P. Rutten

Perspectives of creators and performers on the digital era

In this contribution, a nearly comprehensive survey among creators and performers in media, arts and entertainment in the Netherlands is presented. It concerns the implications of digital reproduction and distribution for the creative professions as perceived by those working in it. Based on regressions and cluster analysis of the survey data, an analysis is provided of income developments and perceived threats and opportunities of digitisation, as well as an exploration of the underlying socio-economic and professional factors. Many creators and performers perceive digitisation primarily as a threat. Although age is a relevant explanatory factor for the opinions regarding digitisation, the notion of a generation gap is shown to be an oversimplification. Other relevant dimensions include income development, education level and the way digitisation has affected respondents’ discipline.

File Sharing and Its Impact on Business Models in Music

Industries involved in creating, producing, commercializing and distributing content find themselves facing major change because of digitization. These include the music and film sectors, and for over a decade now also the games sector. Digitization is changing the face of the content industry, with new types of distribution emerging and the boundaries between the different industries blurring. New opportunities are arising while challenges to existing ways of operating require reinvention as digitization enables consumers to access music, films and games in new ways. File sharing — the uploading and downloading of music, films and games — has become a reality, even if experience shows that online sharing often occurs without the explicit agreement of the right holders, who thus do not receive any payment. Companies producing content worry about the damage to revenues for which file sharing is said to be to blame.