Dr. Robert Prey is Associate Professor of Digital Culture at the Oxford Internet Institute, and a Research Fellow at Green Templeton College.
Dr. Prey studies the relationship between technology, capitalism and culture. His research and writings have included work on the social and cultural implications of algorithmic recommendation systems and the interdependent processes of ‘datafication’ and ‘platformization’.
Robert’s current focus is the creative labour of musicians as they adapt to online platforms. He is principal investigator of the European Research Council-funded project “The Platformization of Music: Towards a Global Theory”, or ‘PlatforMuse’ (2023-2028). The project investigates how streaming and social media platforms influence the creative practices, identities, and working conditions of musicians around the world, with a particular focus on the Netherlands, Nigeria and South Korea.
Dr. Prey is also part of an international team of researchers investigating the algorithmic mediation of taste and streaming consumption practices in Brazil. This project is funded by a Brazil National Council for Scientific and Technological Development Grant. Previous projects have been funded by the Academy of Korean Studies and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Robert joins from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, where he was Assistant Professor in the Centre for Media and Journalism Studies. He completed his PhD at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, where he is an Affiliated Faculty Member in the Transnational Culture and Digital Technology Lab.
Digital Culture, Digital Economy, Cultural Work and Labour, Music and Cultural Industries, Platforms, Algorithmic Recommender Systems, Datafication, Social and Critical Theory
Areas of interest for Doctoral Supervision include: Music Platformization, Platform Capitalism, Global Digital Culture, Digital Labour, Creative Labour, Personalization, Algorithmic Recommender Systems, Datafication
In the past five years my work has been financially supported by the Academy of Korean Studies, the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, and the European Research Council. I conduct my research in line with the University’s academic integrity code of practice.
30 September 2024
The Oxford Internet Institute (OII) at the University of Oxford has appointed Dr Robert Prey to the role of Associate Professor in Digital Culture.
This course is designed to give students experience both collecting and analysing qualitative data as part of ethnographic research.
