Academic Studies on the Effect of File-Sharing on the Recorded Music Industry: A Literature Review

50 Pages Posted: 26 Apr 2011

See all articles by Volker Ralf Grassmuck

Volker Ralf Grassmuck

Hans-Bredow-Institute for Media Research; freelance

Date Written: May 14, 2010

Abstract

Is file-sharing responsible for the slump in recorded music sales or does it create demand? The empirical research literature is inconclusive. What has clearly emerged is that there are a number of different dynamics at work, yielding a mixed result with respect to album sales, a likely positive result for the music industry as a whole through gains in concert and merchandising revenues, and a clearly positive effect on social welfare through improved market chances for non-star music, greater cultural diversity and increased consumer surplus. While the nearly eighty empirical studies under review cannot support allegations by IFPI that illegal file-sharing has been a major factor in the decline in music sales, they do show trends in the music sector and raise questions about the economic rationality of the current copyright regime.

Keywords: economics, methodology, creativity, culture industries, record industry, concerts, file-sharing, peer-to-peer, substituion, discovery, social welfare, cultural diversity, DRM, IFPI

JEL Classification: D12, L82

Suggested Citation

Grassmuck, Volker Ralf and Grassmuck, Volker Ralf, Academic Studies on the Effect of File-Sharing on the Recorded Music Industry: A Literature Review (May 14, 2010). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1749579 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1749579

Volker Ralf Grassmuck (Contact Author)

freelance ( email )

Schönleinstr. 4
Berlin, 10967
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://vgrass.de

Hans-Bredow-Institute for Media Research ( email )

Rothenbaumchaussee 36
Hamburg, 20148
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://https://leibniz-hbi.de

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