The Scrobble Industry

This thesis is concerned with the online and offline music behaviours of UK youth aged between 16 to 30 who use the music social networking and recommendation website Last.FM. By studying the behaviours of this active music user group, I uncover how young UK users access information about music and the music itself and how they interact with each other and with the content on the website itself. The past and present situation in the music industry is discussed, changes within the industry are analysed and reasons to uncover why the business model adopted by the major record companies in the twentieth century that is now failing are exposed. The information provided by the target group aims to provide us with a clearer idea of how users are currently interacting with music online and thus gain an insight into changing behaviours since the widespread digitalisation of music. Some of the main findings from the research show that the use of Last.FM results in a diversification of music listened to, increased access to concert information and thus concert visits (geographical proximity permitting) and also shows how online streaming has become an increasingly popular means to access music online. This research provides a foundation for further in-depth specified research into changing music access behaviours which could help establish a new online music distribution model.