Fair MusE at SPOT+ 2025: bringing transparency and fairness to the music streaming ecosystem

On 3 May 2025 at 11:15, researchers from the Fair MusE project will contribute to the ongoing dialogue on the future of music streaming at SPOT+ 2025, the conference strand of Aarhus’ iconic SPOT Festival. Taking place in FO-Room 2.02, the session will form part of the “Let’s Talk Streaming” thematic block and feature contributions from Giuseppe Mazziotti, coordinator of Fair MusE, and Jannick Kirk Sørensen of Aalborg University.

Now in its 30th edition, SPOT Festival is internationally recognised for showcasing emerging trends in Danish and Nordic music. Its SPOT+ programme offers a unique space for artists, policymakers, and industry professionals to engage in forward-looking dialogue about the music sector’s future—making it an ideal setting to share Fair MusE’s findings.

At SPOT+, Mazziotti and Sørensen will present key insights from Fair MusE’s research, including early outcomes from its user-involving data donation campaign targeting Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music. They will also highlight findings on the role of EU legal and policy frameworks in addressing challenges posed by platform dominance and algorithm-driven consumption patterns.

Their presentation will shed light on how Fair MusE is working to deliver practical solutions to support a fairer music ecosystem, including:

• A data-sharing model to increase transparency in music rights revenue distribution;
• A music data dashboard showcasing the economic and cultural value of Europe’s music sector;
• A fairness score demonstrator to evaluate platforms based on equity and transparency;
• A white paper featuring policy recommendations to guide future EU legislation.

For more information about the festival and SPOT+ programming, visit the following link.

*Cover photo by Hanny Naibaho on Unsplash.