Exploring Independent Artists’ Perception of Digital Aggregators

This book focuses on the Independent musician's usage of aggregator services for their music distribution as opposed to signing a record deal. The theoretical framework for this study was the Uses and Gratification Theory. The underlying idea is that Independent artists are direct users of aggregator services and therefore expect some sort of gratification from their usage. The study is qualitative in nature. In order to investigate this topic, six independent artists were interviewed. This project gives an insight into a developing segment of the music industry, aggregator services, and how the independent artist perceives them. Furthermore, the material takes into account the decline in world record sales and explores the position of record labels in the music business nowadays.