Music Behind the Scroll: the Impact of Short-Form Platforms on the Music Ecosystem

This two-year postdoctoral project will investigate how short-form music videos are transforming music culture. Once MTV shaped global music visibility; today, a few seconds of sound can generate cultural moments, launch careers, and position platforms as powerful gatekeepers. This is not merely a trend but a systemic shift in how music is produced, circulated, and experienced, deeply mediated by digital platforms.The project will analyse the mutual agency of three central actors—artists, audiences, and platforms. It pursues three objectives: (1) to examine how independent musicians adapt to platform logics of virality, metrics, and visibility, and how this reshapes their creative strategies and professional identities; (2) to explore how audiences experience short-form videos (3) to develop a new theoretical framework linking user practices, artist labour, and evolving aesthetics of the music video. Methodologically, this study will apply a triangulated design: mapping platform affordances and trends; conducting in-depth interviews with artists and young audiences; and performing content analysis of music video aesthetics. This interdisciplinary approach integrates Media and Communication Studies, Popular Music Studies, Music Technologies, Cultural Studies, and Sociology, ensuring a holistic account of how creativity, participation, and cultural value are reconfigured in the digital environment. The expected impact is threefold. Scientifically, it will generate the first integrated, user-centred framework for understanding short-form music video cultures. Societally, it will examine how platforms shape content diversity, participation, and cultural consumption (and are shaped by them), providing artists and audiences with critical tools. Economically, it will deliver actionable insights to cultural industries and policymakers, supporting sustainable careers and inclusive cultural policies within the rapidly expanding global music ecosystem.