OpenMusE will provide the data needed for a more competitive, fair, and sustainable footing in the European music ecosystem. This requires evidence-based policymaking, business planning, and accuracy. Using transparent methods and tools, OpenMusE will map the policy and data landscape, bridge data gaps and empower stakeholders as well as policymakers to take data-driven actions.

Background

The music ecosystem is scattered because its three income streams (live performance, composition, and recording – further divided between producers and performers) compete with each other, often within the limited scope of their copyright jurisdictions or “territories.” According to international, EU, and national copyright law, royalties should be proportional to the value of music in use on online platforms, tech innovations, and in hotels, restaurants, radio, or TV. The key problem is that legally speaking, composers/publishers (copyright holders) and producers and performers (neighbouring rights-holders) can often separately licence the very same music. The music cannot be lawfully used if any of the two (or three) licences are missing.

This configuration makes the industry easy prey for new uses developed by tech companies, data monopolies, and other users who have the leverage to exploit these vulnerabilities. A further complicating factor is that the music industry is mainly made of micro-enterprises that do not have business development, HR, pricing, R&D or other central functions.

The Idea

In this regard, the open collaboration method perfected by open-source software developers and open knowledge management does not only empower the music industry with affordable and high-quality technology, or access to open data: it can effectively demonstrate how large businesses, such as collective management organisations, can work together with citizen scientists, self-published authors, and small labels. This process is not alien to the creation of official statistics. In the past decade, national statistical offices gradually started to shift their software infrastructure to the open statistical environment.

OpenMuseE aims to contribute to the aim of creating a decentralised European intelligence hub where centralised data collection and analysis have failed in the music industry during the past 20 years. We envision the Open Data Observatory as a decentralised, complementary service to the ESSnet system (Eurostat and the national statistics offices) and the planned, centralised European Music Observatory (EMO). The Open Data Observatory will be an important supplier of the planned EMO, furnishing it with statistical products (datasets, visualisations), employing similar quality controls (though replacing official quality control with scientific quality control) and providing a high level of service where official and centralised solutions have failed. We plan to implement the Open Data Observatory as an open-source, public-facing solution working in synergy with the EMO. In the event that the EMO does not get created, or it fails, the Open Data Observatory will be positioned to serve many of the same needs.

Project Goals

• MAP the policy and data landscape: OpenMusE will identify extant and potential data sources within EU policy contexts. It will develop novel data collection methods and tools and propose policy-relevant indicators that capture the significance of the data at hand
• BRIDGE data gaps: OpenMusE will pioneer new best-practice methods and tools for a data collection from multiple sources and will integrate these into an open-source software ecosystem that nonspecialist stakeholders can use.
• EMPOWER stakeholders and policymakers to take data-driven actions: OpenMusE will validate the utility of the data collected, conduct pilot projects, and co-create scalable and transferable policy impact pathways through multi-stakeholder engagement.

Project Organisation

Coordinated by SINUS Markt- und Sozialforschung GmbH (DE) and throughout a duration of 36 months with a total number of 442 person months, 15 partner organizations will be working on analysing the body of knowledge as well as conducting empirical research on the challenges and needs. Among these partners are, in addition to the coordinator, the University of Turku, the University of Amsterdam, Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitari e di Perfezionamento Sant’Anna, Economic University of Bratislava, Reprex BV, SYNYO GmbH, Music Innovation Hub, Slovak Performing and Mechanical Rights Society, ALOADED, Music Export Ukraine, Music Export Fund, International Confederation of Music Publishers, European Composers and Songwriters Alliance, HearDis! GmbH, and Artisjus Magyar Szerzcjogvedo Iroda Egyesulet. They will reflect the complexity of individual and structural dimensions, geographical scale as well as the forms and levels of responses related to different stakeholder groups and practitioners.

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Links

Web: openmuse.eu

Mail: office@openmuse.eu