The Platformization of Songwriting: An Exploration of the Interplay between Technological Constraints, Creative Agency, and Cultural Production

Description

Songwriting has long been influenced by the technical conditions of its production and distribution, from the Tin Pan Alley era to the dominance of radio and MTV (see Tschmuck 2012). A century later, popular music is still conceived and produced by teams of specialized experts. While roles within songwriting—such as topliner or producer—are well-defined, they remain flexible between songwriting sessions. This phenomenon fosters specific types of collaborative creativity (Bennett 2014). However, recent years have seen these dynamics increasingly shaped by the platformization of music songwriting and production that are currently not fully understood.
Generally, platformization involves standardized key aspects of songwriting, including total duration, hook placement (e.g., Spotify's “30-second rule”), and loudness standards (LUFS). These requirements have significant implications for the creation of platform-compatible music products. However, we would argue that even the setting in which songwriting occurs is becoming platformized. This is especially true for songwriting camps as online or offline networking structures, which reflect information-technological logics within songwriting practices. Therefore, this presentation explores how these camps navigate these constraints within their creative ecosystems.
Based on data from a bi-national research project involving interviews with industry professionals, artists and other creative contributors and stakeholders, as well as participant observations, this study employs constructivist grounded theory methodology (Charmaz 2017) to analyze the negotiation of “functional rules” and “media formats” in contemporary songwriting, adding to existing analyses of creative practices in songwriting.
Our contribution also considers broader ecosystemic factors, including rights management and the influence of artificial intelligence on creative practice (Clancy 2023), as well as the feedback loop between platformized music businesses and creative processes (Geurts & Cepa 2023). By examining how songwriting standards are negotiated under platformed conditions, this presentation illuminates the evolving interplay between technological constraints, creative agency, and cultural production in the digital music economy.

Period	2 May 2025 → 3 May 2025
Event title	Symposium on the Platformization of Music Production
Event type	Conference
Location	Oslo, NorwayShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International