1,812 research outputs found
An Economist's Guide to Digital Music
In this guide, we discuss the impact of digitalization on the music industry. We rely on market and survey data at the international level as well as expert statements from the industry. The guide investigates recent developments in legal and technological protection of digital music and describes new business models as well as consumers' attitude towards music downloads. We conclude the guide by a discussion of the evolution of the music industry
File-Sharing, Sampling, and Music Distribution
The use of file-sharing technologies, so-called Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks, to copy music files has become common since the arrival of Napster. P2P networks may actually improve the matching between products and buyers - we call this the matching effect. For a label the downside of P2P networks is that consumers receive a copy which, although it is an imperfect substitute to the original, may reduce their willingness-to-pay for the original - we call this the competition effect. We show that the matching effect may dominate so that a labelâs profits are higher with P2P networks than without. Furthermore, we show that the existence of P2P networks may alter the standard business model: sampling may replace costly marketing and promotion. This may allow labels to increase profits in spite of lower revenues
Piracy of Digital Products: A Critical Review of the Economics Literature
Digital products have the property that they can be copied almost costlessly. This makes them candidates for non-commercial copying by final consumers. Because the copy of a copy typically does not deteriorate in quality, copying products can become a wide-spread phenomenon â this can be illustrated by the surge of file-sharing networks. In this paper we provide a critical overview of the literature that addresses the economic consequences of end-user copying. We conclude that some models with network effects are well-suited for the analysis of software copying while other models incorporating the feature that copies provide information about the originals may be useful for the analysis of digital music copying.information good, piracy, copyright, internet, peer-to-peer, software, music
Copyright and Promotion: Oxymoron or Opportunity?
Copyright in the cultural sphere can act as a barrier to the dissemination of
high-quality information. On the other hand it protects works of art that might
not be made available otherwise. This dichotomy makes the area of copyright
difficult, especially when it applies to the digital arena of the web where
copying is so easy and natural. Here we present a snapshot of the issues for
online copyright, with particular emphasis on the relevance to cultural
institutions. We concentrate on Europe and the US; as an example we include a
special section dedicated to the situation in Italy.Comment: 10 pages, 0 figure
Hail to the thief: a tribute to Kazaa
THIS PAPER CONSIDERS THE ONGOING LITIGATION against the peer-to-peer network KaZaA. Record
companies and Hollywood studios have faced jurisdictional and legal problems in suing this network
for copyright infringement. As Wired Magazine observes: âThe servers are in Denmark. The software
is in Estonia. The domain is registered Down Under, the corporation on a tiny island in the South Pacific.
The usersâ60 million of themâare everywhere around the world.â In frustration, copyright owners
have launched copyright actions against intermediariesâlike against Internet Service Providers such as
Verizon. They have also embarked on filing suits against individual users of file-sharing programs. In
addition, copyright owners have called for domestic- and international-law reform with respect to digital
copyright. The Senate Committee on Government Affairs of the United States Congress has
reviewed the controversial use of subpoenas in suits against users of file-sharing peer-to-peer networks.
The United States has encouraged other countries to adopt provisions of the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act 1998 in bilateral and regional free-trade agreements
An Economistâs Guide to Digital Music
In this guide, we discuss the impact of digitalization on the music industry. We rely on market and survey data at the international level as well as expert statements from the industry. The guide investigates recent developments in legal and technological protection of digital music and describes new business models as well as consumers' attitude towards music downloads and audio-streaming. We conclude the guide by a discussion of the evolution of the music industry.music, internet, file-sharing, peer-to-peer, piracy, digital rights management, copyright, e-commerce
An Economist's Guide to Digital Music
In this guide, we discuss the impact of digitalization on the music industry. We rely on market and survey data at the international level as well as expert statements from the industry. The guide investigates recent developments in legal and technological protection of digital music and describes new business models as well as consumers' attitude towards music downloads. We conclude the guide by a discussion of the evolution of the music industry.Music; Internet; File-sharing; Peer-to-peer; Piracy; Digital Rights Management; Copyright; E-commerce
File-Sharing, Sampling, and Music Distribution
The use of file-sharing technologies, so-called Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks, to copy music files has become common since the arrival of Napster. P2P networks may actually improve the matching between products and buyers - we call this the matching effect. For a label the downside of P2P networks is that consumers receive a copy which, although it is an imperfect substitute to the original, may reduce their willingness-to-pay for the original - we call this the competition effect. We show that the matching effect may dominate so that a labelâs profits are higher with P2P networks than without. Furthermore, we show that the existence of P2P networks may alter the standard business model: sampling may replace costly marketing and promotion. This may allow labels to increase profits in spite of lower revenues.file-sharing; P2P; sampling; information transmission; piracy; music
The impact of music downloads and P2P file-sharing on the purchase of music in Canada
This study measures the extent to which free music downloads, including the use of P2P file sharing networks, act as substitutes or complements to music purchase in markets for CDs and electronic delivered music (such as MP3).
The analysis uses representative micro-data from the Canadian population. We find that those who participate in free music downloading and P2P file-sharing do not purchase more or less music compared with those who do not engaged in such activities, but that, indeed, very active file-sharers purchase more music relative to file-sharers who download fewer songs. Thus, the market substitution effect between freely acquired music and purchased music is smaller than the market creation and market segmentation effect from free music downloading. In essence, the behavioural incentives underpinning free music downloading are the effects of âunwilling to payâ (market substitution), âhear before buyingâ (market creation), ânot wanting to buy whole albumâ (market segmentation), ânot available in the CD format or on electronic pay-sites (market creation)â
- âŠ