The Death and Life of the Music Industry in the Digital Age / Edition 1

by Jim Rogers

Overview

The Death and Life of the Music Industry in the Digital Age challenges the conventional wisdom that the internet is 'killing' the music industry. While technological innovations (primarily in the form of peer-to-peer file-sharing) have evolved to threaten the economic health of major transnational music companies, Rogers illustrates how those same companies have themselves formulated highly innovative response strategies to negate the harmful effects of the internet. In short, it documents how the radical transformative potential of the internet is being suppressed by legal and organisational innovations. Grounded in a social shaping perspective, The Death and Life of the Music Industry in the Digital Age contends that the internet has not altered pre-existing power relations in the music industry where a small handful of very large corporations have long since established an oligopolistic dominance. Furthermore, the book contends that widespread acceptance of the idea that online piracy is rampant, and music largely 'free' actually helps these major music companies in their quest to bolster their power. In doing this, the study serves to deflate much of the transformative hype and digital 'deliria' that has accompanied the internet's evolution as a medium for mass communication.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781623560010
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/09/2013
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Jim Rogers is a Research Fellow and Associate Lecturer at the School of Communications, Dublin City University. His research focuses on the evolving form and nature of the media and cultural industries in the digital era.

Editorial Reviews

"It could serve as an inspiration, if not a basis, in a comparative study of industry contemporary music in different countries (Rogers referred to elsewhere the United States, France, Spain, Germany, China or Russia). Its reading will enrich the research work on the music industry contemporary or, more broadly, on the role of new media in the cultural industry." -Volume!

"Rogers's evidence is convincing and his method of incorporating 30 industry interviews with recent investment data provides a useful balance of insight into insider views with recent statistics. The book is clear, interesting, focused and well researched. ... The Death & Life of the Music Industry in the Digital Age is an impressive and important book for anyone interested in how the Internet and digitization are affecting the music industry." -David J Park, Florida International University, USA, new media & society

From the Publisher