Music by Numbers

'In a world increasingly reflected and cognised through numerical computation, this well curated collection proves a useful reference resource. Expansive, detailed and well-researched, Music by Numbers is a commendable contribution to the understanding of our digital age.'

-- Chris Woods, Popular Music

'Music by numbers provides a valuable contribution to our understanding of the use and abuse of data and statistics in the music industries. It employs a critical stance and unpacks the various ways in which numbers are instrumental to industry goals and details various strategies employed to manipulate them accordingly. [...] This book undoubtedly provides useful guidelines for future research on statistics, data and metrics in the music business.'

-- Erik Hitters, International Journal of Music Business Research

'In fourteen distinct and loosely connected chapters the contributors variously analyze, dispute, or contribute statistics on the music industries. As Osborne notes in his excellent introduction, the book was Laing’s idea; however, it is largely due to Osborne that this volume saw the light of day, as Laing sadly passed away in January 2019. Osborne was thus forced to contribute more than he had initially planned and wrote all three chapters for Part I on the music industries’ “winners and losers.” These are some of the most interesting chapters of the book. They range in topic from how the United Kingdom singles chart has historically both reflected and driven musical popularity, to the peculiar celebration of sales figures by rewarding gold or platinum status, to the disputable but highly influential rhetoric of the “one-inten” success ratio that is still frequently heard today.

Music By Numbers provides popular music scholars with an important and useful foundation for the continued investigation of “the use and abuse” of numbers in the music industries. It is also a fine tribute to the late Dave Laing.'

-- Robert Prey, Journal of Popular Music Studies

'Music by Numbers is a useful read for professionals at any level in the music industry. Each chapter deals with statistics and data in an accessible way without weakening their rigorous critiques of music industry practices. It would be an illuminating read for all artists and music industry professionals.'

-- Margaret Grumeretz, Music Reference Services Quarterly

“The book could have been called ‘Doing a Number on Music Data’ as it does just that. It reveals the tricks and traps that seemingly objective statistics conceal and puts paid once and for all the notion that they should be taken at face value. Everyone should understand the basis for claims backed by data and actual or potential sources of bias. This book is a very good source for doing just that in the music industry.”

-- Ruth Towse, professor of economics of creative industries, Bournemouth University

“Music By Numbers is a major contribution to popular music studies. The analyses and accounts here are detailed, rigorous, and inclusive, providing crucial resources for comparative and critical research as well as substantial counterweights to industry- and policy-serving materials.”

-- Matt Stahl, associate professor of Information and Media Studies, Western University, Ontario

“From the Hit Parade to Spotify, whether in arguments about royalties, piracy or the relative value of the live and recorded sectors, the political economy of popular music has always been shaped by statistics. This collection of essays provides a thoughtful, sceptical and instructive guide to why and how music businesses use and abuse numerical data.”

-- Simon Frith, emeritus professor of Music, University of Edinburgh

“This book offers a timely examination of how data and statistics lie at the heart of the music industries – in making decisions, lobbying governments, and discussing internet piracy. Commonly held industry assumptions are challenged with recourse to a variety of data sources and methodologies, and in an engaging, lucid manner. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in how the music business uses, abuses and manipulates the vast quantities of data that digital technologies have made available.”

-- Chris Anderton, associate professor in Cultural Economy, Solent University, Southampton

“Everyone who is interested in music is, in one way or another, influenced by numbers - from tracks, hits and streams to profit margins, ticket prices and piracy rates. What the chapters in this collection demonstrate is that these numbers are never neutral; they are inherently political - constructed and presented in specific ways to suit particular interests. This book offers essential guidance for anyone who wants to make sense of the statistics that surround the music industry, and - fortunately - you don't need to be a maths whizz to understand it. In an age when the 'data' about music is constantly increasing, this collection will only increase in importance, helping future readers to make sense of numbers yet to be invented.”

-- Lee Marshall, professor of Sociology, University of Bri