Reducing copyright piracy using entrepreneurial intermediary platforms

Kristie Briggs, Joshua Eiermann, Thomas Hodgson and Elizabeth McNamara

Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, 2014, vol. 3, issue 2, 306-316

Abstract: Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of intermediary platforms, such as Pandora and Spotify, in reducing piracy of digital music. Design/methodology/approach - – The authors modify a predator-prey theoretical framework of copyright piracy to account for the impact of intermediary platforms on the consumption of original works and illegal copies. Findings - – The theory shows that an increase in the number of legal alternative platforms available to consumers of digital music results in an unambiguous increase in the consumption of legitimate music and an unambiguous decrease in the consumption of unauthorized copies. Practical implications - – The results suggest that policies to encourage entrepreneurship by intermediary platforms in the music industry serve as a complement to other policies currently being employed to combat piracy of digital music. Originality/value - – The paper is the first of its kind to analyze the important role of intermediary platforms in reducing piracy of digital music while encouraging innovation by artists. Historically, entrepreneurship in this field has been controversial, given the gray areas surrounding what is and is not copyright infringement in the ever-evolving digital age. This paper highlights that once copyright laws are clearly defined, business growth in this area can be a highly effective solution to the piracy problem.

Keywords: Intellectual property rights; Copyrights; Digital music; Piracy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (text/html)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:jepppp:v:3:y:2014:i:2:p:306-316

DOI: 10.1108/JEPP-05-2013-0019

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy from Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Emerald Support ().