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JM Thesis for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Final Submission)4 University of Southampton Research Repository Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis and, where applicable, any accompanying data are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis and the accompanying data cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content of the thesis and accompanying research data (where applicable) must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holder/s. When referring to this thesis and any accompanying data, full bibliographic details must be given, e.g. Thesis: Author (Year of Submission) "Full thesis title", University of Southampton, name of the University Faculty or School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. Data: Author (Year) Title. URI [dataset] University of Southampton Faculty of HUMANITIES MUSIC & WEB SCIENCE INSTITUTE Crowd-composition: Exploring the Qualities of Collective Creativity by Joseph Philip Manghan ORCID ID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1638-7858 Thesis for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY February 2020 University of Southampton Abstract Faculty of HUMANITIES MUSIC & WEB SCIENCE INSTITUTE Thesis for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY CROWD-COMPOSITION: EXPLORING THE QUALITIES OF COLLECTIVE CREATIVITY by Joseph Philip Manghan Crowd-composition is the practice of outsourcing a creative task to a crowd, leading to a new musical composition that is assembled and shaped by collective input. Crowdsourcing is a key stimulus. However, whilst crowdsourcing has become a commonplace and well-researched practice, crowd-composition itself remains largely unexplored. This project aimed to consolidate, add to and develop the field. Its central research concern was to investigate properties relating to participation, and in doing so asked: • How can crowd-composition facilitate meaningful experiences for participants? • How can crowd-composition lead to musical works or perspectives that are distinct from sole agent composition? This led to four original crowd-composition works, submitted as the portfolio component of this doctoral project, which are built on a process of experimentation that sought to explore these questions. The works utilised voting techniques as the primary mechanism for collective decision- making. Analysis demonstrated the effectiveness of a number of particular elements, as well as insights into distinct outcomes of crowd-composition. A central finding was the importance of engaging and managing the attention of crowds, which was shown to be an essential factor in the success of the aforementioned works. To this end, the project led to a number of lessons to share for enhancing this aspect. Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ i Table of Tables ............................................................................................................. vii Table of Figures ............................................................................................................. xi List of Studies ............................................................................................................... xv List of Accompanying Materials .................................................................................. xvii Research Thesis: Declaration of Authorship ................................................................. xix Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... xxi Definitions and Abbreviations .................................................................................... xxiii Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Core texts informing the project ............................................................................... 2 1.2 Commentary structure .............................................................................................. 5 Chapter 2 Reviewing internet music ............................................................................ 7 2.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 7 2.2 Review ....................................................................................................................... 9 2.2.1 Networked environments for experts to engage with performance and compositional practice ...................................................................................... 9 2.2.2 Networked environments where participants influence the creativity of experts ............................................................................................................ 10 2.2.3 Networked environments where communities become central components of a creative process ....................................................................................... 12 2.3 Collaborative models .............................................................................................. 12 Chapter 3 Crowdsourcing .......................................................................................... 17 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 17 3.2 Approaches to crowdsourcing ................................................................................ 18 3.2.1 Crowdfunding .................................................................................................. 18 3.2.2 Crowd wisdom ................................................................................................ 19 3.2.3 Crowdvoting .................................................................................................... 20 3.2.4 Crowd creation ................................................................................................ 21 i ii Table of Contents 3.3 Summary ................................................................................................................. 22 Chapter 4 Crowd-composition ................................................................................... 23 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 23 4.2 Review ..................................................................................................................... 24 4.2.1 Crowd Creation & Crowd Agency .................................................................... 24 4.2.1.1 TweetDreams ........................................................................................ 24 4.2.1.2 WIKI-PIANO ........................................................................................... 25 4.2.2 Crowdvoting & Crowd Agency ......................................................................... 27 4.2.2.1 No Clergy .............................................................................................. 27 4.2.2.2 Crowdsound .......................................................................................... 28 4.2.3 Crowdsourced visual art .................................................................................. 30 4.2.3.1 Place ...................................................................................................... 30 4.2.3.2 SwarmSketch ........................................................................................ 32 4.3 Summary ................................................................................................................. 33 4.4 Case studies ............................................................................................................. 34 4.4.1 TweetDreams .................................................................................................. 35 4.4.1.1 Was the experience enjoyable and satisfying for participants? ........... 35 4.4.1.2 Was the crowd able to create an interesting or unique composition? 37 4.4.2 Crowdsound .................................................................................................... 39 4.4.2.1 Was the experience enjoyable and satisfying for participants? ........... 39 4.4.2.2 Was the crowd able to create an interesting or unique composition? 40 Chapter 5 Portfolio commentary ............................................................................... 43 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 43 5.1.1 Structure .......................................................................................................... 43 5.1.1.1 Methodology ........................................................................................ 43 5.1.1.2 Surveys .................................................................................................. 49 5.1.1.3 Discussion in relation to research questions ........................................ 49 5.1.1.4 Ethics ..................................................................................................... 50 ii Table of Contents 5.2 CrowdComp ............................................................................................................ 53 5.2.1 Construction ...................................................................................................
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