Fairness and music streaming platforms in Europe: Professionals, ideas and framings

Rossato Fernandes, Marina; Vlassis, Antonios

doi:10.1177/01634437261423073

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Fairness and music streaming platforms in Europe: Professionals, ideas and framings

Rossato Fernandes, Marina; Vlassis, Antonios

2026 • In Media, Culture and Society

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

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https://hdl.handle.net/2268/343097

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10.1177/01634437261423073

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Keywords :

fairness; music industry; streaming; online platforms; music; Spotify; Apple Music; YouTube; diversity; transparency

Abstract :

[en] The article examines how professionals in the European music industry address fairness in the context of music streaming services (MSS). Drawing on Discursive Institutionalism and framing analysis, it explores the main ideas through which industry stakeholders interpret and justify fairness. Based on 22 semi-structured interviews and an online survey, the analysis identifies three interrelated narratives: fairness as redistribution of value, fairness as balance of power and fairness as equality of opportunity. These narratives illustrate how professionals mobilise fairness to interpret both the challenges introduced by MSS and the need to renegotiate long-standing arrangements within the sector. The findings provide an empirical contribution to debates on fairness by capturing the bottom-up ideas of industry actors, showing that concerns about remuneration, transparency and diversity transcend purely economic or technical dimensions. The article argues that understanding these ideational dynamics is essential for informing future discussions on cultural policy and platform governance in the creative industries.

Disciplines :

Political science, public administration & international relations

Author, co-author :

Rossato Fernandes, Marina ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Cité

Vlassis, Antonios ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de science politique > Relations internationales

Language :

English

Title :

Fairness and music streaming platforms in Europe: Professionals, ideas and framings

Publication date :

12 March 2026

Journal title :

Media, Culture and Society

ISSN :

0163-4437

eISSN :

1460-3675

Publisher :

SAGE Publications

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/01634437261423073

European Projects :

HE - 101095088 - Fair MusE - Promoting Fairness of the Music Ecosystem in a Platform-Dominated and Post-Pandemic Europe

Funders :

EU - European Union

Funding text :

HORIZON EUROPE Culture, Creativity and Inclusive society

Available on ORBi :

since 23 March 2026

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