Editorial

The April 2023 issue of the International Journal of Management and Business Research (IJMBR) opens with an article by Arhin et al. from the University of Education in Winneba/Ghana on the use of split sheets in Ghanaian recording studios. The split sheet is an important mean to remunerate musicians for their contributions to recordings in West-African country Ghana. According to the Ghanaian Copyright Act from 2005 all contributors to a recording have to sign a split sheet in order to get a fair share in the royalties accrued. Arhin et al. conducted a survey among 218 music producers and practitioners to collect data on the usage of split sheets in Ghanaian recording studios. The results are sobering. Only 4,6 percent of the respondents have ever used split sheets. Instead, 95 percent were unaware of the split sheet, while 92.7% did not know its benefit. Therefore, the authors “(…) recommend that more intensive education be undertaken to sensitise Ghanaian music producers and practitioners to the benefit of the split sheet in their daily work to enhance revenue generation.”

When the German philosopher Walter Benjamin published his essay ‘The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’ in 1936, he referred to then modern means of reproduction such as photography, film and sound recordings, which destroy the aura of an art work. William E. Tsitsos & R. Saylor Breckenridge from Towson University, Maryland/USA, argue in the second article of the April 2023 issue that vinyl records and music cassettes have a socially constructed aura. They operationalise aura as a specific relationship between artists and their fans, which is attributed to artefacts such as vinyl records. Vinyls and cassettes have more auratic qualities than digital formats of music distribution. This could be partly an explanation for current revival and sales boom of vinyl records.

The third article by Farley J. Joseph from the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus was awarded best paper in the 12^th Young Scholars’ Workshop of the International Music Business Research Days 2022 in Vienna. He analyses the use of live music streaming services in the Caribbean state of Trinidad and Tobago. He conducted a survey with a sample of 204 music fans, who frequently attend live concerts. The results highlight that the age group of 25–34-years-old is the major audience segment for live music streaming followed by the 35–45-year-olds with a tertiary education. Both age groups can be defined as tech savvy and they are familiar with social media and online purchase means such as credit cards. Nevertheless, there is no significant relationship between payment method and consumer spending on live music streaming. Joseph also highlights that “(…) there is a statistically significant relationship between incorporating AR/VR features as well as on-demand business models with the majority of fans expressing a willingness to spend on the format.”

Two book reviews round up the April 2023 issue. Catherine Strong from RMIT University in Melbourne reviews ‘Rethinking the Music Business. Music Contexts, Rights, Data, and COVID-19’ edited by Guy Morrow, Daniel Nordgård and Peter Tschmuck, which has been recently published by Springer. The second review is by Ben Morgan on ‘Owning the Masters: A History of Sound Recording Copyright’ by Richard Osborn, which has been published by Bloomsbury in 2023.

The IJMBR is aimed at all academics around the world, from students to professors, from all disciplines and with an interest in music business research. Interdisciplinary papers will be especially welcome if they address economic and business-related topics in the field of music. We look forward to receiving as many interesting papers as possible. Please submit your articles at the journal’s webpage: https://www.editorialmanager.com/ijmbr/default1.aspx.