IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/tuiedp/112.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The economics of social media stars: An empirical investigation of stardom, popularity, and success on YouTube

Author

Listed:
  • Budzinski, Oliver
  • Gaenssle, Sophia

Abstract

The economic literature on the superstar phenomenon provides empirical evidence on different types of stars, above all athletes and musicians. A new and, to our best knowledge, unexplored area of this star theory arouse with the development of social media markets. In this paper, we analyse a unique sample of 200 YouTube stars out of four different video categories to address the research gap. By employing econometric methods from panel data analysis, we contribute to answering the following research questions: (i) Are the classic theoretical concepts of popularity and superstardom by Rosen, MacDonald and Adler applicable? (ii) Can social media stars actively influence their popularity by employing special upload strategies? We find empirical evidence that former success positively and significantly influences the current success of social media stars, as theoretically presumed by MacDonald. Furthermore, the results support Adler's assumptions that the most popular stars snowball into superstardom due to higher growth rates. Finally, our investigation shows that social media stars can actively influence their popularity with distinctive upload strategies and market behaviour.

Suggested Citation

  • Budzinski, Oliver & Gaenssle, Sophia, 2018. "The economics of social media stars: An empirical investigation of stardom, popularity, and success on YouTube," Ilmenau Economics Discussion Papers 112, Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:tuiedp:112
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/174480/1/1011382423.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bernard J. Jansen & Mimi Zhang & Kate Sobel & Abdur Chowdury, 2009. "Twitter power: Tweets as electronic word of mouth," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 60(11), pages 2169-2188, November.
    2. Adler, Moshe, 1985. "Stardom and Talent," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(1), pages 208-212, March.
    3. Brinja Meiseberg, 2014. "Trust the artist versus trust the tale: performance implications of talent and self-marketing in folk music," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 38(1), pages 9-42, February.
    4. Josef Falkinger, 2008. "Limited Attention as a Scarce Resource in Information-Rich Economies," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(532), pages 1596-1620, October.
    5. H. Leibenstein, 1950. "Bandwagon, Snob, and Veblen Effects in the Theory of Consumers' Demand," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 64(2), pages 183-207.
    6. MacDonald, Glenn M, 1988. "The Economics of Rising Stars," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(1), pages 155-166, March.
    7. Rosen, Sherwin, 1981. "The Economics of Superstars," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(5), pages 845-858, December.
    8. Stigler, George J & Becker, Gary S, 1977. "De Gustibus Non Est Disputandum," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 67(2), pages 76-90, March.
    9. Budzinski, Oliver & Pannicke, Julia, 2017. "Does popularity matter in a TV song competition? Evidence from a national music contest," Ilmenau Economics Discussion Papers 106, Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute of Economics.
    10. Egon Franck & Stephan Nüesch, 2007. "Avoiding ‘Star Wars’– Celebrity Creation as Media Strategy," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(2), pages 211-230, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gaenssle Sophia & Budzinski Oliver & Astakhova Daria, 2018. "Conquering the Box Office: Factors Influencing Success of International Movies in Russia," Review of Network Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 17(4), pages 245-266, December.
    2. Budzinski, Oliver & Lindstädt-Dreusicke, Nadine, 2018. "The new media economics of video-on-demand markets: Lessons for competition policy," Ilmenau Economics Discussion Papers 116, Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute of Economics.
    3. Budzinski, Oliver & Kohlschreiber, Marie & Kuchinke, Björn & Pannicke, Julia, 2019. "Does music quality matter for audience voters in a music contest?," Ilmenau Economics Discussion Papers 122, Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute of Economics.
    4. Budzinski, Oliver & Lindstädt-Dreusicke, Nadine, 2019. "The new media economics of video-on-demand markets: Lessons for competition policy (updated version)," Ilmenau Economics Discussion Papers 125, Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute of Economics.
    5. Oliver Budzinski & Sophia Gaenssle & Nadine Lindstädt-Dreusicke, 2021. "The battle of YouTube, TV and Netflix: an empirical analysis of competition in audiovisual media markets," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 1(9), pages 1-26, September.
    6. Budzinski, Oliver & Kuchinke, Björn, 2018. "Modern industrial organization theory of media markets and competition policy implications," Ilmenau Economics Discussion Papers 115, Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute of Economics.
    7. Gaenssle, Sophia & Budzinski, Oliver, 2019. "Stars in social media: New light through old windows?," Ilmenau Economics Discussion Papers 123, Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute of Economics.
    8. Mourelatos, Evangelos & Mourelatos, Haris, 2022. "Online video sharing and revenues during the Pandemic. Evidence from musical stream data," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1050 [pre.], Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    9. Mourelatos, Evangelos & Mourelatos, Haris, 2022. "Online video sharing and revenues during the Pandemic. Evidence from musical stream data," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1050, Global Labor Organization (GLO).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gaenssle Sophia & Budzinski Oliver & Astakhova Daria, 2018. "Conquering the Box Office: Factors Influencing Success of International Movies in Russia," Review of Network Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 17(4), pages 245-266, December.
    2. Budzinski, Oliver & Pannicke, Julia, 2017. "Does popularity matter in a TV song competition? Evidence from a national music contest," Ilmenau Economics Discussion Papers 106, Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute of Economics.
    3. Gaenssle, Sophia & Budzinski, Oliver, 2019. "Stars in social media: New light through old windows?," Ilmenau Economics Discussion Papers 123, Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute of Economics.
    4. Budzinski, Oliver & Kohlschreiber, Marie & Kuchinke, Björn & Pannicke, Julia, 2019. "Does music quality matter for audience voters in a music contest?," Ilmenau Economics Discussion Papers 122, Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute of Economics.
    5. Egon Franck & Stephan Nüesch, 2006. "Superstars versus Celebrities - Big Man or Big Name?," Working Papers 0010, University of Zurich, Center for Research in Sports Administration (CRSA).
    6. Nela Filimon & Jordi López-Sintas & Carlos Padrós-Reig, 2011. "A test of Rosen’s and Adler’s theories of superstars," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 35(2), pages 137-161, May.
    7. Julianne Treme & Samuel K. Allen, 2011. "Press Pass: Payoffs to Media Exposure Among National Football League (NFL) Wide Receivers," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 12(3), pages 370-390, June.
    8. Hofmann, Julian & Clement, Michel & Völckner, Franziska & Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, 2017. "Empirical generalizations on the impact of stars on the economic success of movies," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 442-461.
    9. Kotrba, Vojtěch, 2019. "Direct preferences of sports fans: Is there a superstar effect in the fantasy league?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 89-97.
    10. Egon Franck & Stephan Nüesch, 2005. "Talent, Past Consumption and/or Popularity - Are German Soccer Celebrities Rosen or Adler Stars?," Working Papers 0043, University of Zurich, Institute for Strategy and Business Economics (ISU), revised 2006.
    11. Alexis Dantec & Florence Levy, 2005. "Stars et box office : un état des approches théoriques et empiriques," Documents de Travail de l'OFCE 2005-13, Observatoire Francais des Conjonctures Economiques (OFCE).
    12. Thomas Ehrmann & Brinja Meiseberg & Christian Ritz, 2009. "Superstar Effects in Deluxe Gastronomy – An Empirical Analysis of Value Creation in German Quality Restaurants," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(4), pages 526-541, November.
    13. Leif Brandes & Egon Franck & Stephan Nüesch, 2008. "Local Heroes and Superstars," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 9(3), pages 266-286, June.
    14. Hofmann, Julian & Schnittka, Oliver & Johnen, Marius & Kottemann, Pascal, 2021. "Talent or popularity: What drives market value and brand image for human brands?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 748-758.
    15. Budzinski, Oliver & Gänßle, Sophia & Lindstädt-Dreusicke, Nadine, 2021. "Wettbewerb und Antitrust in Unterhaltungsmärkten," Ilmenau Economics Discussion Papers 147, Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute of Economics.
    16. Budzinski, Oliver & Pawlowski, Tim, 2014. "The behavioural economics of competitive balance: Implications for league policy and championship management," Ilmenau Economics Discussion Papers 89, Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute of Economics.
    17. Brinja Meiseberg, 2014. "Trust the artist versus trust the tale: performance implications of talent and self-marketing in folk music," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 38(1), pages 9-42, February.
    18. Budzinski, Oliver & Feddersen, Arne, 2015. "Grundlagen der Sportnachfrage: Theorie und Empirie der Einflussfaktoren auf die Zuschauernachfrage," Ilmenau Economics Discussion Papers 94, Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute of Economics.
    19. Popovic, Milenko, 2009. "Dynamic Models of Arts Labor Supply," MPRA Paper 19397, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Aloys Prinz, 2017. "Rankings as coordination games: the Dutch Top 2000 pop song ranking," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 41(4), pages 379-401, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    social media; digital media; popularity; superstar theory; cultural economics; media economics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media
    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:tuiedp:112. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ivtuide.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.