Purchase, pirate, publicize: Private-network music sharing and market album sales

Jonathan Lee ()

Information Economics and Policy, 2018, vol. 42, issue C, 35-55

Abstract: I quantify the effects of private-network music sharing on aggregate album sales in the BitTorrent era using a panel of US sales and private-network downloads for 2109 albums during 2008. Exogenous shocks to the network’s sharing constraints address the simultaneity problem. In theory, private-network activity could crowd out sales by building aggregate file sharing capacity or increase sales through word of mouth. I find evidence that private-network sharing results in decreased album sales for top-tier artists, though the economic impact is quite modest. However, private-network activity seems to help mid-tier artists. The results are consistent with claims that word of mouth is stronger for lesser-known artists and that digital sales are more vulnerable to increases in file sharing capacity. I discuss policy implications and alternatives to costly legal efforts to shut down private file sharing networks.

Keywords: Intellectual property; Copyright; File sharing; Piracy; Digital music (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L82 L86 O34 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Working Paper: Purchase, Pirate, Publicize: Private-network Music Sharing And Market Album Sales (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:iepoli:v:42:y:2018:i:c:p:35-55

DOI: 10.1016/j.infoecopol.2018.01.001

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