Ruth Towse

Economics and copyright reform: aspects of the EC directive

Economists are frequently involved in quantitative research (ex ante and ex post) on policy changes and it should be possible to apply this competence to copyright reform. However, aspects of the EU Directive, such as technological protection measures and digital rights management, present severe challenges to empirical economic evaluation.

The value of performers' rights: an economic approach

New and extended rights for performers have been introduced into UK copyright law as a result of EC Directives. It is widely supposed that they will make performers better off. In this article we attempt to test that assumption by analysing these changes with the focus on the music industry. We discuss the role of collecting societies in implementing these rights, and speculate on the costs of collection, the potential value of the rights and who will pay for them. Evidence is presented for the UK with references to Denmark and Sweden. We conclude that it is not obvious that all performers will be better off as a result.

Developments in the Economics of Copyright

This innovative and insightful book, written by some of the leading academics in the field, advances research frontiers on intellectual property and copyright issues. Topics addressed include: peer-to-peer music file sharing, optimal fair use standards, the benefits of copyright collectives, copyright and market entry, alternatives to copyright, the impact of copyright on knowledge production, the proper balance between copyright and competition law, and the application of systematic principles to issues that arise at the periphery of intellectual property law – all with an eye toward economics.

Economics of Artists’ Labour Markets

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Recent Trends in the Economics of Copyright

It is widely recognised that many copyright issues are also economic issues. As a result the level of interest in the economics of copyright continues to grow. This carefully edited book presents a selection of the most important recent contributions to a wide range of economic topics on copyright. These include the copyright term, infringement issues, administration of copyright, incentives to artists and open source. There is relevance here for a wide readership, from teachers and students of economics, law, cultural and media studies to practitioners and policymakers.

Cultural Economics, the Internet and Participation

Digitization and the Internet have affected the arts, heritage organizations and cultural industries along with other information services. Digital information and communication technologies (ICT) have altered the consumption of and participation in a range of creative goods and services, including the live performing arts, recorded music, film and cultural heritage. This chapter looks at some of the changes that have recently come about due to digitization and at the analysis of them by economists, and invokes key concepts in cultural economics to understand the meaning of these trends.

Copyright and Music Publishing in the UK

The chapter investigates the role of copyright in the economic development of music publishing in the UK from a historical perspective. Peacock and Weir’s 1975 book, The Composer in the Market Place has been a strong influence on the research on the economic survival of music publishing over its long existence. There is little economic literature specifically on music publishing as an industry, though there is a useful related literature on composers and their publishers. The chapter looks at the development of copyright law in musical works (which differs significantly from that in literary works) and its effect on the market for published music. It shows how music publishers adapted to the new streams of royalty revenue arising from changes in consumption as successive technologies for access to music were adopted; these changes in turn occasioned the revisions of copyright law. The historical approach reminds us that disruptive technologies in the music industry are nothing new. What this research shows is that in the early twentieth century, music publishers survived the effect on the market for published music of sound recording and radio by switching from the long-established sales model to that of rights management. Updated copyright law supported the change of business model but it was not the motivating force. This conclusion has resonance for the similar switch being adopted today by other creative industries in adapting to digitisation.

Cultural Economics and the Internet

Cultural economics is concerned with the supply, demand and markets for creative goods and services. As suppliers of information goods and services, the arts, heritage organizations and cultural industries are greatly involved in the changes accompanying the diffusion of ever-new Internet-based services and digitization. Much Internet traffic consists of reproducible cultural works, such as music recordings and movies. Moreover, the Internet has had an impact on cultural services that require ‘live’ participation. Accordingly, this chapter addresses changes in the production, consumption and distribution of the output of the cultural sector due to the Internet.

Producing pearls of wisdom: a memoir of Mark Blaug's work practice

6. Some contentious issues in theory and policy in memory of Mark Blaug 31 Richard G. Lipsey 7. Mark Blaug on the quantity theory: a skirmish on the border between science and ideology in the history of economic thought 63 David Laidler 8. Dr Blaug’s diagnosis: is economics sick? 78 Geoffrey M. Hodgson 9. Competition as an evolutionary process: Mark Blaug and evolutionary economics 98 Jack Vromen 10. A 2 × 2 = 4 hobby horse: Mark Blaug on rational and historical reconstructions 125 Harro Maas

A Textbook of Cultural Economics by Ruth Towse

What determines the price of a pop concert or an opera? Why does Hollywood dominate the film industry? Does illegal downloading damage the record industry? Does free entry to museums bring in more visitors? In A Textbook of Cultural Economics, one of the worlds leading cultural economists shows how we can use the theories and methods of economics to answer these and a host of other questions concerning the arts (performing arts, visual arts and literature), heritage (museums and built heritage) and creative industries (the music, publishing and film industries, broadcasting). Using international examples and covering the most up-to-date research, the book does not assume a prior knowledge of economics. It is ideally suited for students taking a course on the economics of the arts as part of an arts administration, business, management, or economics degree.