To conceptualize data commodification – as per the following chapter – I first need to be able to rely on an appropriate foundational framework. The identification of it constitutes the object of the present Chapter 1. I first introduce the key notions connected to markets and commodification as a process leading ultimately to markets as well as commodification studies as the strand of the literature that analyzes these processes. Then, I introduce the seminal conceptualization of commodification by Radin, which constitutes the foundational framework for this book. At this point, it remains to be further explained and justified why it is relevant for my present endeavor. The justification is threefold and pertains, in turn, to the following elements: The justification of commodification studies as a field; the comparability of data with sex, body parts and babies in that they are also ‘contested commodities‘, which calls to mind Radin‘s spectrum approach to commodification; and finally, the justification of the specific relevance of Radin‘s approach amidst commodification studies, given the existence of other spectrum approaches to the commodification phenomenon.