Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Rising Tides? Data Capture, Platform Accumulation, And New Monopolies In The Digital Music Economy, Leslie M. Meier, Vincent R. Manzerolle

Communication, Media & Film Publications

This article examines the roles of platform-based distribution and user data in the digital music economy. Drawing on trade press, newspaper coverage, and a consumer privacy complaint, we offer a critical analysis of tech-music partnerships forged between Samsung and Jay-Z (2013), Apple iTunes Store and U2 (2014), Tidal and Kanye West (2016), and Apple Music and Drake (2017). In these cases, information technology (IT) companies supported album releases, and music was used to generate user data and attention: logics of data and attention capture were interwoven. The IT and music industries have adapted their business strategies to what we conceptualize …

Refuting The Sharing Economy: An Examination Of Mainstream And Critical Perspectives, Samar El-Khatib

Major Papers

This Major Research Paper analyzes dominant corporate narratives of the sharing economy, as well as offers a critical perspective to the key tenants of this new economic model.

The study focuses on answering the following question: To what extent does the municipal government of Toronto’s Sharing Economy webpage provide a favourable representation of the sharing economy, one that aligns closely with the dominant corporate narrative?

With a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of The City of Toronto’s Sharing Economy webpage found within the Policy, Research, Public Consultation and Events section of their website, this research aims to obtain an in-depth understanding …

How Disney’S Abc Avoided Reporting Electronic Arts Star Wars Game Micro-Transactions, Rohan Khanna

Major Papers

With advancement in technology in the context of high speed internet, smartphones, animation and videogames to name a few, companies like Disney have been harnessing this evolution to help prosper in a capitalist competitive environment. Through the incorporation of Huckin’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), the research observes Disney’s attempt to fully leverage its newly acquired (costly) property, Star Wars in the realm of video games, to synergize promotional activities for the much more profitable films. The videogame is covered through articles and interviews on the ABC (American Broadcasting Company) news website and YouTube, respectively, and aims to report on the …

Native Advertising Disclosures In Journalism: An Assessment On The Accurate Reporting Of Disclosure Wording In Conveying Advertising Intent, Darko Milenkovic

Major Papers

The struggling journalism industry adopted the practice of native advertising to raise digital revenue. This practice offered advertisers a chance to purchase the services of a publication in order to have their story published. The goal of native advertising is for advertising to become invisible to consumers, and to be presented to audiences as if were regular editorial content. The only distinguishing feature is a disclosure, often identifying the accompanying article as being “Sponsored Content,” “Promoted Content”, “Custom Content,” or a “Paid Post.” This research paper discusses the struggles of journalism and digital advertising. It examines the many definitions of …

Mobilizing The Audience Commodity 2.0: Digital Labour And Always-On Media, Vincent R. Manzerolle

Communication, Media & Film Publications

This paper re-examines the work of Dallas Smythe in light of the popularization of Internetenabled mobile devices (IMD). In an era of ubiquitous connectivity Smythe’s prescient analysis of audience ‘work’ offers a historical continuum in which to understand the proliferation of IMDs in everyday life. Following Smythe’s line of analysis, this paper argues that the expansion of waged and unwaged digital labour facilitated by these devices contributes to the overall mobilization of communicative, cognitive and co-operative capacities--capacities central to the accumulation strategies of ‘informational capitalism.’ As such, the rapid uptake of these devices globally is an integral component in this …

’Dynamic’ Obama Lectures ‘Bumbling’ Castro On Race Relations In Cuba, Oblivious To Black Lives Matter Movement In The U.S., James P. Winter

Communication, Media & Film Publications

No abstract provided.