MASTER THESIS
Collectives, Clout, and SoundCloud
An Exploratory Study into How Online Collectives Form and Function
Name: Russell-Phillip Bodine
Student Number: 11369396
Date: 18
thAugust 2017
Supervisor: Rozentale, Ieva
Program: MSc Business Administration
Track: Entrepreneurship and Management in the Creative Industries
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
This document is written by Russell-Phillip Bodine who declares to take full responsibility for the contents of this document.
I declare that the text and the work presented in this document is original and that no sources other than those mentioned in the text and its references have been used in creating it. The Faculty of Economics and Business is responsible solely for the supervision of completion of the work, not for the contents.
Acknowledgements
I would first like to thank my supervisor, Ieva Rozentale reminding
me that I should not “Reinvent the Wheel,” even though I always try.
I want to thank my Mother who birthed and raised me without her I
wouldn’t be the individual I am today.
Shout out to my team; without them I…. I don’t even know where I
would be.
Finally, I want to thank my Amsterdam family who have supported
me throughout this phase of my journey.
“It's in every day dream every sigh, I want it
Even if it makes me cry, I want it
I've got to have it or I'll die, I want it
Does your family even care? I want it
Ohh, did they tell you I'd be there? I want it
I've gotta get this for my team, I want it
Just tell yourself this was my dream
Victoryyyyyy, I can smell it in the air
In my mind it's surrounds me everywhere,
But what a wondrous occasion, this could be
In fact I know it will, cause this is my victoryyyyyyyyy”
Table of Contents
ABSTRACT ______________________________________________________________________ 5
LITERATURE REVIEW __________________________________________________________ 9
“THE STRUGGLE IS REAL”–AN ARTIST ____________________________________________ 9 WHY DO-IT-YOURSELF? ________________________________________________________ 10 WHAT IS DOING-IT-YOURSELF? __________________________________________________ 11 TAKING DIY TO THE NEXT LEVEL – BY DOING-IT-TOGETHER!(DIT) ___________________ 12
Social Capital _______________________________________________________________ 13
Informal Hierarchies _________________________________________________________ 14
RESEARCH METHOD ___________________________________________________________ 16
DESIGN AND METHOD _________________________________________________________ 16 SAMPLING SELECTION AND DATA COLLECTION _____________________________________ 16 QUALITY OF THE RESEARCH _____________________________________________________ 18 DATA ANALYSIS _______________________________________________________________ 18 ANALYSIS _____________________________________________________________________ 19
WHAT IS A COLLECTIVE? ________________________________________________________ 19 THE MODEL FOR GROWING TOGETHER:THE COLLECTIVE CLOUT MODEL _______________ 19
THE SYSTEMS __________________________________________________________________ 21 Communication ______________________________________________________________ 21 Structure ___________________________________________________________________ 24 FUNCTIONS ___________________________________________________________________ 26 Connecting __________________________________________________________________ 27 Sharing ____________________________________________________________________ 27 DISCUSSION ___________________________________________________________________ 29 HOW DO COLLECTIVES FORM? ___________________________________________________ 29 WHAT IS A SOUNDCLOUD COLLECTIVE? ___________________________________________ 29 THE FUNCTIONS ________________________________________________________________ 30
Connecting __________________________________________________________________ 31
Sharing ____________________________________________________________________ 32
THEORETICAL AND MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS _____________________________ 33
HIERARCHIES _________________________________________________________________ 33 EPICENTERS ___________________________________________________________________ 35 MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS ____________________________________________________ 35 LIMITATION AND FURTHER RESEARCH _____________________________________________ 35 WORKS CITED _________________________________________________________________ 37
Abstract
In recent years the music industry has seen a decline in sales, and this is due to the changing dynamics of the industry. Due to technological developments, independent artists saw a reduction in cost to recording, reproducing and distributing music giving rise to the bedroom producer. However, as the costs have declined, more bedroom producers are entering the marketplace. With an oversaturated marketplace these bedroom producers are unable to earn money and get their music heard. A recent trend mainly due to SoundCloud has been for artists to team up and form a collective online. The shared goal of teaming up is to get their music to a larger audience, through two functions of connecting and sharing.
This research explores the functions behind a SoundCloud collective and what it means to be part of something more than a standard release platform. To accomplish the understanding of the functions behind a collective the research draws from the themes of do-it-together culture and functions of a community. The research uses methods of qualitative research in an exploratory study to uncover the functions within a collective. The findings highlight the motives behind joining a collective and their experiences being part of a collective.
Furthermore, the intention of this research is to provide a better understanding of how collectives function within the digital atmosphere.
Introduction
Music “Labels, as we know them, will disappear and their role will change to conform to the new structure of the industry” (Parikh, 1999, p. 3). Over the last 17 years global music sales have nearly halved and declined by 11.6 billion US dollars (IFPI , 2016). This decline in sales is due to the disruption of the music industries supply chain, especially amongst distributers (Bernardo, 2015). The distribution was the result of the ‘mp3 crisis’, where the peer-to-peer file sharing of copyrighted material led to a decline in music sales of 15% in a 2-year span at the beginning of the century (Hracs, 2012). At the same time, the cost of recording, reproducing, and distributing music was in decline, giving rise to the “bedroom-producer.” (Hesmondhalgh, 1998)
These bedroom-producers are self-dependent musicians, who “are making extensive use of home studios and tools and platforms available online” (Bernardo, 2015, p. 1). These tools and platforms give them access to “financing, collaborators, management, marketing, distribution, and direct communication with fans” (Bernardo, 2015, p. 1) .With the tools at hand, the bedroom-producer can use a Do-It-Yourself approach through pro activism and self-direction to produce and distribute music. (Atkinson, 2006) A popular go-to platform for music distribution is SoundCloud due to its free service, ease of use, and over 175 million users. (Staff, 2016 )
SoundCloud is the fourth largest online music streaming service in the US, with a market share of 11%1. An estimated 154 million Americans spend an average of 14 hours a
week listening to digitally streamed audio (Edison Research; Triton Digital, 2017). Of the top 10 music audio streaming services, SoundCloud is the only one to be considered a social networking site – meaning the content is user-generated (Sherman & Steve, 2010). The unique attribute for SoundCloud is their interactive features of following users and the liking, commenting, reposting, and messaging of audio. There is however, a drawback which arises when such a platform exists: Anyone can become an artist (Hesmondhalgh, 1998).
Throughout the entire creative industry, artists are in competition because of a high degree of demand, uncertainty and an oversaturated marketplace (Peltoniemi, 2015). Therefore, the creation of a platform such as SoundCloud welcomes more artist into the oversaturated marketplace. With over 175 million users all capable of uploading audio files,
how is it possible that all the bedroom-producers can be heard? One possible solution to this problem is to adopt a “Do-It-Together” approach.
Do-It-Togetherness (DIT) is a proposed reconstruction of the Do-It-Yourself model, and it is a proactive desire to work together through resource sharing to achieve a common goal
(Mcgee, 2011) . According to McGees (2011) work, artistic collaborations can inspire and enhance ones’ artistic capabilities through shared learning. Meanwhile, Alexio (2015), discusses the creation of the DIT movement in the 1980’s Portuguese metal scene which was started by artists gravitating toward epicenters that were geographically constrained. With the age of Web2.0 artists are now able to transcend borders and gain access to other artists and share information at almost zero the cost (Graham, Burnes, Lewis, & Langer, 2004) .
This study will focus on researching independent artists on SoundCloud and their means of working together. These independent artists come together to form a collective, a branded SoundCloud page, where the individual artist can contribute their music for an altruistic motive of growing together. In result, the focus is on answering the question of:
“How do SoundCloud Collectives function?
This research question was answered using an exploratory study with the use of thematic analyst, using the initial functions of DIT from McGee’s (2011) work. Further themes were observed using; “DIY Citizenships” (Bal, Nolan, & Seko, 2014) (Orton-Johnson, 2014), “Keep it Simple, Make it Fast! An approach to underground music
scenes”(Aleixo, 2015) (Fernandez & Iazzetta, 2015) (Barbosa & Bittencourt, 2015) (Kühn, 2015), Jennifer Lena’s “Banding Together” (Lena, 2012), human social capital (Onyx & Bullen, 2000, p. 24) (Pretty, 2003), and the informal hierarchies in networked organizations (Magee & Galinsky, 2008) (Diefenbach & Sillince, 2011).
The extracted themes from the literature concerning the self-reliant communities of do-it-togetherness are as the following: communication, structure, connecting, and sharing. This study highlights the dynamics of these themes and presents the inter-relationships they have with one another. The inter-relationship is presented through a self-constructed model called the Collective Clout Model. The reason the use of the word Clout is because it traditionally means to have influence or power in politics, and it is contemporary American slang for one who has a large social media following. The purpose of this model is to grasp better the multifaceted dynamics of how SoundCloud collectives function.
The practical relevance of this study is to attempt to provide insights into various approaches to organizing and managing a collective. This research intends to build on the
theories around the community organized networks known as DITs and the experimentation of DIT in the digital landscape.
To answer how SoundCloud collectives function, this study is structured as follow: The literature review which will cover the conditions of the independent artist in the creative industries and the music industries. Then followed by why do musicians adopt a do-it-yourself approach, then it will lead to why musicians would do-it-together, followed by the themes in social capital and informal hierarchies. The second segmentation of this research will focus on the methodology and the reasoning for using multiple case study approach with four different collectives with eight members adopting various roles within the collective. To conclude, the data analysis and discussion is presented and includes the implications and limitations of the study.
Literature review
In the last section, it was briefly introduced the significant market size that SoundCloud currently owns. This chapter will highlight all the literature needed to understand the functions for the independent artists to collaborate with other independent artists.
“The Struggle is Real” – An Artist
It is important to recognize that the creative industries differ from other industries and that this segment will cover the problems that self-managing artist face within the creative industries, more specifically the music industry.
Peltoniemi (2015) states that “Cultural industries are those that produce experience goods with considerable creative elements and aim these at the consumer market via mass distribution.” She claims that creative elements are to serve the goal of “identity building”, which is the process an individual or a group goes through to create a sense of belonging (Paujik, 2014). Dofsma’s (2004) social economic approach to identity-building, highlights that consumers purchase symbolic goods to signal their identity. Peltoniemi (2015) declares that cultural goods are intended to evoke feelings and create strong emotional ties to the consumer.
Peltoniemi (2015) built off of Caves (2003) idea that consumer’s perception of cultural goods is heavily influenced by their experience with the good. However, if the cultural good doesn’t meet the consumer’s desired expectation, then they will deem the good to be of little value (Wu, 2013). The consumer does not feel as if they can relate to the cultural good, when they deem the good little of value, in result lowering their demand for that future products from the specific producer (Wu, 2013) (Caves, 2003).
Cave’s (2003) description focuses on the constant uncertainty in the cultural
industries, this is known as the “nobody knows” paradigm. The “nobody knows” paradigm, comes from the belief that the cultural goods, or experience goods, are produced prior to consumption and that the artist’s “ability to predict the audience’s perception of quality is minimal” (Caves, 2003, p. 74).
Caves (2003) goes on to declare that producers have knowledge of the success of their former creations. However, the pre-release of cultural goods have a high degree in demand uncertainty due to the ever-changing demand of the consumer (Wu, 2013). To add to this high degree of uncertainty, the creative industry has an oversupply of artists within the creative industries, thus there is not enough demand for artists (Peltoniemi, 2015). The
uncertainty in the industry leads to an increase in overall willingness for an artist to sign an unfavorable contract, which potentially could result in the sacrifice of their artistic integrity (Dahl, 2009) (Mol & Wijnberg, 2007) (Bradshaw & Holbrook, 2007).
For the purpose of this research, it is important to mention that demand uncertainty has introduced the use of the term ‘scuffling’ (Bradshaw & Holbrook, 2007). Scuffling refers to an artist who allocates their time to do both a job for financial support and the creation of cultural goods – often to maintain ‘artistic integrity’ as aforementioned. (Bradshaw & Holbrook, 2007)
Dialing back to the music industry, Hracs’ (2012) mentions that the traditional relationship between artist and record labels did not require that the artist “possess technical, managerial, legal, or entrepreneurial skills” (p. 444). However, since the mainstream use of the internet, most artists must demonstrate themselves popular on the internet before a record label is willing to invest in them (Dahl, 2009). Today, most artists are ever-more dependent on their managerial skills, thus urging a Do-It-Yourself culture (Dahl, 2009) (Bernardo, 2015).
Why Do-It-Yourself?
Traditionally, the Do-It-Yourself attitude originates from the idea that a person who has spare time and is aiming for a desired outcome, otherwise not achievable (Atkinson, 2006). To understand the motives behind the ‘Do-It-Yourself’ culture studied in this research, it is important to briefly cover the music industry environment that breeds the DIY culture.
The traditional supply chain of the music industry, from top to bottom consists of; composing, lyrics, performing, publishing, recording, reproduction, distribution, retailing (Mol, Wijnberg, & Carroll, 2005). As the cost of recording equipment declined in the late 90s, the term studio’ was coined; which is a home studio where the ‘bedroom-producer’ is able to create their recordings. (Hesmondhalgh, 1998) Shortly after this time, Parikh (1999) made the bold and accurate prediction that the Internet would become the direct and most efficient medium for the promotion, merchandising and distribution of music. Since the ‘bedroom-studio’ and Parikh’s (1999) work, artists have been, independently, vertically integrating throughout the supply chain (Bernardo, 2015).
Dahl’s (2009) qualitative research led him to the conclusion that an artist who can make a recording and distribute music successfully using their laptop in an apartment, can potentially make do financially. As today’s music distribution “is no longer controlled by marketing campaigns, but from the musical and cultural needs and interests of [online] users”
(Breen, 2004, p. 80). The causation of this is due to Web 2.0, where user-generated content is the predominant feature (Sherman & Steve, 2010). This same realm allows for independent musicians to gain access to “financing, collaborators, management, marketing, distribution, and direct communication with fans” (Bernardo, 2015, p. 1). The low cost of accessible tools for becoming a self-efficient artist creates a drawback. Which occurs when the aspiring ‘bedroom-producer’ must compete with the other ‘bedroom producers’ – furthering the already oversaturated marketplace (Hesmondhalgh, 1998) (Dahl, 2009).
Graham et al. (2004) claim, due to the connectivity introduced to humankind, anyone can connect across the globe at “almost zero the cost, without constraints on the richness of information” (p. 1089). The Internet allows for artists to connect and exchange sources of inspiration and user-generated content (Graham, Burnes, Lewis, & Langer, 2004) (Hracs, 2012) (Sherman & Steve, 2010). This inspiration and interconnectivity is the catalyst for the ‘Do-It-Yourself’ and ‘Do-It-Together’ movement in the digital scope (Bernardo, 2015) (Mcgee, 2011).
What is Doing-It-Yourself?
Atkinson (2006) defines the Do-it-yourself approach as “a design process of self- driven, self-directed amateur design and production activity carried out more closely to the end user of the goods create” (p. 1). In the application of DIY in the creative industries, a proactive approach is utilized and comprised of self-direction and creative inputs, in order to create a desired outcome, otherwise not achievable. Some of the beneficial outcomes of the DIY culture is informal learning, community building, and personal goal achievement (Bal, Nolan, & Seko, 2014) (Orton-Johnson, 2014).
Informal learning is a heuristic learning process in which everyone participates in through “everyday cultural life in a wide array of family and community settings” (Paradise &
Rogoff, 2009, p. 102). Informal learning can exist anywhere, and Bal et al.’s (2014) research observes that public spaces for co-creation are becoming evermore present on the internet. These public spaces and communities on the internet allow for individuals to experiment with new identities and communities giving access to new information. (Bal, Nolan, & Seko, 2014) In the creative DIY, this informal learning is the consequence of communities of individuals coming together with similar interests. (Mcgee, 2011)
These DIY communities, are built on two individualistic needs; ‘belonging’ and ‘personal goal achievement’ (Orton-Johnson, 2014). Orton-Johnson (2014) observes the behaviors and dynamics of the online knitting community and how knitters are able to find a creative
identity. This creative identity arises when these individuals come together build a
community around crafting and shared learning (Bal, Nolan, & Seko, 2014) (Orton-Johnson, 2014). This shared learning community creates the collective identification for its members which results from their communication and shared experiences (Orton-Johnson, 2014).
Taking DIY to the Next Level – by Doing-It-Together! (DIT)
In McGee’s (2011) research about remixing jazz culture, she proposes a definition for the Do-It-Togetherness (DIT) movement and describes it as “a desire to work together by sharing spaces, resources, networks and artistic and professional acumen.” (pp. 66) This relatively new term is a redefined version of DIY. McGee (2011) highlights how artists in the 80’s began operating in “loosely organized collectives.” (pp. 73) Alexio (2015) highlights that artists throughout history share resources when they gravitate toward cultural “epicenters.” Alexio (2015) presents these “epicenters” as geographically bound - such as Utrecht, NL, which was studied in McGee’s (2011) work. However, this research focuses on decentralized ‘epicenters’ found on the world wide web. This gravitation occurs when
‘bedroom-producers’ transcend across borders and interact with one another online. (Hesmondhalgh, 1998) (Mcgee, 2011) The Web 2.0 is the primary tool for collaborative efforts and allows artist to transcend geographical-borders, giving access to, other artists and consumers (Breen, 2004).
This research focuses on collectives, which according to the literature can be defined as a group of individual members contributing resources (time, finance, content, ideas and inspiration) in an effort to help one another achieve homogeneous, yet vague goals (Mcgee, 2011) (Lena, 2012) (Aleixo, 2015) (Silver, Lee, & Childress, 2016) (Agneessens & Wittek, 2012). These individual members, according to Lena (2012), often share their concerns over the current state of music, therefore they desire a homogeneous end state. However, she highlights artist who participate in a new movement often have vague goals because members have lack consensus with one another (Lena, 2012).
In the context of music, these collaborative efforts attempt to bring awareness to the idea that their art is different from that of mass produced cultural goods; the literature gives examples of the UK’s punk scene or Detroit’s techno underground (Lena, 2012) (Fernandez & Iazzetta, 2015) (Barbosa & Bittencourt, 2015) (Kühn, 2015). Therefore, a consequence of collaborative efforts is that new sub-genres often form, whether deliberate or accidental - through shared identity (Fernandez & Iazzetta, 2015) (Barbosa & Bittencourt, 2015). The shared identity is created when a artists strive to find a common platform in reaching a
general audience (Lena, 2012) (Mcgee, 2011). The common platform studied is the collective itself, which acts as a branded distributer of independent artist on SoundCloud – a social media site focusing on audio content.
This research looks at how loosely formed organizations form in a unified effort to promote individual artist’s work. Since goods in the creative industries are both the identity of the producers and consumers, it is ideal for artists to promote each other. (Peltoniemi, 2015) (Paujik, 2014) Without the interest of consumers and the engagement of other producers, nothing is able to spread in the new digital economy (Valladares, 2011).
Valladares (2011) states that: “The audiences want to know who you are, they find out who you are by the content you provide, and if all of it is just self promotion, they will get tired of that.” In order to prevent consumers of getting ‘tired,’ collective members can mutually benefit one another through shared promotion. This, in turn, can help the consumers create a mental map for ‘which artist fits’ their interests (Valladares, 2011).
Social Capital
A consistent theme in cultural DIT movement is that the individual artist collaborates with other artists in order to share resources (Mcgee, 2011) (Aleixo, 2015) (Agneessens & Wittek, 2012). Meanwhile, social capital defines a resource as “anything that allows someone to get something done. It can be a thing, a person with influence, a piece of software, or something else.” (Dreiling, 2015) Social capital emphasizes that social networks are a central force behind a ‘win-win’ for all the acting individuals (Coleman, 1990). These social networks are a major component of DIT, due to the natural collaborative motives, and goals of interest. (Mcgee, 2011) (Lena, 2012) In Social Capital the exchanges of resources (“anything”), require trust, reciprocity, and cooperation. (Pretty, 2003) (Agneessens & Wittek, 2012)
Trust is a fundamental component of both the non-contractual workplace and communities (Onyx & Bullen, 2000) (Pretty, 2003). Members of communities have the intention of sharing resources to reduce the costs using effective means of exchange (Pretty, 2003). These exchanges require inter-dependable individuals and they must trusted for their dependability (Pretty, 2003). Pretty (2003) observes trust in a farming community and states that “instead of having to invest in monitoring others, individuals are able to trust them to act as expected. This saves money and time.” (p. 9) With trust in others being the consequence of this social structure, individuals’ are motivated by the exchange in reciprocity (Pretty, 2003).
Reciprocity is not part of the formal agreement in a non-contractual transaction “but [rather] a combination of short-term altruism [for] long-term self-interest (Taylor, 1982)
(Onyx & Bullen, 2000, p. 24). Reciprocity is to be found in a community because individuals will dedicate their own resource, for the ‘greater cause.’ In return, they will expect “that this kindness will be returned at some undefined time in the future in case of need” (Onyx & Bullen, 2000, p. 24). Onyx & Bullen (2000) acknowledge that this self-interested motive can be in the greater interest of the community due to the cooperative effects of social capital.
Cooperation arises when trust and reciprocity become the ‘rule of the game’ for the community (Pretty, 2003). Cooperation is essential “to liberate resources” (Pretty, 2003, p. 9) and encourage further collaborations. However, when there is no formal structure to the organization and a low degree of trust and reciprocity, the overall motive in cooperation will decline (Onyx & Bullen, 2000). Therefore, it is essential to establish trust through reciprocity to cooperate in collaborative efforts (Agneessens & Wittek, 2012).
Diefenbach & Sillince (2011) highlights that reciprocity and trust in a collaborative effort are the functions of a network organization. For network organizations exist due to their functional necessity to achieve the goal at hand – much like DIT. (Diefenbach & Sillince, 2011) However, their research focuses on the hierarchies at play in various organizational structures which will be discussed next.
Informal Hierarchies
Informal hierarchies are ever present in organizations, due to the nature of communicative roles (Magee & Galinsky, 2008). These hierarchies exist because “Leaders of groups naturally emerge from interactions, a few central individuals gather the majority of status in groups, resources are unequally distributed across individuals and groups, and positions and roles are granted different amounts or sources of power which are then conferred upon the individuals who occupy them.” (Magee & Galinsky, 2008, p. 352) Diefenbach and Sillince (2011) observed that when there is a lack of formal rules in an organization’s network hierarchies are a creation of the “actual activities of their members” (p. 1529). In result “whenever formal hierarchy decreases, informal hierarchy increases” (Diefenbach & Sillince, p. 1530)
In the informal hierarchies, social status plays an extensive part (Magee & Galinsky, 2008) (Diefenbach & Sillince, 2011). The definition of social status is “the extent to which an individual or group is respected or admired by others (e.g., Ridgeway & Walker, 1995)” (Magee & Galinsky, 2008, p. 359) Respect for an individual often forms around their expertise and competence. (Magee & Galinsky, 2008) In the case of musical collective’s Mcgee (2011) highlights this as hybrid professionalism: “exhibiting highly developed musical and professional skills in a variety of fields such as in digital and analogue studios;
advanced instrumental skills; or expertise with new artistic promotional means such as digital photography, video editing or publishing software” (Mcgee, 2011, p. 69). However, over time an individual’s reputation and importance can increases or decreases depending on the skills that they provide to the community’s current objective (Situmeang, Leenders, & Wijnberg, 2017) (Magee & Galinsky, 2008) (Agneessens & Wittek, 2012). Individuals also effect their position in the informal hierarchy through exchange of advice, when seeking advice, they decrease standing, meanwhile when offering advice, they generate prestige. (Agneessens & Wittek, 2012)
Diefenbach & Sillince (2011) propose a counter argument of an unintended
consequence of informal hierarchies, which stems from the intra-communicative behaviors. The more active members tend to dominate the passive members - due to their “wait-and-see strategy” (Diefenbach & Sillince, 2011, p. 1529). This results in members developing
customary roles in the community depending on their communicative dominance and obedience (Diefenbach & Sillince, 2011).
Therefore, it is imperative to explore the informal-hierarchical roles in place within the collective (Magee & Galinsky, 2008). Questions to uncover regarding whether specific artists provide financial advice or lead the marketing campaigns? If so, do they provide unique resources that other members do not have? It is also attractive to see if in the selection criteria of new members can be influenced on their specific resources, such as; networks, education, or equipment. Questioning the interviewees on such matters help determine whether specific members are in charge of the overall focus of the collective. Since Magee and Galinsky (2008) states that there “tends to be high agreement between group members about the rank of each individual.” (p. 354)
RESEARCH METHOD Design and Method
The research technique used in this thesis was a multiple case study approach. The research was intended to draw comparisons on various themes. The objective was to obtain information that supports or links one or more of the concepts provided in the literature review. The purpose of this multiple case study approach was thereby to explore distinctions between concepts of different online collectives (Yin, 2008).
Multiple case study research can comprise of either qualitative or quantitative data or both (Baxter & Jack, 2010). This segment of research it will focus on only qualitative data. The qualitative researcher’s intentions are to obtain insightful information that otherwise could not be possible. (Yin, 2008) Subsequently, the main objective was to discover the functions of forming and joining a collective, both from a managerial aspect and an artistic aspect. Thus interviews were conducted in a semi-structured fashion.
Approaching this research with multiple case studies, and conducting interviews in a semi-structured manner, allows for an exploratory study on how these online collectives function. Therefore, it was ideal to carry out the research inductively (Yin, 2008). The inductive approach was the best fit for this research, since the main objective of the interviews is to observe the specific behaviors and contexts of the phenomenon of how online music collectives function (Sawhney, 2004). The end goal is to obtain insightful knowledge that the academic world has yet to discover and as Steve Bennett stated; “I have not seen a single insight come out of quantitative research” (Sawhney, 2004, p. 3). Throughout the research process, there was reading both prior, during and post interview, and the finalization of the theories did not occur until the end of the research.
Sampling Selection and Data Collection
The current literature allowed for various possible outcomes to result from the interviews. Therefore, the interviews consist of multiple online music collectives and various members with different roles within these collectives. It is important to observe multiple collectives to understand each collective’s goals, ambitions and strategy. Meanwhile, it was important to interview individual members to see if their feelings, ambitions, and goals align with the overall consensus of their fellow members of the collective.
In order to conduct the research, there was the purposive selection with quasi-strict criteria to ensure that the selected interviewees could provide the appropriate information. (Teddlie & Yu, 2007) The research required a customized list of criteria for the members of the SoundCloud collectives, where at least two of these criteria were met:
a) A long-time member from the beginning or near the beginning b) A member who recently joined
c) A memeber who contributes non-sonic creations. (Eg. A digital artist, Photographer, Event Planner, Manager, A&R)
d) A member who contributes either production or vocals. e) A member who is part of two or more collectives.
Reaching out to artists within the digital ‘underground’ was important through outreaching e-mails. There were 61 individuals contacted via 215 e-mails, 18 twitter messages, and 15 SoundCloud messages - totaling 248 messages regarding an initial interview. (Appendix 1) In result from the 61 people, 13% were willing to have an interview. Resulting in a total of eight interviews, ranging from 20 minutes to 1 and a half hours.
The eight interviewees were from four different collectives all meeting two or more of the criteria previously mentioned. Meanwhile, the Collective’s degree of activity: was broken into four categories to determine how active the collective is on their SoundCloud: Dormant: a collective that has not been active in over three months. Low: a collective that posts a track once or twice a month with little to no repost activity. Medium: A collective that posts two to six tracks a month, and reposts 1 or more tracks a week. High: a collective that posts tracks weekly, and reposts multiple tracks a week – if not daily
Table 1: Specifications of the Sample
overcoming issues around access and distance” (Hanna, 2012). The interviews were then transcribed from the voice recording of the interview. The interviews began with background questions regarding the interviewee’s age, work, education, and how they got into music production. Followed by their roles and affiliation with the collective. Once a basic understanding of the collective was outlined, a series of more in-depth questions trailed regarding their opinions about the collective’s functions. (Appendix)
Quality of the research
Baxter and Jack’s work (2010) highlights the factors of trustworthiness, which is achievable through credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. To achieve creditability, this research upholds that the research question is clear and that the research method chosen was of best fit (Russell, Gregory, Ploeg, DiCenso, & Guyatt, 2005). The research findings are plausible since the data collected has depth and a “thick description” (Tracy, 2010, p. 840).
To accomplish both transferability and creditability, the research will be conducted in triangulation approach since the research will consist of multiple sources of data, including information uncovered from the web, and the diverse theoretical literature (Tracy, 2010). To achieve transferability, the multiple case study should have the intent on providing a detailed description of implementation at a practical level (Tracy, 2010). The managerial implementations will arise from the observed functions of online collectives.
In order to ensure that this research is dependable, it took into account design change that would occur through the research process (Graneheim & Lundman, 2004). Of which by the fourth interview there was a request for anonymity. To keep track of the developments of the research, the transcripts were made post-interview, and put into a qualitative research software - Atlas.ti. The software ensures that the researcher took note and kept track of the evolution of the research and the discoveries made.
Lastly, confirmability was achieved through the aid of fellow researchers’ criticism (Tracy, 2010). Under the thesis’ circumstances confirmation of trustworthiness was assured through peer and the supervisor’s supervision to remove any bias’ present. The questions were objectively asked with neutrality which allowed the interviewee to steer the direction of the conversation. (Tracy, 2010)
Data Analysis
Once data was collected it was then analyzed using an inductive coding approach – to later be concurred with relevant literature. The coding process focused on reading the transcript and assigning codes as the texts were analyzed in Atlas.ti (Yin, 2008). The coding process used
was a thematic approach to find common themes shared amongst the interviewees. At the end of the coding process there was a total of 401 quotes made with 170 nodes. However, many nodes were later deemed useless, the rest were put into 5 parent nodes and explained in the
Collective Clout Model.
ANALYSIS
What is a collective?Before addressing the research question of “How do SoundCloud collectives function?” It is best to first develop a basic understanding of what is a SoundCloud
collective. All the interviewees addressed that the collective is a platform where artists are able to make their music public, a process known as the ‘release.’ 4A a founder of 4 states it is “a centralized place where artists can be heard by more, and for listeners to have a go-to place to hear refreshingly innovative tracks that pushed the boundaries of house music.”
Music is intended to be free in all the collectives: Interviewee: I noticed that you give your music away for free. Why is that?
4A: There are a few reasons behind this. First of all, releasing music for free and being known as a free download channel attracts a lot of people. Once we've established a reputation for releasing quality music, everyone comes back knowing that everything they hear can be downloaded for free. Free downloads are a way for artists to take back control and get 100% of the benefits… In this case, more followers and an even bigger reach for future releases. Finally, and above all we're doing it for the fans. Who doesn't love free music? Giving our music out for free is a great way of connecting with our fans.
4C: No, I avoid it, I just release them on my Soundcloud for free or like give them to some
Soundcloud collective I like and stuff, that’s what I do with that. It’d be pretty cool, if I could be making money off of it but I don’t think I’ll make much.
3B: At this point not really. I think every track that I have a free right now all my band camp you can pay what you want but I like rarely get those.
The model for Growing Together: The Collective Clout Model
In order to achieve this symbiotic growth, patterns were noticed amongst the collectives and a model was constructed. Since this research was an exploratory study, this model was constructed from the various themes found throughout the interview responses. These thematic patterns were clustered together into a concept called the Collective Clout
In the Collective Clout Model there are a total of six dynamics that are determined by two groupings, functions and systems:
The functions of the collective are the motives and effects, of joining or forming a collective, they also emphasize reciprocity, trust, and co-operation. These functions; “being
able to connect and share” as 2A highlighted. The two functions appear to be forms of
interaction. The respondents expressed that these two functions were what they ‘liked’ or ‘loved’ about the collective.
• Connecting is the initial function focused on the relationship building process of trust.
• Sharing is a function focused on the exchange of resources, often in the form of information. It is reliant on reciprocity.
Meanwhile the systems at play are the etiquettes or ‘rules of the game’ in order to reap the benefits of the functions. The systems are; communication and structure. Without these two systems the functions (or benefits) of the collective would not exist. Of course, these
systems would not be utilized without the desired outcomes of the functions (benefits) of the
collective. Making the relation between the system and function interdependent.
The Systems
The reasoning for analyzing the systems before the functions is because the systems allow for the functions to operate. The two systems of communication and structure were identified as an organized scheme or method of handling the functions within the collective.
Communication
The Communication system will be the first dynamic analyzed, since it is the principle that allows for all the artists to interact with one another. Communication systems are the origin of the collective, they are found through group chats, artist pages, forums, and one-one messaging.
Regarding a standardized medium of communication amongst collectives none was to be found and as 2A, a member of multiple collectives, explains that “the platforms change amongst collectives. We just go to a platform where we all can talk to one another and discuss collaborations.”
Collective 4
At the beginning phase of creating 4, recruiting artist was the first step required and this was done through a communication system, more specifically personal messaging 4 contacted 4C.
Interviewee: Yeah and then, how did you get into 4?
4C: I was just putting music on my Soundcloud, my tracks I was making non stop, I like, I think I had like 70 followers or something like that, and then 4A messaged me, he some how found me. And then he sent me this really inspiring, really emphasized the community vibe and emphasized how he wanted to create these goals and aspirations and stuff. I was like, oh yeah, I want to get a hold of that, so yeah, that is pretty much it - 4A just contacted me.
4 initially used a recruitment process for it’s beginning members. A similar story applies to the requirement of 4B,
Interviewee: When and how did you get into the 4 collective?
4B: I joined 4 collective in 2016 after sending 4A (4 boss) a demo on soundcloud. From there it was history. Now I am part of the Board and am an A&R manager.
4A, the founder of 4 was asked about the communication platforms he uses to stay connected and initiate collaborations he states:
4A: Yes, while we are based in Brooklyn majority of our team resides in various cities around the world. 4 has an "Artist Page" which acts as a lounge for all our 55+ 4 artists to
private message each other when they wish to collaborate. Often times we also see artists post in the private group to offer a track up for collaboration. So then they move onto Project files which are then exported as 'stems' and then shared between the other producer(s) for them to add their own style to a track.
Collective 1
Meanwhile the story of 1s, whom are currently in a dormant state, is told by 1A a member who is not the founder of the collective, but he was there from the start. 1A explains the story of the formation of the collective with a distaste towards their collective’s
communication system, he states:
1A: I can tell you quickly about the history of 1. Started in 2015. Or 2016. Me, [fellow collective artist], and [fellow collective artist], were talking to some guy who wanted to start up a label and he asked all of us. Hey do you guys want to get on my label going together? So things got a bit weird in the chat. So then we were messaging each other individually, should we? Should we not? How about we just Do-it-ourselves? We were like fuck this manager guy and take our faith into our own hands. And then we created this chat for us artists… To be honest I am not a big fan of these online chats because if you don’t look at it for 5 minutes then you don’t know what is being talked about.
Collective 2
There was no possibility to interview the manager of 2, however 2A a veteran member of the collective was able to provide information regarding their system of communication and his idea of communication.
2A: …Communication is important. Like if they said “Hey can you send in a track in for me?” You should be able to have good communication. We think there really isn’t a
requirement, it is just a basic etiquette. Nothing really matters there is no high requirements other than communication and producing music and just keep being yourself.
Interviewee: How often do you communicate often with other members of the collective? 2A: Oh yea, definitely we talk a lot and share music. That is actually one thing I really like a lot about the collectives. Is we support each other a lot in a way. When somebody posts a new track than we get on it and repost it, comment and push it. We got each others backs.
The quote above highlights that the system of communication has a relation to the sharing of content. 2B, too makes the relational reference to communications and sharing when he talks about people who do not participate in the communication system.
2B: … and even if I don't give them participation they don't expect too much because like we have people who don't even like show up for months and then they come and share some music then they leave again and it's still all good, so it's pretty relaxed.
Interviewee: Why do you think these people will like just disappear and then come back and then disappear again?
2B: Man there's people you know people are different. I'm the type of guy, that thinks that's selfish. But like other artists are just different people are different you know they don't really care whatever.
2B then goes on to talk about the connection between communication and collaboration. And highlights that there groupchat is
2B: Sometimes like everybody in the group chat like yo man, I got this beat, who's down and then people like volunteer and then sometimes it's more of a one-on-one talking with the guy you want to collab with, so it is kind of whatever yeah.
Interviewee: Okay what type of group chat is this on?
2B: This is on the hangouts app you can have like as many people in it as you want and everybody is added to 2, it’s immediately added into the group chat.
Collective 3
Collective 3, the largest collective interviewed, and has changed communication platforms multiple times. 3A speaks of the function of connecting and communicating and why he has changed platforms for communication multiple times.
3A: … So after about our fourth issue we created a forum. That forum was a place where people could talk and get together because on Sound Cloud like the sound cloud messaging system is kind of shitty, can only talk to one person at the time so this allowed us to really meet more people. We outgrew that after a couple months we moved to a app called slack, we outgrew slack after six months and we've been on discord for almost a year now, with like 500 members and two different channels. As of a week ago we just launched our newest one it's a public discord, whereas before it was private. So now anyone that's an artist can come in and join and no longer feel alone…
3B talks about his personal opinion and highlighting his sentiment and connection with the other individual members on discord.
Interviewee: I want to dive into your opinion on 3 Collective’s chat rooms?
3B: It's awesome. I feel like that has been a way that I've met a lot of people especially the past few months. I just love discord. I just love talking all the people and meeting so many
different artists. Yeah….. And like our whole group of people here at 3 - there's a lot of people who have just become part of our big community, and it's almost a family you always see the same people every day and you'll always talk to the same people and actually through our new our public chat as we actually have had a private one for a while and now our public one is open to everyone and we're hoping to get a lot of new artists in there. People who are still learning and people who will be able to network with other people and like improve their music and promote themselves appropriately and all that.
Structure
Structures, varied between collectives regarding different roles and process for releases. Only two of the four collectives were able to be analyzed due to access to managers who are familar with the structure. The two collectives were 4 and 3, and their size reflects the importance for structure.
Collective 4
In the case of 4 there are over 55 members in the collective and some have acquired titled positions. These acquired positions originally all started as music producers who have
released on our platform - (4A). With a total of 6 formal positions, the roles these individuals
contribute to the processes of the 4 collective are as following:
• 1 - ‘Label Boss’: 4A, who acts as the main manager conducting all formal duties, he also is the founder of the collective.
• 1 - Graphic Designer: 4C, who acts at the sole graphic designer (4A) • 4 - A&R managers: 4B, The A&Rs managers’ responsibilities are “mainly
targeted at bringing on young artists with no direct outlet to distribute their music” (4B).
An important team dependent process that 4 address is the selection process for a new artist;
“For an artist to be considered for 4 they must submit a track for release consideration. If a track is approved by myself and the A&R team, I then speak with the artist to determine if they have the following characteristics: Regular releases, Consistent quality, Strives to pursue a music career” (4A)
After the artists meet the criteria of the collective, they are then informed of the collective’s “culture”, if they are not interested in that culture it probably isn’t the right fit
for either of [them.] (4B) The reasoning for such criteria is the collective can “only afford to
“Once the artists are invited to the 4 team, they are part of the team for life! We do not have any criteria in order to preserve a spot within the collective, that is why we have the criteria.” (4A) In the 4 collective there appears to be a consensus between 4A and 4B that “the artist duties far outweigh the manager duties at the moment.” (4B) This quote would explain why the collective does not make requirements to “preserve” their spot.
The new artists are allowed to take on managerial roles and this is found in 4A’s quote “These artists also have shown immense dedication to the 4 team, taking on
managerial roles from the beginning… We also have a few other 'board members' that help with other aspects of operations.” These operations are “The 4 Brooklyn events.” And if
revenues are generated they “are split between the artists that performed and a small chunk
goes to the 4 marketing/event planning fund.”(4A)
When asked regarding whether the collective has contractual agreements 4B states “The collective has no contractual agreements at this time.”
3
In the case of 3 collective they have over 100 members with continuously turnover. The positions are described here; “We have four administrators, I have fifteen moderators for community, I have three visual artists” (3A)
The reasoning behind such a large team is because 3 collective receive over 150 new track submissions weekly. Through a public submission portal, the collective listens and offers feedback to any artist who has submitted a track. They receive their public submissions through a platform called Coli.io – a platform that accepts submissions from prospective
artists.2 However with such a quantity of submission; “Ninety five percent of the submissions
we don't approve”(3A)
To optimize the opportunities for artists to get heard; “we run ten different
SoundCloud pages” 3A. The explanation for running ten different branded accounts on
SoundCloud; is if an artist makes a good track they can still get on our network and will still
be posted and get it heard – 3A. The collective will “rarely release singles,” one track, since
the main page operates through themed releases. Meaning for an artist to get on 3’s main branded page they must enter a themed contest, these contests are as such:
• Issue #: The collective creates a time period in which members must submit a track matching a theme; for example; “issue ten | CONCEPTION, LIFE &
DEATH.”3 The artist must match one of the three themes. After the artists are
they are then published in mixtape where the listeners can individual listen to each artist.
• Cypher Series: “Our cypher series is where every two weeks we create a theme and give a sample pack4” 3A. These sample packs are curated by a featured artist from the collective. The curator then creates a mix featuring every 60-90 seconds a new track.
• Remix Contests: Is where a featured track from one of the collective’s members is posted for a remix, and usually the original producer sets parameters for the submitting artists to follow. 5
However, because of his large platform, 3A states: I have resources to all the music I
want, I have resources to all the artists I want, it's amazing if I have a channel and I need music I can pop up my chat or I can pop up my coolio, pop up my email, I got documents about so much music like I got music for the rest of the year and it’s like we've got five more months left or something.
When asked about contractual agreements within the collective, 3A states; “we have some for artists, we have some for like our revenue streams, we have some for our
distributor, which I'm still trying to work out, but a lot of everything is based on time and trust.” Contractual agreements only arrive when revenue streams form, therefore the rest are informal agreements relying on time and trust.
Functions
The two functions are the deeper motives for forming or joining a collective. They are the key principles in order to achieve symbiotic growth.
3 The Collective’s SoundCloud Page 4 “A sample pack is a collection of sounds, representative of a musical style or genre, consisting of loops and one-shots that are specially designed for producers to use as building blocks in their productions.” Raman, Reuben. “Tips for Creating You Own Sample Pack by Splice.” Splice, 27 Feb. 2017, splice.com/blog/tips-for-creating-your-own-sample-pack/. 5 Collective’s discord
Connecting
Connecting is the initial main function focused on the relationship building process and is the
higher motive for creating or joining a collective. The collectives are either building a relationship with fans or one another:
The founders of 3 and 4, presented respectively, highlight their motive when asked why they started the collective
3A: I was discovering like a bunch of artists that only had a couple hundred followers, they weren't getting more than a couple hundred plays and the music was really good so I was like well shit, I want to help these people! I want to find a way so I can get them heard more. So that's kind of how 3 collective was founded. I had a purpose to make it so artists would be able to get heard, but also I'm coming from my own background and having times of isolation or loneliness and wanting hope, and wanting to continue to live. I knew that there was other people out there like that, so I wanted to give a place where people could meet other people and collaborate with each other communicate and there'd always be kind of like a greater purpose for them.
4A: I started 4 Collective in August 2015. It started out of my own frustration as a
DJ/Producer. At the time I had less than 400 followers and despite all my efforts, I couldn't get any plays on my tracks. I would spend 50% of my time marketing my music and 50% of my time producing and I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere... So the idea of 4 Collective was to bring like-minded producers together to help cross-promote each other and utilize our individual networks to create a larger reach.
2A: 2 is a family. We are like really in tune with each other. Our togetherness is really strong. We’re strong and it’s just a fun place with all of us coming from different places. Teamwork and family is our main thing. We genuinely enjoy each others music.
2B: Oh my God. I'd be nowhere without 2 man. I think it's the greatest for connecting with other artists specifically, because you can comment on tracks and then they comment on your tracks and you start effing with each other and it's great.
4A: And above all we're doing it for the fans. Who doesn't love free music? Giving our music out for free is a great way of connecting with our fans.
Sharing
The sharing dynamic is the distribution of intangible resources amongst the various members of the collective.
2A: we support each other a lot in way. When somebody posts a new track than we get on it and repost it, comment and push it. We got each others backs…. But now I am supporting my fellow friends that do music and I really want to push there music as best as I can and they do the exact same for me. Most of the things I repost they are either in the collective and if not they are people I’ve been close with for a long time, like we’ve been in some connection for long time. And we both just try to support each other.
4A: The beauty of having a self sufficient collective is that we barely have any costs. This is the only way we can operate for free and both host releases for artists and give away that music for free.
3A: I typically like to give feedback really, ‘hey, here’s what you could be doing better’, here's some hope and inspiration to keep going forward because being an artist and getting rejected like that can really kill your self-esteem and I'm in the business to make it so artists keep on producing and keep on getting better and keep on having inspiration to raise the next level because we need that innovation right now….
3A: So now anyone that's an artist can come in and join and no longer feel alone. They'll have resources to help their music whether it's tips and tricks to make their music sound better or networking tips on how to get their music heard, and then also in the past 2A: Nope. It is really cool though thinking about how the internet goes….We’re all in different places and being able to connect and share and talk and collaborate and share ideas. It’s totally different from years ago when it was down geographical boundaries and you could only connect with those people around you.
The sharing inspiration is presented below:
2A: We inspire one another. When I did the Brazil tape. People were like ‘yo I made this track since I was inspired by that track.’ It is like a back and forth thing of sharing
inspiration and creativity…. But once I joined 2 I was glad I joined them. They’ve helped so much creatively
2A: Yea when it comes to collaborating I like to build a relationship with people, I want to be able to get on a level where we can communicate when we want, even on a daily basis
sharing things. I don’t like to collab and move on. It comes together, I don’t ever try to rush it. It will happen when it happens because I want my things to be meaningful. So even with people I know, it will happen when the moment is right – when it is suppose to happen.
3B: It's hard to say there's been there's been so many like influences, I feel like every artist
gotten me to think about new things that I can do to experiment with my music. Trying to like improve my production skills and stuff
Discussion
This study observed the dynamics behind how a collective function. Through the interviews with artists and managing-artists, two principal functions were identified, and these functions are interdependent on the systems. The combination of the system and
function are what creates the identity of the collective. The identity is molded based on all the members’ interaction and the music they create as Peltonimi (2015) explains. Therefore, the music that the collective produces is what the audience initially perceives of the collective.
How do Collectives Form?
1A tells the story of the formation of 1 “[We] were talking to some guy [a manager] who wanted to start up a label and he asked all of us… We were like f*** this manager guy. And take our faith into our own hands… So we decided let us start-up a collective and share some songs on our Soundcloud.” This quote highlights two catalyzing factors of why an independent artist choose to be part of collective. The first being the disfavor towards music professionals, who do not contribute to the creation of the good itself; “because [the
collective doesn’t] take the stance of “we will hurt/use anyone to succeed” which you see in the industry a lot.” (4B 4) The second and more important one being is a collective can be accomplished through a proactive, “take our faith into our own hands,” approach.
After the conception of these two fundamental ideas, usually a single individual initiates the collective process with the altruistic motive of growing together:
I was discovering like a bunch of artists that only had a couple hundred followers, they weren't getting more than a couple hundred plays and the music was really good so I was like I want to help these people! I want to find a way so I can get them heard more. -3A
4A expresses that he desires to “take back control.” However, it's hard to secure ‘control’ as a single artist, “if you’re not j.robb [a popular producer on soundcloud], you can't just post a song on your SoundCloud like it takes, like a network or a team” (3B). Now that the formation of a collective is understood the functions of what a collective is will be discussed next.
What is a SoundCloud Collective?
The main initial perception of the collective is that it is an ideal platform where artists can release their content. According to Mol et al. (2005) these, functions are identical to that of a
traditional record label whose duties were to record, reproduce and distribute music. However, there are two distinctions that make the collective unique.
The first difference that listeners are more likely to notice is that the collective distributes their music content for free. All the artists researched, emphasized that they publish most of their music for free. When asked about whether 4C sells his music he stated: “I just release them on my Soundcloud for free or like give them to some SoundCloud collective.” One possible reason for this was given by Cleem Lee, who states: “Free
downloads are a way for artists to take back control and get 100% of the benefits… secondly, no one buys music anymore.” The benefits 4A speaks of are the ‘growing together.’
The second difference that listeners may not consider is formal contractual
agreements are avoided - with the exception that money is involved. Contractual agreements are what can make the community feel “really uninspiring” as 4C states. When the founder of 3 was asked about why he avoids contracts, he stated: “I'm not doing this for a greedy way to like keep these artists mine, I'm doing this so they get heard” (3A). This altruistic theme indicates that a collective can be more than just a simple release platform. The reasoning why these collectives abstain from forming contracts is preventing formalities and obligations and focus on the common goal of “growing together.” As the Collective Clout Model indicates, the collective has two functions in order to grow together.
2A emphasized “being able to connect, and share” are the best things about the collective he loves. The act of connecting builds the community or family as Diefenbach & Sillince (2011) highlights. For example, 3A came from personal experience of loneliness and depression in result he wanted to create a community for musicians who are experiencing the same as his past. Meanwhile, many of the interviewees felt that they were part of something more than a release platform: We truly are a big family! (4A), 2 is a family… We want to
show all my brothers love (2A), to me at least it's definitely my family (3B), [4A] really emphasized the community (4C), and it's wonderful that I have a community (3A). Through
connecting and collaborating the artist seem to have found a sense of belonging, thus making a collective more than a release platform.
The functions
Through connecting and sharing artist desire one common goal, which is audience growth. That is why an altruistic approach has been adopted through these functions. Altruism is the short-term gain while self-interest is the long-term gain. (Onyx & Bullen, 2000, p. 24)
Connecting
In this case, connecting is the act of relationship building, connecting is not to be mistaken with communication. The motive for connecting appears to be the first system in creating symbiotic growth for the 4 collective. Here, the need for connecting stems from artists recognizing other artists' talents and how “there was nothing to connect these artists.” (4A) 4’s 4C states how their connectivity “really emphasizes this whole like we are all in this together, you chose success so I help you, you help me.” 4C continues to speak of their connection with one another, it is “Just like friends to friends like ‘how is it going?” All the 4 members interviewed showed a positive sentiment towards the relationships they have with fellow members of the collective. With 4B going to the extreme stating; “4 means the world to me!”
2B mentions that 2 is “the greatest for connecting with other artists specifically, because you can comment on tracks and then they comment on your tracks and you start effing6 with each other.” Meanwhile, 2A of 2 underlines that the connection makes them “strong, and it’s just a fun place with all of us coming from different places.” 2A is a veteran member of the 2 collective and when asked what the objectives of the collective is he states;
As far as objectives. It’s like that we are a team. 2 is a family. We are like really in tune with each other. Our togetherness is really strong... Teamwork and family is our main thing.
The use of the term “family” show a strong sense of belonging for 2A. This
acknowledgment of family also appears in 3B’s response about 3 collective; “There's a lot of people who have just become part of our big community, and it's almost a family you always see [refers to digitally communicating with] the same people every day.” This coincides with 3A’s motive for starting 3 collective;
I'm coming from my own background and having times of isolation or loneliness and
wanting hope, and wanting to continue to live. I knew that there was other people out there like that, so I wanted to give a place where people could meet other people… there'd always be kind of like a greater purpose for them.
The possible “no place to go” and “there’s other people like that” attitude reflects the desire to connect with like-minded individuals. This family sense of belonging was to be found in 2, 4, and 3 collective.
