Users of an online music community

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Users of an on-line music community
ACIDplanet

• Trevor Pinch and Katherine Athanasiades, Cornell
  University

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ACIDplanet is an on-line music community

• Differs from file sharing and downloading sites
  because the users provide the content
• Biggest such site with over 300,000 registered
  users worldwide
• Membership is free
• Growing rapidly (traffic doubled last year)

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• Dave Hollinden (former webmaster)
• ACIDplanet is somewherewhere, you can just be
  an absolute hobbyist, or be fairly accomplished,
  or a power-user, or a real casual user, and
  stilljust come and upload and, you might find a
  place for yourself in the community that way.

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ACIDplanet.com Home Page
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ACIDplanet homepage contains

• Banner ads to SONY products, especially ACID
  software and loops
• Featured Artists, News and Results of latest
  Contests
• Polls, Links
• Top Ten songs
• Weekly podcasts
• Prozone

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TIME LINE

• 1991 Sonic Foundry of Madison formed
• 1998 developed ACID software for turning
  computer into home recording studio
• 1999 ACIDplanet 0.0 developed
• 1999 ACIDplanet revised and released as
  ACIDplanet.com
• 2003 Sonic Foundry bought out by Sony and
  ACIDplanet becomes a Sony website
  (unchanged)

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USING ACIDplanet

• Make a Profile (name, photo, brief description)
• Upload own music
• Download other users music
• Download royalty-free loops provided by Sony
• Review other members music
• Enter Contests
• Receive a Chart Position
• Join chatroom and forums

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Establishing a Profile

• A profile establishes on-line identity
• Name is important and is used to reflect musical
  identity, style or attitude
• e.g. dj_doughy, Goth Family Singers, Danger Dude
• Users can have multiple profiles (with same
  e-mail address or different ones)

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Example of Multiple Profiles of Mike Andraski

• HANK MOHASKI
• The Zanzibar Cheap Band
• DJ Zeus
• Tape Jazz Massacre
• Hankatron
• The Special Jellies

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User Profile
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Information typically put on profiles

• Photograph of artist or an artsy picture
• Description
• History
• Group members
• Styles
• Influences
• Equipment and software
• Date joined, how many reviews, whether open to
  collaboration, e-mail link

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Uploading

• Upload as WMA File or MP3 File (20
  megabytes/song)
• Brief description of song
• Self rate for obscenity content G-R
• Choose a genre (n 18), a subgenre (n 64)and
  sometimes a subsubgenre (n 46 for electronica)

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GENRES

• Blues
• Cinematic/sound track
• Classical
• Comedy
• Country
• Easy Listening
• Electronica
• Experimental
• Hip-Hop/Rap

• Industrial
• Jazz
• Pop
• Reggae
• Rock
• Spoken Word
• Urban/RB
• World/folk
• Other

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Down Loading

• ACIDplanet has its own media player which makes
  it very easy to listen to any song

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Reviewing

• When song is uploaded other users can immediately
  post a review which is displayed by the song on
  the artists songs page
• Reviewers can rate song from one star to ten
  stars
• If ranking is less than five stars, review must
  be at least 25 words long

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Stefanie Ks Rock Me

• 10/10 ap diva 6.18.2005 _at_ 1032am pop queen
  unflinching nerves of steel just pumping hard on
  the billion dollar sacred cow of the american
  idol formula soft rock machine...great
  stuff...when do i get some of that sweet vox for
  my work?  waaaaaaaaaah!
• From luckily77777 fenton, MO
• 10/10 Your..... 6.18.2005 _at_ 1010am really
  starting to put a hump in your rump lately (lol)
    Edgier and heavier ......and we really like the
  direction your taking....Great Work!
• From hard rain Cincinnati, OH
• 10/10 Radio Ready! 6.18.2005 _at_ 947am Very
  Nice job by all....love the blues leads on the
  right....Love the placement of the backing vocals
  and the bull horn FX on the vocals was cool
  too....great lyrics too!...........kudos..........
  ..........peace.Skip
• From www.skipmoore.net HOUSTON, TX

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CHARTS

• Immediate and continuously updated chart position
  
• Top 25 songs listed on Home page
• Charts for every genre
• Chart position is based on number of stars a song
  receives over time (secret S formula)

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CONTESTS

• Contests often 4 or 5 at a time
• Remixing the most common
• e.g. this week remix t.a.T.u
• Mash-ups splice two different songs together
  e.g.old school punk artist Nina Hagen with Cinema
  Strange and Blitzkid

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Prizes

• Winners of contests receive site publicity free
  software
• Occasionally more exciting prizes offered, e.g.
  trip to the Bahamas, free Sony laptop
• Just announced this week was winner of
  competition to score a section of upcoming TV
  animation show Dirk Derby Wonder Jockey. Prize
  may be to use music in actual show.

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Our Study

• Began June 2005
• Interviewed 21 ACIDplanet users (20 men, one
  woman webmaster, web developer, and three other
  Sony employees
• Most interviews in NE of the US (but 3 in Korea)
• Interviews semi-structured, tape recorded, last
  one to two hours.

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OUR PROFILE
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Other Data

• Our study has received attention in AE forum and
  in newsletters (Indian Rock Records)
• Also our own profile generates credibility
• We regularly surf AP chatrooms and forums

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Goals of Study

• Understand how this new technology shapes musical
  practices
• How the new media is in turn shaped by user
  practices
• We focus on user practices in particular huge
  interest in users and technology in STS
• How identities and norms are constructed within
  this new form of community

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ACIDplanet as a user-driven site

• Dave Hollinden (Webmaster)
• We listen to everything the users say, and we
  try and weighwhat makes the most sense andwhat
  theyre asking for, to a large extent. Andthere
  was another site that Sony had, where they wanted
  a place forconsumers to put what they made with
  Sony products. And that was Screenblast. But
  they went at it from the point of view of what
  Sony thought it should be.They had a huge
  staff, and they put together a very nice-looking
  site.It didnt work out. And I think a lot of
  the reason for that, compared to us, who is just
  two people, basically working on a daily basis,
  is that its very user-driven, for our site, and
  Screenblast didnt turn out to be as much of a
  user-feedback-oriented site.

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• AP includes specialized Feedback Form, Polls.
• Webmasters and Web Developers are also occasional
  participants
• Jim Spitznagel
• the users being the musicians, were really
  involvedAnd it just sparked what I did, uh,
  immensely, it was just like boom!...Wow!
  Theres all these other people, that I can
  contact any time, who are trying to do the same
  thing Im doing. which is pretty nice when
  youre workingespecially in a place like Ithaca,
  where, small population

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How Users Perceive Reviewing RR

• Feedback from reviews (even critical) is one of
  the most valuable experiences for AP users.
• Reviews provide critique and/or encouragement
• Review ratings linked to chart placement
• Users often expect extremely positive rating or
  none at all. People expect RR

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Proliferation of Reviews

• Tendency is to do many and positive reviews.
• what do I need to do to get these people to
  listen? Well I review them. And they go, Oh,
  this guy named Spitznagel reviewed me, Im gonna
  check out his music. Jim (2,781 reviews and
  regular chart success)

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• Writing so many positive reviews without actually
  copying and pasting from your own reviews can be
  difficult. Jim
• If I feel that Ive written a lot, the same
  thing, Ill get the dictionary out and change a
  few words. Hahahahaha. And I just, say, Ill
  change creative to inventive. Oh, thats
  good! Ill change, you know, cool to groovy.
  Oh, thats good, you know!

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Reviews diluted

• Reviews potential for honest, useful criticism
  lost
• you do have a lot of people that are just,
  Cool tune man! You know, when you get a chance,
  check me out, hit me up. RR. Its just, its
  all meaningless. You know? You dont get
  anything useful out of the review.

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HATERS

• A very small sub-set of people (haters) post
  extremely negative reviews. (drive by
  shootings). These reviews often attached to
  blank profiles with no songs for reciprocation.
• The webmaster can remove obviously malicious
  reviews but is not empowered to remove others
  that a user thinks are overly harsh.

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Future of Reviews?

• This is a field where the reviewing norms are
  still in flux.
• The webmasters are contemplating solutions such
  as introducing a new expert review system which
  might rank reviews and reviewers depending on
  their experience and positive feedback a reviewer
  has received.
• The danger, as the webmasters see it, is that
  APs simple interface may become too complicated
  and discourage users.

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CHART WHORING

• The charts are addictive (akin to the sales
  ranking on Amazon.com)
• Topping the charts on ACIDplanet the first time
  is an experience users never forget
• You know something? My head was like, out to
  here demonstrates head being very large with
  arms. PianoPlayer (Frank Grasso) on being
  number one for a week on the soft rock charts

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• Users who top the charts often send e-mails to
  friends, family and colleagues with a link
  inviting them to share in the momentary fame
• But if good reviews lead to chart success then
  the system can be gamed by soliciting positive
  reviews and even reviewing your own song by
  creating bogus profiles this is known as Chart
  Whoring

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Identity and Community

• Unlike other on-line music sites where users just
  down-load or file share or promote their music,
  AP builds a genuine new form of on-line
  community.
• Your profile, music, reviews and reviewing are
  all components of this identity.
• This can be seen at particular moments such as
  when engaging in one of APs most interesting
  features - collaborations

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The AP Band

• Some users seek active collaborations with
  other users on particular songs to form a band.
• I was like, wow, theres just, so many people,
  talented people, unknown people, that are its
  like having a whole band. You know, because
  like, if you need a guitar player, drummer..
  Yeah, you could find people to collaborate-
  Stefanie K
• Files are passed along and different instruments
  and treatments are added to the song by other
  users.

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Being in touch through reviews

• But meeting someone on AP is not quite the same
  as meeting your band buddies in the physical
  world. Building a good working relationship draws
  on all the different components of the AP
  community (profile reviews, previous songs).
• For instance, Sonic Epiphany, is looking for a
  vocalist on AP. He has found a female vocalist,
  iNFaReDHaZe, by listening to her songs which have
  charted. Now he contemplates the next stage
• Ive only been in touch with her through a
  couple reviews and stuff, so I really dont know
  her that well.

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• AP users carefully construct their self-contained
  identities over time.
• Such identities carry consequences and are not
  like the anomic, anonymous identities on other
  websites. Such identities shape the community and
  at the same time the community shapes these
  identities.

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• Thus when the webmaster (Dave) recently retired
  he posted a goodbye letter and a song.
• He had won the respect of many users and the
  reviews of his song expressed affection and
  respect although they had never met him in the
  non-virtual world.
• Dave saw himself as working for the users, making
  ACIDplanet a better and lasting place for
  everyone involved.

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Other Uses of ACIDplanet

• Like technologies in general this computer
  mediated music site is used in unexpected ways by
  users.
• American user in Korea posts his songs there for
  ex-band members and family back in the US.
• One user likes to try out a song on AP before
  releasing on a CD
• Another user will try out a song on AP before
  performing it live at a gig.

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Two Case studies Stefanie K and Jim Spitznagel

• Stefanie K is an ex-stock trader who had learnt
  piano from her dad at age five gave up at age
  fifteen - but returned to music after the death
  of friend on 9-11.
• She is one of the small number of women users.
• AP is predominantly male and woman users can be
  given a hard time (until they prove themselves to
  their male peers)

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Sexism on AP

• As Hank Mohaski notes
• If she puts a song up and, and then you go
  back and read the reviews for that song, youll
  see the stuff percolating up,,, Are you
  hot?And then theres other stuff where its
  this out-and-out, like, sexism.. Oh youre a
  girl and you suck and, you can never be you
  know, youll never make it.Ive known a couple
  female artists that have left the site,
  specifically because of thateither they werent
  taken seriously as an artist, or because they
  were basically being sexually harassed.

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• Stefanie K started to write songs I write lyrics
  everywhere, I have pieces of paper in every bag I
  have with lyrics scribbled.
• She meets an AP user, is drawn in, and begins
  active reviewing (she now has left 1,839
  reviews).
• I was obsessed for a while. My husband got a
  little pissed off

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• She used the website when her kids were at
  school, sometimes all night.
• She doesnt use ACID software but has a
  homestudio in her basement with, mic. Keyboard,
  mixer (which records)
• She is now one of best-known artists on AP and
  her song Rock Me charts at 14 on all time hits.

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JIM SPITZNAGEL

• Jim Spiztnagel has had a life in and out of
  music, played in a high school and professional
  band, owned a record store, promoted Blondie,
  Talking heads and other new wave bands. Now owns
  his own independent record label and makes music
  as a house husband he uses AP as a way of
  promoting his own CDs
• His music is well respected and he has had
  several chart-topping hits on AP

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Conclusion ACIDplanet has evolved a unique
community.

• Users participate in this music culture in a
  solitary manner (even when collaborating).
• Users can take on and experiment with more than
  one musical identity.
• Users, although individuated by space and
  identity are located within a larger,
  technologically mediated community which offers
  success, failure, discrimination and empowerment.
• This community is more organic than other
  file-sharing systems, because
• norms are and have been developing
• identities gain reputation
• social bonds are created

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