Culture

Costas Sioumkas

Skip, Shuffle, Repeat: The Social, Economic, and Cultural Impact of Music Digitization

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 Costas Sioumkas is a fourth-year student at Toronto Metropolitan University pursuing a degree in Professional Communications. With a strong interest in media, culture, and digital communication, his work focuses on how new technologies shape the way people interact with different forms of content, particularly within the music industry. He is passionate about exploring the intersection of communication, creativity, and data, using research-driven insights to better understand audience behavior and industry trends. Outside of his academic work, Costas has a deep passion for creating music and skateboarding, along with an interest in sports, all of which influence his creative perspective within his work.

Skip Shuffle, Repeat: The social, economic, and cultural impact of music digitization examines how streaming platforms and social media have reshaped the way music is discovered, consumed, and valued. While digital platforms have made music more accessible than ever, now accounting for over 80% of industry revenue they have also encouraged faster, trend-driven listening habits and created unequal outcomes for artists, who earn only fractions of a cent per stream. Using both industry data and consumer perspectives, the project highlights how algorithms and short-form content influence what we listen to and how deeply we engage with it. It also displays a growing return to physical music formats, a desire for more meaningful connections to music. Overall, the project introduces the concept of “audio overconsumption” to describe this shift and invites audiences to reconsider how they experience and support music in the digital age.

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