When internet meets entertainment : the economics of digital media industries

For two years, our team has striven to explain to engineers that copyrighted contents were economic objects which differ considerably from other kinds of information material. And consequently that the way to enhance their digital distribution should differ from what an engineer could imagine as the smoothest way to convey private information flows. The confrontation between the technical vision of an equipment industry trying to raise the efficiency of digital delivery systems and that of economists defending the concept of Intellectual Property and its implication in a digital environment has been a quite unique and very stimulating experience. This essay reveals the outcome of this interaction. It is a discussion tool between two industries. Its objective is to clarify for the two parties involved - the creative industries and the information technology sector - the economic characteristics of copyrighted content production and distribution: intellectual property, sunk costs, signalization, pricing issues, vertical relations, network effects, distribution system roll-out, and markets and competition. It analyses how these characteristics, combined with national regulatory policies, shape the industrial organization of the digital content distribution systems. The book addresses Media and IT professionals, bankers, economists, students and policy makers.