Being a “Global Music Platform”: Platform Work in Light-Tech Capitalism

Abstract

While the literature on music digital platforms has focused mainly on the consequences of production and consumption, few works have looked at platformization from the perspective of companies active in the music business. Drawing on an ethnographic inquiry of Sofar Sounds—a London-based company that organizes intimate and secret concerts in unconventional spaces—I introduce platform work to explore the kinds of practices in which platforms engage. I identify three operations in Sofar Sounds’ platform work: the incorporation of Sofar Sounds concerts into digital devices; its financing by venture capital (VCs) funds; and the activation and generification of its global community. In conclusion, I argue that being a platform involves organizational practices and that studying these practices shifts our attention beyond a few limited successful companies. I propose that light-tech capitalism accounts for this mundane and unsophisticated aspect of platform work.