Piracy in the Music Industry: A Two-Sided Market Approach

平台的付费墙助长了盗版的复苏。在理论框架内，我们探讨了不同程度名气的创作者的结果，比较了版权和盗版的情况，以确定赢家和输家。我们的研究表明，盗版可以消除对不太知名的创作者的权衡。他们不再需要牺牲自己的知名度来吸引更广泛的受众。选择在盈利平台上分享他们的作品成为一种主流策略。然而，对福利的总体影响并不直接。虽然盗版让更多的消费者参与进来，但它也改变了不太知名的创作者和营利平台之间的议价能力。此外，均衡价格的变动可能导致替代效应。

Platforms' paywalls fuels piracy's resurgence. Within a theoretical framework, we explore outcomes for creators of varying degrees of fame, comparing copyright and piracy scenarios to identify winners and losers.Our research reveals that piracy can eliminate the trade-off for lesser-known creators. They no longer have to sacrifice their popularity to reach a broader audience. Opting to share their work on for-profit platforms becomes a dominant strategy.However, the overall impact on welfare is not straightforward. While piracy allows more consumers to participate, it also changes the dynamics of bargaining power between less famous creators and the for-profit platform. Additionally, the shifts in equilibrium prices could lead to substitution effects.