Along with the file sharing practices that preceded it, music streaming has dramatically transformed the music industry’s business model, shifting it toward a model resembling rental or licensing. In the case of Spotify, the most prominent streaming service, there is no need for users to download or store music files on their devices. Instead, only the application necessary to play audio files, which are temporarily stored in non-permanent working memory, is downloaded. No copy of the original files is ever saved on the user’s device or becomes their property, leaving users entirely reliant on a subscription service and a stable internet connection.
The objective is to analyze users’ listening habits on a statistical level, a process the digital culture scholar Robert Prey refers to as the “datafication of listening”. This involves extracting data from listening behaviors, enabling both the market and streaming platforms to tailor musical recommendations to individual users. This analytical approach has reached its peak in depth and scope through streaming platforms. The collection of such data, however, has also led to the increasingly sophisticated engineering and curation of tracks presented to users. These platforms use various methods to keep users loyal to the music filtered by the platform, while simultaneously fostering hyper-intermediation practices.
The idea of disintermediation in the cultural sector, particularly in music, which appeared imminent in the early 2000s, has ultimately been reversed. Instead of breaking free from traditional distribution systems, music has returned to a model strikingly like the one that existed prior to the advent of the MP3 format. This new form of mediation—driven by analysis, algorithms and the extensive datafication of listening habits—has transformed the inherent immateriality of streaming content into a new kind of control. This shift has created an enhanced capacity for surveillance, surpassing the systems used in previous years. By leveraging and refining these mechanisms of hyper-intermediation, streaming platforms have established a global monopoly, largely built upon the Internet.
This according to the entry on streaming in DEUMM Online.
