The Music Industry as a Vehicle for Economic Analysis

摘要

Issues arising in the music industry in response to the availability of digital music files provide an opportunity for exposing undergraduate students to economic analyses rarely covered in the undergraduate economics curriculum. Three of these analyses are covered here: the optimal copyright term, the effect of piracy or illegal file sharing, and the economics of multisided markets. These analyses also apply to the book publishing, newspaper, and motion picture industries to varying degrees. While the mathematical and graphical treatments shown here are likely too advanced for the typical principles course, they are suitable for upper-level undergraduate courses such as Intermediate Economic Theory, Business and Government, Public Policy, Managerial Economics, Music/Media/Entertainment Economics, or others at the discretion of the instructor.