The Marketing Challenges in a Digital-Driven Music Market

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the marketing challenges that musicians in Kosovo face in today's digital-driven music market. The emphasis is on music promotion and distribution for local alternative musicians who struggle with marketing their music in comparison to mainstream/commercial musicians who are more appealing to the Kosovar audience. The music industry has encountered major changes due to the rise of the digital era which brought both challenges and possibilities. Kosovo's transition to the digital era was exceptionally tough. The author attempts to contribute to the literature on the music industry in Kosovo, which has been understudied in comparison to other European countries for a variety of socioeconomic and historical reasons. This study was conducted using qualitative research with a set of semi-structured interviews as primary data. Secondary data is the theoretical framework which requires sources such as books, scholar articles, case studies etc. An objective for the author was to propose alternative solutions to said challenges. The information gathered from the interviews reveals that the selected musicians do have their own strategies for promoting their music; nevertheless, these tactics are not proving the same audience reach and exposure for alternative musicians as opposed to mainstream musicians in Kosovo. The author provided a set of alternative solutions to the previous practices that could be put into action.