Music Ecosystem Research: Challenges and Opportunities

15th International Music Business Research Days (2024)
June 5 – 7, Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, Department of Journalism and Communication Research in Collaboration with HYPE&FRIENDS and GMM e. V.

Music business research is an interdisciplinary field that puts different analytical approaches into mutual dialogue. It is located at the intersection of economic, artistic, musical, cultural, social, legal, and technological understandings of the creation, distribution, and use of music. This interdisciplinary nature calls for conceptual and methodological multiplicity and an openness to scholars from different fields.

The 15th International Music Business Research Days 2024 will be hosted and organized by the Department of Journalism and Communication Research, Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media. The conference theme for Thursday June 6 is ‘ecosystem thinking’. The term ecosystem presents opportunities for better understanding the complexity, dynamics and interdependence within the new digital boundlessness of the music sector and music-related sectors. A sustainable development of them will only succeed if not only the market and contractual relationships within it are understood, but personal network relationships, data and AI as well as social and ecological environments are understood and used productively in the long term. This is significant not only for the music economy and music-related sectors, but for society and the planet. The ecosystem metaphor was first developed by the Chicago School of Sociology and it is constantly being rediscovered and developed. In this context, ecosystem theories are emerging to understand possible futures of the music sector. Ecosystem thinking has become a guiding idea within cultural and creative industries debates and in particular in management and strategic thinking as well as in the field of strategic economic and political consulting.
Friday June 7 is the open music business conference day. We invite papers that explore a variety of different approaches, questions, and methodologies for studying the music business, including, but not limited to, the following themes and topics:

• Different structures of ecosystems and their openness
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the music business
• Digital and ecosystem transformations and the future of the music sector
• New music networks and the rise of the creator economy
• Labour conditions, work-life balance, and mental health

By coming together for the 15th International Music Business Research Days conference in Hannover in 2024 we will update interdisciplinary research and provide insights concerning how music ecosystem trends will affect business models, value-chains, and power dynamics in the music sector. It is critical that we discuss environmental, economic, and artistic sustainability. Further, we need to better understand effects of ecosystem transformations on artistic practices and processes, the division of labour, and the rise of the creator economy. We also need to understand established structures in the sector and related topics, such as labour conditions and mental health. We need critical and updated debates on what competencies are needed in the future for the music business and music ecosystems.

SUBMISSION
Please submit your abstract by April 10th, 2024 to [email protected]. Abstracts should be between 300-500 words (any references are included in the word count) and should include:

• Objectives of the research and research question
• Brief description of the disciplinary/theoretical context/background
• Data and methods
• Main or expected conclusions / contribution

Abstracts will be subject to a peer review process by an international jury, and authors will be notified of acceptance until April 15, 2024.

REGISTRATION FEE
Registration will be open from March 11th to June 7th 2024. The fee includes conference attendance, reception, coffee breaks and the conference barbecue on June 7th.

Registration/Conference fee Euro 175,–; IMBRA & GMM Members 125,– and Students 50,–. Please register via https://ntry.at/IMBRD2024?l=en

The best papers of the conference will be considered for publication in a special issue of the International Journal of Music Business Research (IJMBR). In case you want to be eligible for this special issue, full papers should be sent before June 30th, 2024. They should not exceed 7,000 words (including abstracts, figures, tables, references and appendices) and follow the author guidelines of the International Journal of Music Business Research (IJMBR). A first selection will be made after the conference by the editors, after which a double-blind peer review process is in place for these submissions.

IMBRA CONFERENCE ORGANIZATION The conference is organized by:
IJK, Departement of Journalism and Communication Research, Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media
Conference Organizer Prof. Dr. Carsten Winter (Media & Music Management)

IMBRA IMPORTANT DATES & CONTACT

• April 10th: Abstract submission deadline
• April 15th:Notification of acceptance
• June 5th to 7th: Conference
• June 30th: Delivery of full paper for consideration for publication
• If you have any Questions, please contact: [email protected]
• Further information: https://hypeandfriends.org (… about hotels & more …)