Photo: Petri Summanen
The doctoral dissertation of MA Juho Kaitajärvi-Tiekso in cultural music studies and media studies examines the democratisation of recording production in the era of streaming platforms. It questions the notion of the levelling the playing field brought about by digitalisation by drawing attention to the multidimensionality of democratisation and the continuity of unequal power relations. The study shows that the threshold for releasing recordings lowered by digital tools is only one of the many features of democratisation. Large players, such as global record companies and platforms, have an advantage in the market, but small record companies can create alternative ways of working and challenge prevailing practices.
The doctoral dissertation by MA Juho Kaitajärvi-Tiekso, DIY Record Industry in the Age of Platforms. Independent Micro-Labels in Finland and Democratization of Record Production in Platform Capitalism will be publicly examined at the Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences, Tampere University, on Friday 2 October 2026. The doctoral dissertation belongs to the field of cultural music studies and media studies.
The opponent will be Professor Rosa Reitsamer from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (MDW) in Austria. The custos will be Professor Tarja Rautiainen-Keskustalo from the Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences, Tampere University.