Timothy S. Sullivan

The impact of the Internet on the law and economics of the music industry

Business as usual in the music industry is over. Online music is a force to be reckoned with now and increasingly in the future. This paper first describes the current revenue streams and cost causers that characterize the traditional business model in the music industry. Then, the impact of the Internet on the current business model is described, especially as it relates to the distribution stage of the value chain in the record business. Also, the impact of the Internet’s disruption of the distribution stage on the state of existing copyright law, as manifested through the introduction of Napster’s peer‐to‐peer innovation, is explained. Third, an analysis of salient economic, political/legal, and technological issues arising from these changes on the entire industry is presented. Finally, the paper identifies characteristics of a viable business model in the music industry and offers lessons for other digital content industries.

Portals: the new media companies

Identifies differences between old and evolving new economy. Focuses on the emergence and growth of portals, defining the concept of portals and their place in the Internet. Concludes the portal market is a work in progress that starts with many competitors, but resembles the conditions of an oligopoly.

Do Riverboat Casinos Act as Competitors? A Look at the St. Louis Market

Using monthly data covering 1991 to 2003 for the five casinos located in the St. Louis, Missouri, metropolitan area, the authors examine how the return to gaming, as measured by the payout rate on electronic gaming devices, changes as new firms enter the market. The clear timing of the new entrants into the market and the availability of monthly data allow the authors to examine how competition has affected the payout rates. They find that new entrants into the market have clearly reduced the hold rate (increased the payout rate) on electronic gaming devices and increased the return to gamblers. Given that the tax revenue from riverboat gambling is based on adjusted gross revenue (total revenue less payout), the decrease in hold rates and, therefore, adjusted gross revenue has significant policy implications for local governments, the majority of which rely on a single casino for their local tax revenue.

Broadband Developments in the United States Subsequent to the Federal Communications Commission's 2010 National Broadband Plan

The United States Federal Communications Commission delivered to Congress a national broadband plan in 2010. The purpose of this article is to analyze key economic arguments involving the development of the broadband plan addressing open network and competition issues, to make recommendations to the Commission in its formulation of federal policy as to positions that make the most economic sense, and to indicate recent economic and legal developments in broadband markets since publication of the broadband plan. One critical issue prior to the development of the broadband plan and subsequent to its publication is the competitiveness of the Internet Service Provider market. There is emerging evidence that, at least with respect to very high-speed broadband markets, a cable monopoly may be looming. The authors continue to predict with confidence that technological innovations are likely to make many opposing legal arguments obsolete in the near future.