the Laboratory of Information and Communication Sciences (LabSIC) and the Laboratory of Excellence Cultural Industries and Artistic Creation (LabEx ICCA), Paris 13 University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Paris XIII, Villetaneuse, France

    Christine Ithurbide

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  1. Christine Ithurbide
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Advanced Studies Humanities, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia

    Adrian Athique

  2. Centre for Culture Media and Governance, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

    Vibodh Parthasarathi

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Ithurbide, C. (2020). Telecom and Technology Actors Repositioning Music Streaming. In: Athique, A., Parthasarathi, V. (eds) Platform Capitalism in India. Global Transformations in Media and Communication Research - A Palgrave and IAMCR Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44563-8_6

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