ABSTRACT
The decline of large corporations in the music industry—the “major labels”—as the dominant unit for the production of value-added processes is closely associated with the equally declining importance of traditional taste-making institutions such as radio, sales charts, and journalists (Bürkner et al. 2013; Coulson 2012; Hracs 2012; Leyshon 2009; Winter 2012). The status of music journalists as pivotal rating entities situated between music producers and fans has come under pressure from the increase in music listeners offering their assessments and ratings of musical pieces through writing for blogs (see Arriagada, this volume) and communicating on social networks as well as algorithms embedded in digital music platforms.
