Intermediaries

About this project
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Morten Hviid

Sofia Izquierdo Sanchez

Lead investigator(s):
– Prof Morten Hviid
Contributor(s):
– Miss Sofia Izquierdo Sanchez
Start Date: 1st January 2014
End Date: 30th June 2015

Summary

The purpose of this project is to investigate the structure of selected creative industries, in particular the relationship between creators, entrepreneurs and intermediaries, to determine whether we are getting all the innovation we can out of the market. It responds directly to the link between copyright and innovation as discussed most recently in the Hargreaves Review. Creators must go through intermediaries (who may not be typically seen as part of the creative industries) to access the market, and respond in a variety of way to the rules set by the intermediaries. New business models and entrepreneurs might emerge to challenge the status quo set by intermediaries, or intermediaries become the gateway to innovation by offering platforms for expression or distribution/dissemination. Intermediaries can also have a value-added role, sifting through and selecting information to channel to users attentions. Further, there is often a high level of concentration in the industry such that entry to the market is often through an established dominant intermediary. A better understanding of the structure of the industry allows an examination of whether competition law, and other regulation of firm behaviour (including indirect regulation through liability and immunity regimes), helps or hinders new/emerging business models.

Project outputs include:

  • From publishers to self-publishing: The disruptive effects of digitalisation on the book industry – this CREATe Working Paper explores the structure of the book publishing industry post-digitalisation. We argue that the introduction of successful e-book readers has belatedly given digitalisation the characteristics of a disruptive technology by making self-publishing a serious option for authors.
  • Digitalisation and intermediaries in the music industry – Prior to digitalisation, the vertical structure of the market for recorded music could be described as a large number of artists [composers, lyricists and musicians] supplying creative expressions to a small number of larger record labels and publishers who funded, produced, and marketed the resulting recorded music to subsequently, sell these works to consumers through a fragmented retail sector. This publication argues that digitalisation has led to a new structure in which the retail segment has also become concentrated.