Music internet media in network society: opportunities and challenges of functional diversity

The article is devoted to the systematization of various music Internet media on the basis of the con-cept of Network society in the context of the dramatic changes the world music industry has been exposed to in recent years. The author refers to fundamental researches, particularly those by V. Benjamin, M. Castells, M. McLuhan, as well as to current journalistic publications on the given subject. By using these materials, the author suggests his own version of the music Internet media classification based on the criterion of their communicative functions, and identifies some new scientific problems arising in this regard. These questions include assessment of a resource’s effectiveness, risks of manipulation that threaten audience’s perception, working out approaches to content analysis of music media. A communicative potential that a resource can realize on the Web is chosen as the main criterion for the classification; a representative site, service, social media, press (mass media) and online encyclopedia are the basic types in the classification. A brief analytical description of the Pitchfork magazine as of a success-ful media project is given. Some general effects, such as combination of text and multimedia content with inclusion of offline activities, are considered by the example of Pitchfork. Contemporary mass media that present audio compositions as well as appropriate text and visual content have been analyzed in the aspects of web communications and ‘streaming economy’. Contacts be-tween actors in the industry, including listeners, are getting diverse, interactive, flexible and saturated with data. The author notes some opportunities and challenges which are triggered by these changes, e. g. target-ing in content supply and risks of manipulations. On the whole, processes exposed in particular resources are of scientific and practical interest. The paper emphasizes the necessity of researches on music journalism taking into account its intensive integra-tion with adjacent areas of mass communication. Moreover, the mythologization of artists’ images is noted as one of the most promising subjects for further analysis.