Does digitization lead to the homogenization of cultural content?

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Using weekly music charts data in 10 countries over the period 1990–2015, we analyze whether digitization leads to a trend of homogenization of music content or conversely to a greater acoustic disparity. We split the digitization era in four periods that correspond to four new emblematic distribution models (Napster, iTunes, YouTube, Spotify). Our main result is that while acoustic diversity decreased during the iTunes and the YouTube periods, the period that begins with the introduction of audio streaming services, such as Spotify, represents a turning point and is marked by a significant increase in acoustic diversity.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)427-453
Number of pages27
JournalEconomic Inquiry
Volume60
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2022

Keywords

  • content disparity
  • cultural diversity
  • digitization
  • music industry

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