The utilitarian and hedonic outcomes of music information seeking in everyday life

This qualitative study focuses on what contributes to making a music information-seeking experience satisfying in the context of everyday life. Data were collected through in-depth interviews conducted with 15 younger adults (18 to 29 years old). The analysis revealed that satisfaction could depend on both hedonic (i.e., experiencing pleasure) and utilitarian outcomes. It was found that two types of utilitarian outcomes contributed to satisfaction: (1) the acquisition of music, and (2) the acquisition of information about music. Information about music was gathered to (1) enrich the listening experience, (2) increase one's music knowledge, and/or (3) optimize future acquisition. This study contributes to a better understanding of music information-seeking behavior in recreational contexts. It also has implications for music information retrieval systems design: results suggest that these systems should be engaging, include a wealth of extra-musical information, allow users to navigate among music items, and encourage serendipitous encountering of music.

The steel industry in the European Union: Composition and drivers of energy prices and costs. CEPS Special Report No. 80, 17 December 2013

This report assesses the energy costs borne by the steel industry in the EU between 2010 and 2012, and compares the energy costs, including both the energy components and other regulatory costs, to production costs, turnover and margins of steel-makers. The estimates of energy costs are based on primary sources, i.e. is on information provided by steel-makers through a written questionnaire. This information was validated by the research team by checking annual energy bills, when available, and other public sources. In this respect, this exercise represents a unique fact-based investigation into the costs of energy for steel-makers in Europe, whereas most of the information currently available in the public domain is based on secondary or statistical information. In 2012, the median EU steel plant pays about €33/MWh for gas, up from €26/MWh in 2010. As for electricity, in 2012 the EU median plant pays €62/MWh, up from €59/MWh in 2010. The report also includes a comparison with the prices of energy carriers paid by producers based in the US.