EF10: Streaming, Sharing, and Stealing with Michael D. Smith and Rahul Telang

In this podcast we discuss how technology has reshaped competition in the media industry. Our guests are Michael D. Smith and Rahul Telang of Carnegie Mellon University. They’ve recently written a book called Streaming, Sharing, and Stealing which describes the frontier of research regarding digital media distribution. This conversation touches on fundamental topics such as price discrimination by studios and publishers, how prices should be set and what the optimal organizational structure should be for companies. We also delve into more topic specific issues such as cross-channel substitution, privacy, and bargaining between studios and digital retailers. We also discuss the special role of data in affecting the industry structure.

References:

• • Streaming, Sharing, Stealing by Michael D. Smith and Rahul Telang

• • Cinematic Explosion: New Products, Unpredictability, and Realized Quality in the Digital Era by Joel Waldfogel

• • Streaming Reaches Flood Stage: Does Spotify Stimulate or Depress Music Sales? by Luis Aguiar and Joel Waldfogel

• • The Effect of Graduated Response Anti-Piracy Laws on Music Sales: Evidence from an Event Study in France by Brett Danaher, Michael D. Smith, Rahul Telang, and Siwen Chen.

• • Converting Pirates without Cannibalizing Purchasers: The Impact of Digital Distribution on Physical Sales and Internet Piracy by Rahul Telang

• • NBC vs Apple Bargaining Debate

• • Amazon vs Publishers