The Archives

The collection of all scholarly commentary on law, economics, and more

Showing archive for:  “Music Industry”

Stan Liebowitz on Piracy and Music Sales

Stan Liebowitz (UT-Dallas) offers a characteristically thoughtful and provocative op-ed in the WSJ today commenting on SOPA and the Protect IP Act.  Here’s an excerpt: You may have noticed last Wednesday’s blackout of Wikipedia or Google’s strange blindfolded-logo screen. These were attempts to kill the Protect IP Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act, proposed ... Stan Liebowitz on Piracy and Music Sales

A response to LawProf and MacEwen

I wasn’t going to comment on LawProf’s attacks on his profession. But now that it has been endorsed by Bruce MacEwen, aka Adam Smith, Esq., an otherwise insightful commentator on the legal profession, I feel compelled to say something. In a nutshell, MacEwen endorses what he says are LawProf’s three primary points:  that the rising ... A response to LawProf and MacEwen

The iPad 2 and the E2

Professor B says: In the last week I used my iPad to: Watch QI on Youtube. Watch TV shows, movies, and music videos from my iTunes library. Online banking. Online shopping. Web access. WSJ. BBC. Dinner reservations over Open Table. Deer Hunter. Online poker. Document access via Dropbox. Document editing via Quick Office. IMDB. Twitter ... The iPad 2 and the E2

Lawyers in Jeopardy

The WSJ reports: In a nationally televised competition, the Watson computer system built by International Business Machines Corp. handily defeated two former “Jeopardy” champions. * * * To emulate the human mind, and make it competitive on the TV quiz show, Watson was stuffed with millions of documents—including dictionaries, anthologies and the World Book Encyclopedia. ... Lawyers in Jeopardy

Cat groomers and lawyers

What do cat groomers, tattoo artists, tree trimmers, music therapist, locksmiths, caterers, hair stylists, florists, flower arrangers, interior designers, private detectives, hearing-aid fitters, conveyor-belt operators, frozen dessert retailers, hair-salon “shampoo specialists,” glaziers, librarians, nutritionists, respiratory therapists, athletic trainers, boxing promoters, eyebrow threaders, acupuncturists, tattoo artists, massage therapists for humans and for horses, wig servicers, karate ... Cat groomers and lawyers

Some Economics of Contractual Restrictions on Political Contributions by Cable Pundits

Jonathan Adler and Orin Kerr chime in over at VC to make the point that MSNBC’s rules against contributions from television personalities is pointless, or perhaps counterproductive.  Here’s Adler: I agree with Orin that strict application of rules against political activity by journalists to opinionated commentators and hosts is silly.  No one believes these figures ... Some Economics of Contractual Restrictions on Political Contributions by Cable Pundits

Money Never Sleeps (but audiences might)

Ok, so I went and saw the movie, thanks to my entrepreneurial colleague Christine Hurt, who already has a post up.  Read this post for the basics.  I plan to follow up with a much longer analysis when I get the time.  Here’s some stuff that should suffice for now. First, the movie stinks.  It’s ... Money Never Sleeps (but audiences might)

Some Competing Economics of Copyright and Fashion

In the WSJ, Scott Hemphill (Columbia) and Jeannie Suk (Harvard) defend Charles Schumer’s proposed bill, which would extend copyright protection to fashion design: Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) introduced a bill earlier this month that attempts to get around this problem. It prohibits only design copies that are substantially identical. In layman’s terms, a good ... Some Competing Economics of Copyright and Fashion

Lollapalooza and Antitrust

Apparently, the Illinois Attorney General is investigating Lollapalooza for potential antitrust violations arising out of exclusivity clauses that the concert promoter includes in the contracts signed with artists who play the show. The controversial radius clauses prohibit Lollapalooza acts ranging from the top headliners to the smallest “baby bands” at the bottom of the bill ... Lollapalooza and Antitrust

Will the FTC Sue Apple?

I don’t know.  But apparently, industry analysts preliminarily think not.   I tend to disagree.  At least, I think its far too early to be confident in either direction. Press reports, such as this one,  are primarily relying on the report of an analyst who correctly points out that Apple’s market share would be an ... Will the FTC Sue Apple?

Section 5, Collateral Consequences, and Counting Unicorns

Judge Frank Easterbrook once opined that observing predatory pricing was a bit like seeing a unicorn —  in the sense that it was a phenomena around which there was much lore but not much empirical evidence.  The debate over the current expansion of Section 5 liability increasingly has become about the search for a different ... Section 5, Collateral Consequences, and Counting Unicorns

"Like A Rain Dance That Produces No Clouds"

My colleague Tom Hazlett, along with George Bittlingmayer and Arthur Havenner, provides some economic wisdom on why they don’t call it stimulus anymore: Counter to the predictions put forward a year ago by the Administration, when it claimed that “more than 90 percent of the jobs created are likely to be in the private sector,” ... "Like A Rain Dance That Produces No Clouds"