Katherine’s background includes an undergraduate degree in Music at Durham University, followed by a Law Masters at QUB in Law and Technology. Katherine’s research will be combining the knowledge gained on both her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees to explore how the use of algorithms in the music industry is unfairly treating new musicians. This refers to the difficulty presented in entering and prospering in the current market and thus the goal of the project is to suggest strategies that can be employed, such as the introduction of new regulation or alteration of current regulation, to correct such unfairness. Having first-hand experience as both a musician and music manager and given the limited amount of research conducted in the field regarding this topic, this research aims to form a foundation for future research into an area that is proving to test the capabilities of current legislation.  The project will be supervised by Professor Giancarlo Frosio, from the School of Law, and Professor Hans Vandierendonck, from the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in the LINAS Doctoral Training Programme

Katherine stated – “I am completely over the moon to have received the LINAS award and am extremely excited to be working on a project that I am very passionate about. I am very grateful to QUB Law School and my supervisors for giving me this wonderful opportunity to be working on a project that I am very passionate about and intends to have a meaningful impact in the field given the limited research conducted in this area. I am looking forward to developing my research and spending the next three years using both my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees whilst developing new skills to build a project that I will be immensely proud of.”

Professor Giancarlo Frosio said – “Katherine’s research project tackles a central question at the intersection of the ‘consumer society’ and the ‘black box society’ by investigating how algorithms can manipulate consumer tastes and lead to cultural homogenization, silencing fringe and alternative culture, while promoting mainstream content and ideas. By unfairly treating new musicians, biased algorithms deprive them of the possibility of earning a living and contributing to market and cultural change towards enhanced identity politics and diversity. Technical and regulatory solutions are very much needed to avoid a dystopian future where unfair industry practices might shape our cultural environment and change the course of our cultural development. Katherine’s project is a concrete step forward in trying to address a major – but under-researched – problem in the emerging algorithmic society.”

We welcome PhD applications from prospective students. Further details on how to apply can be found at https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofLaw/study/postgraduate-research/