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Superstars and the Long Tail: The impact of technology on market structure in media industries

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  • Weeds, Helen

Abstract

Technological change is transforming media industries. Digitization lowers the cost of recording, storage, reproduction and distribution, while computer-based editing facilitates higher quality and special effects. With electronic distribution, a vast range of content can be made available to consumers at little cost. Meanwhile, the distribution of industry production and sales appears to be shifting: the late 20th century was the era of the 'hit parade', but in the 21st attention has shifted to the 'long tail'. This paper develops a free entry model of differentiated products with endogenous quality and heterogeneous types to examine the implications of technological change for market structure, quality, and the distribution of firms in media industries. This framework can be used to assess current and future trends in media industries.

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  • Weeds, Helen, 2009. "Superstars and the Long Tail: The impact of technology on market structure in media industries," Economics Discussion Papers 3062, University of Essex, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:esx:essedp:3062
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    Cited by:

    1. Simon P. Anderson & Bruno Jullien, 2015. "The advertising-financed business model in two-sided media markets," Post-Print hal-02866192, HAL.
    2. Katz, Raúl L., 2013. "Broadband, digitization and development," Libros de la CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 37062.
    3. Alexei Kolokolov, 2011. "Futures hedging: Multivariate GARCH with dynamic conditional correlations (in Russian)," Quantile, Quantile, issue 9, pages 61-75, July.
    4. Bustillo, René, 2013. "The advance of cloud computing," Libros de la CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 37068.
    5. Galperin, Hernán & Katz, Raúl L., 2013. "The demand gap: drivers and public policies," Libros de la CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 37060.
    6. Viecens, María Fernanda & Galperin, Hernán & Mariscal Avilés, Judith, 2013. "National broadband plans," Libros de la CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 37065.
    7. Audretsch, David B. & Lehmann, Erik E. & Menter, Matthias & Wirsching, Katharine, 2021. "Intrapreneurship and absorptive capacities: The dynamic effect of labor mobility," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    8. Bustillo, René, 2013. "Net neutrality: debate and policies," Libros de la CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 37067.
    9. Choi, Daewon, 2013. "Broadband and industrial policy: the Korean experience..," Libros de la CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 37066.
    10. Viecens, María Fernanda & Ganuza, Juan José, 2013. "The challenge of over-the-top content and services," Libros de la CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 37069.
    11. Helen Arce Salazar & Leon Oerlemans, 2016. "Do We Follow the Leader or the Masses? Antecedents of the Willingness to Pay Extra for Eco-Products," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(2), pages 286-314, July.
    12. Helen Weeds, 2016. "Is The Television Licence fee fit for Purpose in the Digital Era?," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(1), pages 2-20, February.
    13. Flores-Roux, Ernesto M., 2013. "Mobile broadband: the urgent need for speedier roll-out," Libros de la CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 37063.
    14. Jordán, Valeria & Rojas, Fernando & Barrantes, Roxana, 2013. "The shifting digital paradigm in Latin America," Libros de la CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 37059.
    15. Colciago, Andrea & Etro, Federico, 2013. "Cloud computing, structural change and job creation in SMEs," Libros de la CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 37064.
    16. León, Omar de, 2013. "Regional and international connectivity," Libros de la CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 37061.
    17. -, 2013. "Broadband in Latin America: Beyond Connectivity," Libros de la CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 35899 edited by Eclac.
    18. Jacques Bughin & Nicolas van Zeebroeck, 2024. "Strategic Renewal and Corporate Return of Digital Transformation," Working Papers TIMES² 2024-071, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L15 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Information and Product Quality
    • L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media

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