Working Paper: NBER ID: w17503
Authors: Joel Waldfogel
Abstract: Recent technological changes may have altered the balance between technology and copyright law for digital products. While file-sharing has reduced revenue, other technological changes have reduced the costs of bringing creative works to market. As a result, we don't know whether the effective copyright protection currently available provides adequate incentives to bring forth a steady stream of valuable new products. This paper assesses the quality of new recorded music since Napster, using three independent approaches. The first is an index of the quantity of high-quality music based on critics' retrospective lists. The second and third approaches rely directly on music sales and airplay data, respectively, using of the idea that if one vintage's music is better than another's, its superior quality should generate higher sales or greater airplay through time, after accounting for depreciation. The three resulting indices of vintage quality for the past half-century are both consistent with each other and with other historical accounts of recorded music quality. There is no evidence of a reduction in the quality of music released since Napster, and the two usage-based indices suggest an increase since 1999. Hence, researchers and policymakers thinking about the strength of copyright protection should supplement their attention to producer surplus with concern for consumer surplus as well.
Keywords: copyright; technological change; music quality; file sharing
JEL Codes: K11; L82
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Technological changes (O33) | Revenue for recorded music (L82) |
| Technological changes (O33) | Production costs (D24) |
| Revenue for recorded music (L82) | Quality of music released (L15) |
| Technological changes (O33) | Quality of music released (L15) |
| Usage-based indices (C43) | Music quality since 1999 (L15) |
| Copyright protection (O34) | Flow of new music products (O36) |