Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate the connection between musicians' information seeking behaviour and the creative process in music, providing a framework for understanding the role of information needs satisfaction in musical creativity. A number of studies in information science literature have been carried out attempting to model cognitive, affective, behavioural and contextual factors associated with music information seeking behaviour. However, only few studies have addressed the relationship between information seeking behaviour and musical creative activities such as composition, performance and improvisation, listening and analysis. Design/methodology/approach -The focus of this paper is to provide a framework for the study of information seeking behaviour for the purposes of satisfying musical creativity information needs, combining the theoretical basis of an established model of information behaviour developed by Wilson and the theoretical perspectives of a music creative thinking model proposed by Webster. The key features of the two models are synthesized in a unified model of information seeking behaviour for musical creativity and enriched with research findings identified in the literature of both musical information seeking and musical creativity. Findings -The proposed conceptual framework offers an integrated interpretation of the combinations of information needs, information resources and environmental/personal barriers, which enable musical creativity. In the authors' approach "musical creativity" is treated as a musician's aim or ambition or drive for expression and is influenced by the way musicians seek information for that purpose. Therefore, musical creativity is an intentional behaviour which acts as motivator for information seeking and is affected by the available information and the musician's information seeking profile. The current study include three important findings: first, the design and development of music library and information services for musical creativity; second, the development of music information literacy skills for creativity; and third, the information seeking behavioural perspective for universal musical creativity, and the implications for cultural musical heritage diffusion around the world. Originality/value -An integrated information seeking behaviour model which includes musical creativity is developed through the synthesis of two already existing approaches, that of Wilson for information seeking behaviour and that of Webster for creative thinking in music. The present conceptual study presents a three stage pattern or process for modelling information seeking for musical creativity: the process initiates with the intention-motivation for creativity, then proceeds to information seeking behaviour and then concludes with the musical creativity outcomes. This is the first study that seeks to understand the relationships between creativity and information seeking behaviour.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine information seeking behaviour targeted to music information seeking by amateur musicians, accompanied with empirical evidence from a survey on a community concert band. While several studies in the literature have examined information seeking in the context of hedonic motives (e.g. entertainment oriented), music information can also be used for utilitarian purposes by providing amateur musicians the necessary tools to improve their skill and become better in their practice. Design/methodology/approach -A review of the literature on music information seeking and an empirical study on members of an amateur concert band are presented. The theoretical construct of the survey is informed by Wilsons' macro model of information seeking behaviour. This is employed in order to understand information motives and needs, as well as obstacles in information seeking of musicians. Findings -Musicians seek information not only for entertainment but for educational purposes as well as for the acquisition of certain music works. The use of the internet for information seeking as well as the gradual adoption of online social networks has provided access to new musical resources within the digital music networks. Originality/value -A person-centred approach for information seeking behaviour is studied and adapted for musicians. The survey provides new information behaviour results for designers of music information spaces which in turn are creating a new model of the relationship between music and society.

This paper aims to present a systematic literature review of research in music information seeking and its application to musical creativity and creative activities and in particular composition, performance and improvisation, and listening and analysis. A seed set of 901 articles published between 1973 and 2015 was evaluated and in total 65 studies were considered for further analyses. Data extraction and synthesis was performed through content analysis using the PRISMA method. Three thematic categories were identified in regard to music information needs: (a) those related to scholarly activities, (b) musically motivated, as well as (c) those which are related to socializing and communication. In addition, 3 categories of music information sources were connected to musical creativity: (i) those that are related to Internet and media technologies, (ii) those that are related to music libraries, organizations, and music stores, and (iii) those that are related to the subjects' social settings. The paper provides a systematic review, with the aim of showcasing the effect of modern information retrieval techniques in a creative and intensive area of information-dependent activity such as music making and consumption

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Music information seeking incorporates the human activities that are carried out for the search and retrieval of music information. In recent years, the evolution of music technology holds a central role affecting the nature of music information seeking behavior. The research area that deals with the accessibility and the retrievability process of music information is known as Music Information Retrieval (MIR). This chapter focuses on the presentation of MIR technologies which has a direct impact in the way that individuals, as well as different music communities such as composers, performers, listeners, musicologists, etc., handle and utilize music information. The aim of this chapter is to investigate the way different music communities interact with MIR systems. Our approach is based on a selected literature review regarding the MIR systems and the information seeking behavior of the musicians.