Study on the discoverability of diverse European cultural content in the digital environment

This study examines how diverse European cultural content can be made more discoverable in an increasingly digital environment. It argues that simply making content available online does not guarantee that audiences will encounter it, as visibility is shaped by platform algorithms, editorial curation, user behaviour and the quality of digital infrastructure. The study covers music, books, cultural heritage, visual arts and performing arts, drawing on desk research, stakeholder consultations, consumer research and quantitative analysis.

It identifies several barriers to discoverability, including the growing influence of large platforms, popularity and language biases, fragmented markets, inconsistent metadata and differences in the digital resources available to cultural organisations. These challenges are particularly significant for smaller creators and organisations, which may have fewer resources to digitise and promote their work effectively and may also lack the digital and data skills needed to use tools such as metadata, search optimisation and platform analytics. The result is a gap between what European cultural content is available online and what audiences actually discover.

The study therefore calls for coordinated action to create a more diverse and accessible digital cultural environment. Its recommendations include improving cultural data and metadata, making recommendation systems more transparent and diverse, supporting translation and localisation, strengthening the supply and visibility of European content, and helping creators and cultural organisations develop the practical digital capabilities needed to participate effectively. It also highlights the importance of digital and AI literacy among audiences, alongside continued research, collaboration and policy measures to ensure that European cultural diversity remains visible online.