The project is implemented through an analysis of the presence of domestic repertoire in selected online service catalogues, an analysis of live performances by Czech musicians abroad, an evaluation of the effectiveness of existing distribution strategies and intermediaries, examples of good practice, the identification of cultural and commercial–legal barriers to cross-border content distribution, and the proposal of solutions (potential new markets, recommendations for distribution strategies, online services, and intermediaries for different types of content).
The project outputs—an export map, a methodology for mapping exports, scholarly publications, and a conference—will help the application guarantors (SoundCzech, MMF, and SAI) to implement export support measures and will familiarize music industry stakeholders with the most advantageous distribution strategies. The project will contribute to informing actors in the music market with the aim of improving the position of Czech music production on both domestic and international markets. It will also enable the systematic and continuous mapping of Czech music exports by the music office SoundCzech (a contributory organization of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic), which is one of the key stakeholders interested in the project results and their future user.
In implementing the project outputs, team members cooperate with representatives of the following music industry organizations in the Czech Republic:
Music Managers Forum Czech Republic
As part of the project, an interactive export map of Czech music will be created.
Outputs
Pavel Zahrádka (ed.), Hudba z periferie: Prostředníci a nerovnosti v přeshraniční distribuci české hudby v éře platforem. VUP, 2025.
Petr Szczepanik, Miloš Hroch, Playlisting the Periphery: Platform Intermediaries and East-Central European Music Visibility in Spotify’s Geography. New Media & Society, 27. 6. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251346200
Miroslav Krša, Pavel Zahrádka, Politika exportu české hudby: Institucionální analýza exportní kanceláře SoundCzech. Mediální studia 1/19 (2025): 146-174.
Pavel Zahrádka, Rostislav Sliwka, Michal Tomčík, Václav Hodonický, Frontline Trenches or, Rather, Open Borders? The Multi-Territorial Licensing and Digital Export of Czech Music. International Journal of Music Business Research, 18. 2. 2025. https://doi.org/10.2478/ijmbr-2025-0001
Michal Tomčík a kol., Metodika mapování exportu české hudby, 2025.
Miloš Blaháček, How to Upload Music to Spotify and Other Platforms in 2025, August 2025.
Miloš Blaháček, How to Successfully Release Music in 2025, September 2025.
Pavel Zahrádka, Marie Čtveráčková, and Petr Szczepanik presented the main findings of the Czech music export research in an interview for the December issue of the music magazine Full Moon titled Poor but Sexy?
Miloš Hroch discussed the visibility of Czech music on foreign Spotify playlists in an interview for the lifestyle magazine Refresher
Miloš Hroch and Petr Szczepanik presented research findings on the barriers limiting the listenership of Czech music abroad in an interview on ČT art titled Success on Spotify Is Decided by Secret Black Boxes—Artists from Czechia Succeed Only with Difficulty
Miloš Hroch, together with Petr Ostrouchov, discussed the impact of music streaming on the music industry in the podcast Akcent on Czech Radio Vltava
Miloš Hroch and Petr Szczepanik presented research results on the (un)availability of Czech music on official Spotify playlists in the podcast Vlna on Radio Wave
Team
Pavel Zahrádka
principal investigator
Rudolf Leška
co-investigator
Grant provider
Ministry of Culture
NAKI III
project no. DH23P03OVV029
Project duration
2023–2027
Grant recipient
Palacký University Olomouc
University of Finance and Administration
