Rob and Waldfogel (2006)

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1. Relationship between protection (subject matter/term/scope) and supply/economic development/growth/welfare 2. Relationship between creative process and protection - what motivates creators (e.g. attribution; control; remuneration; time allocation)? 3. Harmony of interest assumption between authors and publishers (creators and producers/investors) 4. Effects of protection on industry structure (e.g. oligopolies; competition; economics of superstars; business models; technology adoption) 5. Understanding consumption/use (e.g. determinants of unlawful behaviour; user-generated content; social media)

A. Nature and Scope of exclusive rights (hyperlinking/browsing; reproduction right) B. Exceptions (distinguish innovation and public policy purposes; open-ended/closed list; commercial/non-commercial distinction) C. Mass digitisation/orphan works (non-use; extended collective licensing) D. Licensing and Business models (collecting societies; meta data; exchanges/hubs; windowing; crossborder availability) E. Fair remuneration (levies; copyright contracts) F. Enforcement (quantifying infringement; criminal sanctions; intermediary liability; graduated response; litigation and court data; commercial/non-commercial distinction; education and awareness)

Source Details

Rob and Waldfogel (2006)
Title: Piracy on the high C's: Music downloading, sales displacement, and social welfare in a sample of college students
Author(s): Rob, R., Waldfogel, J.
Year: 2006
Citation: Rob, R., & Waldfogel, J. (2006). Piracy on the High C’s: Music Downloading, Sales Displacement, and Social Welfare in a Sample of College Students*. Journal of Law and Economics, 49(1), 29-62.
Link(s): Definitive , Open Access
Key Related Studies:
Discipline:
Linked by: Aguiar and Martens (2013), Arnold, Darmon, Dejean and Penard (2014), Bellemare and Holmberg (2010), Cox, Collins and Drinkwater (2010), Danaher and Smith (2013), Danaher, Dhanasobhon, Smith and Telang (2010), Danaher, Smith and Telang (2016), Danaher, Smith, Telang and Chen (2012), Hammond (2012), Handke (2012b), Handke (2015), Heald, Erickson and Kretschmer (2015), Hong (2007), Huygen, Helberger, Poort, Rutten and Van Eijk (2009), Leung (2012), Liebowitz (2008), Liu (2015), Oberholzer-Gee and Strumpf (2007), Oberholzer-Gee and Strumpf (2010), Oestreicher-Singer and Sundararajan (2010), Rob and Waldfogel (2007), Van Eijk, Poort and Rutten (2010), Waldfogel (2010), Zentner (2010)
About the Data
Data Description: The data for this study are derived from two surveys administered to college students at the University of Pennsylvania, Hunter College, the University of Chicago’s Master of Arts program in public policy, and City College of New York between December 2003 and February 2004.
  • The first survey, administered to 412 students, elicited information on the respondent (age, race, gender, family income, number of CDs owned, speed of Internet access, and interest in music), along with ex post valuation on two groups of albums purchased or downloaded: those obtained in the last year and those among a common list of 261 hit albums released since 1999.
  • In a second wave of the first survey participants were asked about current and past Internet access. In this part of the study they obtained information on 260 of the 412 respondents.
Data Type: Primary data
Secondary Data Sources:
Data Collection Methods:
Data Analysis Methods:
Industry(ies):
Country(ies):
Cross Country Study?: No
Comparative Study?: No
Literature review?: No
Government or policy study?: No
Time Period(s) of Collection:
  • 2003-2004
Funder(s):
  • None

Abstract

Recording industry revenue has fallen sharply in the last 3 years, and some—but not all—observers attribute this to file sharing. We collect new data on albums obtained via purchase and downloading, as well as consumers’ valuations of these albums, among a sample of U.S. college students in 2003. We provide new estimates of sales displacement induced by downloading, using both ordinary least squares and an instrumental variables approach with access to broadband as a source of exogenous variation in downloading. We find that each album download reduces purchases by about .2 in our sample, although possibly by much more. Our valuation data allow us to measure the effects of downloading on welfare as well as expenditure in a subsample of University of Pennsylvania undergraduates, and we find that downloading reduces their per capita expenditure (on hit albums released 1999–2003) from $126 to $101 but raises per capita consumers’ surplus by $70.

Main Results of the Study

The main results of this study are:

  • Successfully measuring the possible sales-displacing effect of unpaid music downloading requires data on the quantities of purchases and downloads made by individuals.
  • In the case of the individuals in the sample, downloading reduced expenditure by about 10 percent but possibly by much more.
  • Downloaded music is valued much less than purchased music. Results indicate that downloaded albums tend to be low valued, which suggests that the harm done by downloading is limited.
  • Downloading reduces expenditure (on hit albums, 1999–2003) by $25 per capita in the subsample.
  • A direct welfare analysis of downloading suggests it raises sample consumers’ welfare associated with these albums by $70 per capita.

Policy Implications as Stated By Author

None stated



Coverage of Study

Coverage of Fundamental Issues
Issue Included within Study
Relationship between protection (subject matter/term/scope) and supply/economic development/growth/welfare
Relationship between creative process and protection - what motivates creators (e.g. attribution; control; remuneration; time allocation)?
Harmony of interest assumption between authors and publishers (creators and producers/investors)
Effects of protection on industry structure (e.g. oligopolies; competition; economics of superstars; business models; technology adoption)
Understanding consumption/use (e.g. determinants of unlawful behaviour; user-generated content; social media)
Green-tick.png
Coverage of Evidence Based Policies
Issue Included within Study
Nature and Scope of exclusive rights (hyperlinking/browsing; reproduction right)
Exceptions (distinguish innovation and public policy purposes; open-ended/closed list; commercial/non-commercial distinction)
Mass digitisation/orphan works (non-use; extended collective licensing)
Licensing and Business models (collecting societies; meta data; exchanges/hubs; windowing; crossborder availability)
Fair remuneration (levies; copyright contracts)
Enforcement (quantifying infringement; criminal sanctions; intermediary liability; graduated response; litigation and court data; commercial/non-commercial distinction; education and awareness)
Green-tick.png

Datasets

Sample size: 412
Level of aggregation: University students
Period of material under study: 2003-2004