Sånger från graven
En kartläggning av krafterna som hämnar den digitala revolutionen inom svensk musikdistribution
Songs from the Crypt: Mapping the Forces that Hinder the Digital Revolution of Music Distribution This paper seeks an explanation to the low market share growth of the commercial digital music distribution in Sweden. The analysis identifies a spectrum of obstacles that hinder the digital distribution technology from becoming the main form of music distribution in Sweden. These obstacles make the digital music distribution less favourable in comparison with physical distribution from the consumer?s point of view. The authors suggest that in order for the digital distribution of music to become competitive the digital product would either have to be developed further to offer more customer value or the so called a là carte retail model would have to be replaced by a subscription-based distribution model. The main finding of the thesis is that there is a serious lack of initiative within the music industry to create the necessary conditions for further development of the digital distribution technology to a level at which it could compete with physical distribution. There is a discrepancy between the strategic decisions made by the top management in record companies to focus more on the digital distribution on the one hand and the actual implementation of these decisions at the bottom level on the other. As there are yet very few short-term incentives for the players in the Swedish music industry to prioritize the low-profit digital distribution, many of them are lured to focus on the physical products, which is what their main customers demand today, thereby neglecting what these very customers will require tomorrow. The digital distribution de facto being a low-priority business area in many companies, often due to the influence of the company?s value network, is the main factor that hinders this disruptive technology from gaining value supremacy over physical distribution and illegal file sharing. The empirical data for this study has been assembled though thirteen interviews with representatives from the Swedish music industry and the digital music supply chain, a case study inside a Swedish record company, a quantitative study of the digital music supply as well as through multiple secondary sources.