The Next Wave of Digital Technological Change and the Cultural Industries

Abstract

In this proposal of a research agenda for cultural economics, I discuss the supply-side economics of the next wave of digital technological change.

I begin by arguing that digitization and internet-enabled platforms, together with automated licensing of user-generated content has substantially lowered the costs of individual-level cultural participation. I discuss how the dependence on advertising revenues may affect this dynamic and highlight some implications for the economics of copyright. Next, I discuss circumstances under which market data, which has become much less expensive to collect at more fine grained levels, can trigger differentiation of cultural products. Finally, I speculate about the economic implications of artificial intelligence that complements, or perhaps substitutes for human creativity with regards to cultural participation, copyright and the industrial organization of culture.

Keywords: Digital Cultural Participation, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Creative Machines