Tags and Tunes: Last.fm™, Folksonomy, and New 'Types of Music' by Adrian Dusanowskyj, B.F.A A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Mass Communication Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario 8 May 2009 © Adrian Dusanowskyj, (2009) Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 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Abstract When asking the question "what 'types of music' do you listen to?" we tend to overlook the fact that any answer given is contingent upon not only matters of preference, but also matters of aggregation. This thesis looks at the introduction of the technologies of tagging and the implementation of architectures of folksonomy in the organization of music online. In looking at the case study of Last.fm, the analysis shows that there is indeed a range of emergent new headings being introduced in processes of music's classification now that individuals have been given the freedom to tag music as they wish. By looking at the role of the technology of tag radio as an intermediary, the study further evaluates the extent to which these newly-formulated categories stand to be situated as viable new categories of musical listening. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents Abstract ii Table of Contents iii Table of Figures iv Introduction 1 The Music We Listen To 6 Last.fm - A Case Study 11 Chapter Outlines 17 Chapter 1 - Tagging & Folksonomy 19 Tagging and Folksonomy: An Overview 19 Non-Exclusivity: There is No Shelf 25 The Relative Popularity of Tags: An Introduction to Tag Clouds 28 Tagging and the Introduction of New Labels 34 Conclusion 38 Chapter 2 - Emerging Labels: New Genres 40 Building Genres through Tagging 40 Familiar Genres in Last.fm's Folksonomy 43 Emerging Genres: Recent Developments in Tag Growth 46 Conclusion 51 Chapter 3 - Emerging Labels: Non-Genre Contexts 53 Non-Genre Contexts in Last.fm's Folksonomy 55 Looking Ahead: Learning to Appreciate Tags as More than Just Labels 68 Chapter 4 - Tag Radio 71 Mediating Musical Listening 78 "Feasibility Spaces" 79 Evolving Feasibility Spaces for Musical Listening 82 Tag Radio 87 Tag Radio and the Changing "Types of Music" to which People Listen 92 Further Thoughts: Tagging and the 'Types of Other Things' People Consume 98 Chapter 5 - Conclusion 104 Appendix A - Top 250 Tags Ranked by Growth (in %) (January 2008 - January 2009) 115 Appendix B - Top 250 Tags Ranked by Tag Use as of January 2009 120 References 125 iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. 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Table of Figures Figure 1 - Top Tag Cloud - Technorati.com 29 Figure 2 - Top Tag Cloud - Flickr.com 29 Figure 3 - A Last.fm "Tag Cloud" 30 Figure 4 - Tag Cloud for Track "I Shot the Sheriff by Eric Clapton 31 Figure 5 - Tag Cloud for Track "Come Fly With Me" by Frank Sinatra 31 Figure 6 - Tag Cloud for "La Vie En Rose" by Louis Armstrong 32 Figure 7 - Eight tracks all sharing the tag "rock" 33 Figure 8 - Tag Cloud for Top 150 Overall LastFM Tags 43 Figure 9-20 Fastest Growing Tags (by percentage growth) 47 Figure 10 - Two Tag Cloud Interpretations of the Top 150 Tags 50 Figure 11 - Results for Tag Search: "Guitar" 57 Figure 12 - Results for Tag Search: "Warped" 58 Figure 13 - Top 10 Results for Tag Searches: "Catalan" and "Kurdish" 60 Figure 14 - Top 20 Results for Tag Searches: "Girly", "Queer", and "Gay" 62 Figure 15 - Top 12 Results for Tag Search: "Cooking" 63 Figure 16 - Top 12 Results for Tag Search: "Road Trip" 63 Figure 17 - Top 12 Results for Tag Search: "Workout" 64 Figure 18 - Tag Clouds for the Most Popular Songs Tagged "Cardio" 65 Figure 19 - Results for Tag Searches: "Melancholy", "Angry", and "Cheerful" 66 Figure 20 - Popular Tag Stations (source: www.last.fm) 90 Figure 21 - Top 10 Tracks for the Tag Radio stream for the Tag: "Melodic" 91 Figure 22 - Tag Clouds for Top Tracks Tagged "Melodic" 92 Figure 23 - User posts citing various unconventional tag phrases 97 Figure 24 - Top Tag Cloud - Amazon.com (October, 2008) 99 Figure 25 - The Top Tags for the Movie: "Citizen Kane" - Source: www.imdb.com 100 Figure 26 - Top Movies Tagged "Rebellion" (source: www.imdb.com) 102 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 Introduction In the midst of the recent shifts in the nature of musical consumption and circulation that have taken place over the last decade or so, there is perhaps no technology that has had a greater and more far-reaching effect on the structure of musical culture than the internet. Since the mid 1990's through to the present day the internet has arguably become one of the most significant driving forces challenging existing models and bringing about a set of new practices, particularly when it comes to matters pertaining to the distribution, dissemination, and mediation of music. For the most part, when attention has been paid to evaluating the impact that the internet is having on the realm of music and its related industries and institutions, the perspective of this focus has fallen on examining the numerous ways in which the introduction of the internet in matters of music's circulation and distribution has brought about serious concerns for the record industry - challenging existing business models and bringing about significant change with respect to the economics and industrial logics pertaining to the management, marketing and sale of recorded music. However, what is often overlooked when scholars consider the impacts of the internet on the topic of 'music in the twenty-first century' is that there have been several equally significant yet under-appreciated developments in how musical content is being aggregated for its listeners, and, by extension, the ways in which the practice of listening to music for a growing number of consumers and audiences is now being influenced by a changing set of technologies and an evolving set of mediating circumstances. This study (both in compliment as well as in contrast to the body of research being carried out to address the internet's effects on music's distribution) sets out to situate itself in the midst of what is currently a relatively under- represented area of inquiry - focusing on the effects that new online approaches are having on Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2 the organization of musical material in the contexts of the online channels through which music is being experienced and in which individuals are increasingly engaging in acts of exploration, discovery, and consumption. In short, this is a study of some key issues surrounding musical listening in the age of the internet. Scholars conducting research in the fields of economics, law, and marketing have focused their efforts predominantly on the task of studying the different sales points in which individuals are obtaining music through online channels. I argue that it is equally important to consider and examine the ways in which online channels and web-based mediating environments are playing a role in governing what mixes of music these individuals are experiencing and influencing how these mixes and clusters of music are being formulated. It is with these considerations in mind that this study sets out to examine important yet often unaddressed issues concerning music's aggregation in online contexts. Contemporary research into processes of mediation in online environments has been slow to emerge. It is only over the span of the past few years that attention has begun to be devoted to the study of the various online arenas and channels that are acting as intermediaries between audiences and the music they listen to, thereby regulating, influencing, and informing patterns of consumption, experience, and musical listening habits.