Streaming, Sharing, Stealing: Big Data and the Future of Entertainment

Smith and Telang examine the market structures and competitive strengths and weaknesses of traditional book publishers, recording labels, and movie studios in light of challenges from industry disrupters. They argue that “a converging set of technological and economic changes” are “threatening to shift the foundations of power and profit in these important industries.” The fact that the threat has already manifested gives the book a feeling of old news, and the authors’ prescription—that traditional megacorporations should run their businesses more like Amazon, iTunes, and Netflix—is likely to be viewed as distasteful medicine by a patient who’s not convinced he’s ill. Examples and case studies include sheet music, rock ’n’ roll, Netflix’s House of Cards, e-books, Microsoft’s Encarta encyclopedia, Hulu, and the 2004 standoff between Amazon and Melville House. While illustrative, these and other examples mostly feature technology companies’ wins at the expense of traditional companies. The book’s example of a success story among traditional companies—casino giant Harrah’s Entertainment—comes from outside the creative industries. Readers would be better served by a more balanced and updated view of traditional industries’ problems and possible solutions to them. (Sept.)