The 8 Benefits of Joining an Online Collective a Study Into the Fascinating World of Soundcloud Collectives
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MASTER THESIS The 8 Benefits of Joining an Online Collective A study into the fascinating world of SoundCloud Collectives Name: Russell-Phillip Bodine Student Number: 11369396 Date: 26th January 2018 Supervisor: Rozentale, Ieva Program: MSc Business Administration Track: Entrepreneurship and Management in the Creative Industries STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY This document is written by Russell-Phillip Bodine who declares to take full responsibility for the contents of this document. I declare that the text and the work presented in this document is original and that no sources other than those mentioned in the text and its references have been used in creating it. The Faculty of Economics and Business is responsible solely for the supervision of completion of the work, not for the contents. 2 Acknowledgements I would first like to thank my supervisor, Ieva Rozentale reminding me that I should not “Reinvent the Wheel,” even though I always try. I want to thank my Mother who birthed and raised me without her I wouldn’t be the individual I am today. Shout out to my team; without them I…. I don’t even know where I would be. Finally, I want to thank my Amsterdam family who have supported me throughout this phase of my journey. “It's in every day dream every sigh, I want it Even if it makes me cry, I want it I've got to have it or I'll die, I want it Does your family even care? I want it Ohh, did they tell you I'd be there? I want it I've gotta get this for my team, I want it Just tell yourself this was my dream Victoryyyyyy, I can smell it in the air In my mind it's surrounds me everywhere, But what a wondrous occasion, this could be In fact I know it will, cause this is my victoryyyyyyyyy” - N*E*R*D (No-one Ever Really Dies) 3 Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................ 6 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 7 Literature Review .......................................................................................................... 10 In the last section, it was briefly introduced the significant market size that SoundCloud currently maintains. This chapter will highlight all the literature needed to understand the functions of the independent artists to collaborate with other independent artists. ............... 10 “The Struggle is Real in the Music Industry” – An Artist ...................................................... 10 Why Do-It-Yourself? .............................................................................................................. 11 Taking DIY to the Next Level – by Doing-It-Together! .......................................................... 13 Sense of Belonging (Friends, Family, & Team) ....................................................................... 14 A Win-Win – Goal achievement ............................................................................................. 15 RESEARCH METHOD ................................................................................................. 18 Aim of the Study ..................................................................................................................... 18 Research Approach ................................................................................................................. 18 Participants ............................................................................................................................. 19 Data Collection Tools .............................................................................................................. 20 Procedure and Data Analysis .................................................................................................. 20 Quality of Research ................................................................................................................. 22 Results ............................................................................................................................ 23 Creating a sense of Belonging ................................................................................................. 23 TRUE Collective ........................................................................................................................ 23 KF Collective .............................................................................................................................. 25 NY Collective ............................................................................................................................. 27 Lonely Collective ....................................................................................................................... 29 Concluding results on Sense of Belonging ............................................................................... 29 Collective Goals ....................................................................................................................... 30 TRUE’s Collective Goals ........................................................................................................... 31 KF’s Collective Goals ................................................................................................................ 32 NY Collective Goals ................................................................................................................... 33 Lonely Collective Goals ............................................................................................................. 34 Conclusion of Collective Goals ................................................................................................. 35 Personal Goals ........................................................................................................................ 35 TRUE’s Personal Goals ............................................................................................................. 36 KF’s Personal Goals .................................................................................................................. 37 NY’s Personal Goals .................................................................................................................. 38 Lonely’s Personal Goals ............................................................................................................ 40 Conclusion of Personal Goals ................................................................................................... 40 Discussion: The Eight Benefits of Joining an Online Collective .................................... 42 1 Identity Building .................................................................................................................. 42 2 Addressing the Cost of Uncertainty ..................................................................................... 44 3 Closer to Artists and Fans .................................................................................................... 46 4 No need for geography ......................................................................................................... 47 5 Offers a Safe Space (Sense of Belonging) ............................................................................. 48 6 Creates a family, friends, and a team ................................................................................... 50 7 Growing an Audience ........................................................................................................... 51 8 Potential for personal goal achievement .............................................................................. 53 The failed case: .......................................................................................................................... 54 4 Discussion on theoretical implications ........................................................................... 56 Managerial Implications ......................................................................................................... 58 Is the online collective right for all artists? ............................................................................. 59 Critique of findings with suggestions for future inquiry ................................................ 60 Works Cited ..................................................................................................................... 61 Appendix ........................................................................................................................ 65 5 Abstract The motivation for this research is due to the researchers own interest in forming an online collective. For, in recent years the music industry has witnessed severe changes due to the Internet, whether it be the halving of music sales, disintermediation within the supply chain, or the oversaturated marketplace. These changes are the consequence of Web 2.0 where fans listen to music for free, and artists have easy access to production and distribution - turning an abundant population of musicians into DIY artists. Much of the previous literature covers the perimeters of artistic collaboration, however, not in a digital scope. Therefore, this research intends to ask the question of “What are the benefits of joining an online collective?” With the question in mind, the research focuses on eight interviews ranging from four collectives. From these interviews, transcripts were made, which were the initial The transcripts were then analyzed using