Rents, Rights N’rhythm: Conflict and Cooperation in the Music Industry

The economic importance of copyright industries in developed market economies has been well documented. Although less important in developing countries, this could change with the spread of information technologies. This paper first addresses how copyrights underpin the modern music industry, and in particular the role copyrights and cooperation among individuals and firms play in creating and expanding income and composite quasi rents from musical ideas. The conflicts throughout the music system in appropriating that rent, is then discussed. Overall, the paper argues that rent creation and rent distribution in the music industry is as much related to institutional capabilities, strategic interaction and bargaining power of individuals and firms, and the governance structures of copyrights, as to the presence of musical talent or market forces.