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The business model for musicians relies on selling recorded music and selling concert tickets. Traditionally, demand for one format (e.g., concerts) would stimulate demand for the other format (e.g., recorded music) and vice versa, leading to an upward demand spiral. However, the market for recorded music is under pressure due to piracy and the unbundling of albums, which also entail threats for the traditional demand spiral. Despite the fundamental importance of recorded music and live concerts for the multibillion-dollar music industry, no prior research has studied their dynamic interplay. This study fills this void by developing new theory on how piracy, unbundling, artist fame, and music quality affect dynamic cross-format elasticities between record demand and concert demand. The theory is tested with a unique data set covering weekly concert and recorded music revenues for close to 400 artists across more than six years in the world’s third-largest music market, Germany. The cross-format elasticity of record on concert revenue is much stronger than the reverse elasticity of concert on record revenue. The results show the key role of piracy, unbundling, and artist characteristics on these cross-format elasticities, which have implications for the business model of the music industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advances in online technologies and bandwidth availability have opened new vistas for online distribution of digital goods, but potential benefits for consumers are juxtaposed against challenges for retailers. Here, we investigate one type of digital experience good--music--whose market environment includes the very real presence of online piracy. Although arguments abound for and against online distribution of such digital goods, little research exists in this area. We develop a model of consumer search for such an experience good, and study different emerging market environments for retailers, where consumers can pirate music online. Retailer cost to publishers is modeled using a variety of licensing schemas. Survey results, together with data from online sharing networks, are utilized to validate a key assumption. Finally, computational analysis is used to develop insights that cannot be obtained analytically. Our results indicate that decreasing piracy is not necessarily equivalent to increasing profit, and online selling strategies can provide additional profits for a traditional retailer even in the presence of piracy. We show that leading strategies for business in such goods should include pricing options, provision of efficient search tools, and new licensing structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attempts to analyze the organization and the economics of information industries starting from the case of the phonographic market. Trade-off between the push to diffusion and the push to exclusion; Competitive mechanisms of the market; Interaction between the legal and unauthorized markets.

The digital revolution has changed how consumers engage with music. The present study explored the potential psychological factors underpinning why many consumers engage in music piracy. 396 participants (71.00% female,Mage= 34.53) completed an online questionnaire. Preference for accessing music digitally was associated with more favourable attitudes towards music piracy, as was being male, and expressing low levels of conscientiousness. Concerning the uses and gratifications of using different formats to engage with music, music piracy was found to be a financially viable way of listening to music. Discussion focuses on the notion that recorded music is perceived as poor value for money, and this is considered distinct from the widespread perception that piracy is simply about getting free music. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

With copyright becoming ever more important for business and government, this article argues for a more nuanced understanding of the practices and values associated with copying in popular music culture and advocates a more critical approach to notions of originality. Drawing from interviews with working musicians, this article challenges the approaches to copying and popular music that pitch corporate notions of piracy against creative sharing by citizens. It explores differing approaches to the circulation of recordings and identifies three distinct types of creative copying: (1) learning through imitation, (2) copying as transformation and (3) copying for commercial opportunity. This article then considers how copying is caught between a commercial necessity for familiar musical products that must conform to existing expectations and a copyright legislative rationale requiring original sounds with individual owners. This article highlights how legacies from a long history of human copying as a means of acquiring knowledge and skills lead to a collision of creative musical practices, commercial imperatives and copyright regulation and result in a series of unavoidable tensions around originality and copying that are a central characteristic of cultural production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the laws governing copyright infringement in sound recordings in the U.S. Topics discussed include court cases VMG Salsoul v. Ciccone and Bridgeport Music v. Dimension Films addressing the same; enactment of Copyright Act of 1790 for addressing the issues of the same; and recent circuit split related to the same.

By 1967, the BBC had lost a significant number of listeners to offshore 'pirate' radio stations such that its administrators developed a plan to split the Light Programme into two channels, one of which would feature pop-music recordings to recapture some of that audience. With legislation moving through Parliament to eliminate the 'pirates', Associate Director of Sound Broadcasting Richard Marriott convinced the Board of Governors to establish what would become Radio 1. In the context of the 'Summer of Love', he moved to reassure the board that the BBC's traditional standards would be maintained. Against a backdrop of drug arrests and a history of songs slipping drug references past censors, Marriott chose the Beatles' 'A Day in the Life' as one of his vehicles for proving that the new channel would uphold the mission to inform, to educate, and to entertain. The decision not to broadcast 'A Day in the Life' coincided with a conservative political rejection of the social changes that have come to characterize the 1960s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the impact that recent transformations in digital music technology (e.g. the increasing popularity of legal streaming platforms) have had on the consumer experience. Following 35 in-depth qualitative interviews, we have identified four key segments of contemporary music consumers (steadfast pirates, ex-downloaders, mixed tapes and the old schoolers [the disengaged]) based on a continuum of their preference for illegal music piracy. Examining key themes (e.g. morality, format, value and identity investment) to distinguish each segment, we contribute to a fragmented music piracy literature in particular through the identification of the 'ex-downloaders' and 'mixed tape' segments. Previous literature has tended to frame music piracy in very simplistic terms, failing to acknowledge a large number of consumers who are conflicted about their actions and rationalise their piracy in complicated and inconsistent ways related to the broader industry and their own sense of identity as a music consumer. Additionally, the discussion of the ex-downloader segment provides significant evidence that for a large number of consumers, a policy of participation, in the shape of providing superior alternatives for legal digital music consumption, can be much more beneficial in tackling the problem of piracy than previous strategies of policing and coercion. Managerial and future research implications are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to investigate the salient factors that influence accounting students to engage in software and music piracy. This study uses the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB), and extends these models to incorporate other variables (such as moral obligation and perceived prosecution risk) to predict individuals' behavioral intentions. Specifically, we hypothesize that attitudes toward the behavior, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, moral obligation and perceived prosecution risk influence intentions to engage in software and music piracy. Data were obtained from 237 university accounting students in a Caribbean university to assess the influence of the components of the theories and other modified and extended models. Findings reveal that attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, moral obligation and perceived prosecution risk significantly influence intentions to engage in software and music piracy. These findings lend full support to the hypothesized relationships in our extended theory of planned behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Transformations in Business & Economics is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In October 2011, an online marketplace for reselling pre-owned digital music emerged. The founders of this online marketplace aptly named it ReDigi. In January 2012, ReDigi was promptly sued by Capitol Records for copyright infringement. Despite reassurances from ReDigi that its software required users to delete copies of the music before being allowed to sell it to another user, the court did not consider that safeguard relevant. The court found that the copyright holder's reproduction right was being infringed regardless. This paper examines the intersection of the law and science in copyright law. Specifically, it presents a technical way of looking at the reproduction right by explaining how digital files are stored in data storage devices and transferred over the Internet by electromagnetic signals. Ultimately, this elucidation undermines the reasoning used by the court to reach its conclusion. While ReDigi modified its software implementation to skirt any further reproduction right problems, this paper suggests ReDigi should not have had to be so obedient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reviews the "celestial jukebox" model of digital music distribution in light of its recent transformation into "cloud"-based music services. Elaborating on a prior history of the celestial jukebox business model, the paper identifies continuities with services built around music portals, updates the legal and business strategies of the most popular cloud-based services, compares core functionalities of cloud-based services, and discusses the cultural significance of an international youth movement opposed to the celestial jukebox under various national "pirate parties." It speculates that the pirate parties envision counter-reforms to global information policy that are culturally environmentalist in their worldview. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interface of law and music has always appeared unnatural. While the law aims to provide certainty and order,music is more often observed as a field which operates in a boundary-less sphere. For that reason,the endeavor to treat purely musical issues with clear,conclusive and predetermined legal rules has been perceived as a fairly complicated task. Nevertheless,while music has become a prospering business,and musical disputes have been revolving around growing amounts of money,the law was required to step in and provide clear standards according to which these disputes should be settled. The courts in USA and UK have established and developed several doctrines intended to set a unified framework for assessing the extent o f similarities between an original work and an allegedly later infringing work. The approach presented in the notable Amstein decision has been reviewed and developed in multiple later cases but has remained relevant even after more than 70 years since its inception. This article explores all prominent approaches evolved to deal with musical plagiarism disputes during the last century,as well as some critical views and innovative ideas in this field. In addition,a novel method for evaluating substantial similarity is suggested,incorporating the overall impression test based on a lay listener comprehension with a statistical predictability analysis,aspiring to reach more accurate,reasonable and just decisions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the history, development and significance of the state copyright laws in comparison to the federal copyright law of the U.S. It examines the scheme and penalty of unauthorized duplication and bootlegging statutes from all fifty states of the U.S. under the Copyright Act. It analyzes the significance of the Sound Recording Act of 1971 to remedy omission and piracy in sound recording.

The recording industry and Hollywood in general have responded to declining music sales by attempting to expand excessively intellectual property protection, domestically through the proposed, yet indefinitely postponed, Stop Online Piracy Act and the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act, and internationally through the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement and the intellectual property provisions of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. Such legislation restricts free speech, reduces innovation, and weakens due process rights on the internet. This paper proposes an alternative revenue-generating strategy--bespoke musical recordings that would be privately auctioned rather than publicly released. For example, a recording of Anne-Sophie Mutter playing a piece she has never publicly performed would be sold to a music lover or an investment fund as a one-of-a-kind recording, as unique as an Artemisia Gentileschi painting or a Camille Claudel sculpture. Besides providing the recording industry with additional revenue, bespoke recordings would generate more income for musicians, augment funds for music outreach programs and other music nonprofits, and increase the chances of discovering new musical talent. Similarly to many new markets, it would take time for such recordings to generate substantial revenue. To aid the development of a fluid market for bespoke recordings, numerous new legal and institutional arrangements would be established, including a bespoke recording registry, tailored contractual agreements, anti-counterfeit protections, and a secure bespoke recording storage facility. By facilitating an extreme form of ownership for isolated recordings, we might prevent the overall expansion of the intellectual property regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a reprint of an article about the bootleg record industry in the U.S. and its impact on popular music that was presented at the 21st Meeting of the Popular Culture Association in San Antonio, Texas. It discusses the definition of the concept of bootleg, a recording that was not officially released in its present form, the role of advanced technology in the survival of fanzines that influence popular music consumption as well as the fanzines of rock band "The Beatles."

It looks as though s 97A blocking injunctions may now be the film and music industries' weapon of choice against peer-to-peer file sharing. The Pirate Bay, a notorious BitTorrent tracker, was blocked this way last year and now the music industry has succeeded in an application for blocks against three more culprits by the names of KAT (KickassTorrents), H33T and Fenopy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The literature has shown that digital piracy is more rampant in Asia and Asians are often found to have a more favorable attitude toward digital piracy in research. This study examines the attitude toward justifying digital piracy in light of the techniques of neutralization. A comparison is made between Asian international students and American students. The result shows Asian international students are significantly more likely to justify digital piracy, but their general morality is not significantly different from American students. This finding supports neutralization theory in that people do not need to change their moral belief to favor criminal behavior as long as they can apply the techniques of neutralization to justify it. Moreover, Asian Americans, among all racial groups in the American sample, are the only group that does not show significant difference in their digital piracy justification, compared to the Asian international students. Considering that Asian Americans and Asian international students rarely share the same social environment in their upbringing, this finding further suggests there is something about being Asian, rather than social factors, that endorses digital piracy justification. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses music piracy in the southern United States during the 1970s. The author describes the history of bootlegging alcohol in the southern U.S. and legislation against bootlegging is discussed. Special attention is paid to bootlegger Jerrold (Jerry) Pettus, and the legal aspects of sound recordings aimed at mimicking songs produced by other musicians are noted. Other topics include intellectual property and anti-monopoly laws and the connection between bootlegging and counterculture in the southern U.S.

The paper explores the importance of internet-facilitated value co-creation, especially in cultural industries. Through an extensive review of the literature, it shows that in many industries, a transformational shift is taking place from value creation to value co-creation, which is fundamentally changing the relationship between consumers and producers. In particular, the paper examines value creation and co-creation in the popular music industry. This reveals that though much of the research on music and the internet has revolved around the issue of music piracy, evidence is now emerging that the internet is enabling some record labels, musicians and fans to work together to co-create value for mutual benefit. The paper concludes by arguing that value co-creation is an important development that can transform the relationship between consumers and producers, and that in the popular music industry value co-creation can promote new, more positive, relationships among record labels, artists and fans. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article compares the development of the two central "piracy standards"--MP3 (sound) and DivX (audiovisual content)-analyzing the actors, strategies, and motivations involved in their inception and diffusion. Until recently, the main focus in the research literature investigating the relationships between commercialism and idealism in the development of the Internet has been on the clashes and confrontations between two supposedly incompatible worldviews. In accordance with newer approaches such as Castells and Cardoso's (2012) and Lobato and Thomas' (2012), we challenge this dichotomous and irreconcilable picture by investigating the borderlands and crossings between the two sides. As we argue, the cases of MP3 and DivX are strategic for beginning the exploration of these overlooked dynamics. The actor-network theory concepts of "displacement," "translation," and "immutable mobiles" are employed to trace the various phases in the propagation of the two standards. By following MP3 and DivX through their displacements and translations, we argue that they have come to form two different types of moveable objects, displaying and exemplifying some of the breadth of border-crossing dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This chapter observes the dynamics between various aspects of current pop music production, particularly in respect to digital culture, and the preservation and access challenges faced by a wealth of analogue sound artefacts. I argue for the need to consider the activity of 'fringe piracy' -- that is online music distribution that specialises in out-of-print analogue editions and bootleg trading -- as worthy of civic merit: as participatory heritage recovery, preservation and dissemination. Methodology -- I narrate and interpret a series of contexts pertaining to deep changes in popular music production and consumption in the last decade. I will do so primarily by focusing on online activity, while unravelling its relationships with traditional modes of music production, dissemination and consumption (i.e. the music industry as defined by vinyl records, cassettes and CDs throughout the second half of the Twentieth Century). I further contrast the mechanics of 'grey areas' of online music access against mainstream web platforms such as iTunes. The author has performed extensive participant observation throughout various online platforms in the last decade, particularly the ones mentioned along the chapter. Additional content has been developed as a consequence of both online and offline discussions, as well as conference panels and symposia (Codebits, 2010; South By South West, 2011; Syracuse University London, 2011). Findings -- I argue that the current, wide field of possibilities for music production and dissemination stands in radical contrast with an ongoing and strengthened orthodoxy on the part of media labels and distributors. I further argue that, in contrast with this orthodoxy that stems from consumer culture, an exponential availability of recording and editing tools is encouraging a discreet civic mission of digital transcription, and subsequent historical preservation, of analogue artefacts that would otherwise face the prospect of fading into obscurity and possible definitive loss. This, however, seems to be occurring in gradual oblivion of contextual placement, but rather in line with a culture of interchangeable sampling of a purely sensorial and/or affective nature. Originality -- Most debates on the subject of music piracy tend to focus on a polarisation of the underlying issues, while mainly addressing its legal and political aspects. There is a need to unravel the cultural, aesthetic and civic parameters that emerge from a phenomenon that is, ultimately, anything but polarised: instead, one finds it is paved with complexity and ambivalence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright laws contradict commonly held ideas concerning intellectual property--for instance: rather than protecting a recording artist, they protect record company investments. An instance of a loophole in copyright law or its enforcement, as seen in the history of the Amen Break, demonstrates contradictions in such truisms as "intellectual property" and "copyright infringement." Works on poetry and philosophy support this argument. Furthermore, there are alternatives to the present copyright system; this article presents several. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the history of industrial practices regarding music sampling in the U.S. and enumerates how sampling works, the technology involved, and why it is valuable to musical artists. It highlights the common law that affects sampling and analyzes the legal difficulties arising from the way copyright law of the U.S. treats music sampling. It suggests a comprehensive scheme which is intended to balance the interests of samplers and copyright holders.

The article takes Theberge's (2004) notion of "the Network Studio" and Latour's (2005) notion of "reassembling/disassembling" as a point of departure to investigate the development of home recording and home distribution practices among semi-professional musicians. The central research questions concerns whether these new practices are used to sidestep the traditional career patterns of the music industry. In other words, do they add up to "piracy cultures" (Cardoso & Castells, 2010) that challenge and threaten established social orders? The study reveals how the rise of the networked home studio has altered the initial phases of the processes of music making in important ways. However, the musicians did not perceive the new practices of the home studio as a substitute for professional studios and traditional ways of making a career, but rather as a preparation. The study suggests that the developing practices of the home studio should be understood as the formation of "pre-distribution networks"-not actually side stepping, but eventually leading into the professional network of the music industry. Thus, the suspected piracy is still looming at best. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how the Fifth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals erred in its interpretation and application of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and analyzes why the use of pirated software that disables dongle protection should give rise to a violation of the DMCA. It focuses on the negative impact of dongle technology on the music production industry. It offers several solutions to remedy the confusion surrounding proper application of the anti-circumvention provision.

Dr Rutter is a Marie Curie Research Fellow at the School for Mass Communication Research, Catholic University of Leuven, where his research is focused primarily on community and the piracy of digital content. He was the inaugural vice-president of the international Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]