The Economics of Music

This book offers a concise, rigorous presentation of the economic fundamentals of the music industry in particular and the music economy in general. It highlights the economic principles that govern the music business as an economic good protected by copyright law. The book examines the core sectors of the industry – music publishing, sound recording, the live music market, and secondary markets such as advertising and merchandising – and shows how they operate together. It includes analysis of the income streams of musicians and the wider music lobby. The impact of digitization and the economic relevance of new digital formats is given special attention – download services, streaming platforms, mobile music providers, cloud music services as well as music recognition and recommendation systems are all discussed.

The book shows how a combination of established publishers (Universal, Sony/ATV, Warner/Chappell), new promoters (LiveNation), and a new generation of music providers (Apple, Google, Amazon) has created a heady mix of competing and collaborative economic models. Throw in the problem of piracy and ever-changing consumer behavior and, the author shows, we have one of the most dynamic and fascinating business sectors in the world.