Post-Doc, School of Information and Communication Technology
Adjunct Research Fellow/Senior Research Assistant/Research Consultant
Thesis Title: A Critical Ethnography of an Online File Sharing Community: An Actor-Network Theory Perspective of Controversies in the Digital Music World
About
My dissertation explores the technologies people use to download music; an act often called 'music piracy'. The Internet has changed the way people access and listen to music; people still buy CDs, some buy digital tracks online, some get their music for free through LimeWire or BitTorrent technologies, which in Australia is mostly illegal. Therefore this dissertation contributes to a greater understanding of an activity currently considered illegal but which makes up such a large percentage of music listening activities.
Thirty interviews were conducted with music consumers, musicians and representatives from the music recording industry. Also, an underground (private) file sharing community was observed for 120 days. This Internet music community is hidden from most people, a kind of secret society. The study revealed the attraction to communities like this is the desire for high quality music in open formats.
A critical approach was helpful in reconceptualising common perspectives of file sharing. The relationship between technology and music consumers social practices is complex. Much of this complexity has resulted from changes in the way that music is distributed, which impacts how and why consumers choose to pay for their music, or file share (for free). The findings reveal three main motivators for choosing to access music illegally: cost, convenience, and choice. These three criteria are often the basis for decision making about whether to ‘pirate or purchase’.
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