An edited volume that examines the data and statistics that are key to the music industry.

The music industries are fueled by statistics: sales targets, breakeven points, success ratios, royalty splits, website hits, ticket revenues, listener figures, piracy abuses, and big data. Statistics are of consequence. They influence the music that consumers get to hear, they determine the revenues of music makers, and they shape the policies of governments and legislators. Yet many of these statistics are generated by the music industries themselves, and their accuracy can be questioned. Music by Numbers sets out to explore this shadowy terrain.

This edited collection provides the first in-depth examination of the use and abuse of statistics in the music industry. Written by noted music business scholars and practitioners in the field, the book addresses five key areas in which numbers are employed: sales and awards; music industry policy; live music; music piracy; and digital solutions. The authors address these subjects from a range of perspectives: some of them test the veracity of this data and explore its tactical use by music businesses; others help to generate these numbers by developing surveys and online projects and offering candid observations.

The aim of this collection is to expose the culture and politics of data. Music industry statistics are pervasive, but despite this ubiquity they are underexplored. This book offers a corrective by providing new ways by which to learn music by numbers.

About the Authors

Richard Osborne is a senior lecturer in popular music at Middlesex University in London. He is the author of Vinyl: A History of the Analogue Record and coeditor of Mute Records: Artists, Business, History. He publishes widely in the field of popular music studies, including the blog Pop Bothering Me.

Dave Laing (1947–2019) was one of the founding figures of popular music studies. He authored many books on popular music, including The Sound of Our Time, One Chord Wonders, and Buddy Holly.

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