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The effect of file sharing on record sales, revisited

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  • Oberholzer-Gee, Felix
  • Strumpf, Koleman

Abstract

Even as we approach the twentieth anniversary of widespread file sharing, its impact on the sale of copyrighted material remains in dispute. We contributed to this debate with an early study, “The Effect of File Sharing on Record Sales: An Empirical Analysis,” that was published in the Journal of Political Economy in 2007. Perhaps surprisingly, we found that piracy contributed to the decline in music sales but was not the main cause. In this article, we review and respond to recent criticism of our work by Stan Liebowitz in Econ Journal Watch. We show how the use of proxies for file sharing can result in misleading conclusions. We close by reviewing what we know about the impact of file sharing on record sales today. In our view, new music formats are an important if understudied channel through which changes in technology influence the demand for entertainment.

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  • Oberholzer-Gee, Felix & Strumpf, Koleman, 2016. "The effect of file sharing on record sales, revisited," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 61-66.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iepoli:v:37:y:2016:i:c:p:61-66
    DOI: 10.1016/j.infoecopol.2016.11.001
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    1. Rob, Rafael & Waldfogel, Joel, 2006. "Piracy on the High C's: Music Downloading, Sales Displacement, and Social Welfare in a Sample of College Students," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 49(1), pages 29-62, April.
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    6. repec:wly:soecon:v:81:2:y:2014:p:387-408 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Felix Oberholzer-Gee & Koleman Strumpf, 2007. "The Effect of File Sharing on Record Sales: An Empirical Analysis," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 115(1), pages 1-42.
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    Cited by:

    1. Fukugawa Nobuya, 2018. "Are Heavy Pirates also Heavy Buyers?: A Case of the Video Game Industry in Japan," Asian Journal of Law and Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 9(1), pages 1-13, April.
    2. Liebowitz, Stan J., 2017. "A replication of four quasi-experiments and three facts from "The effect of file sharing on record sales: an empirical analysis" (Journal of Political Economy, 2007)," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 11, pages 1-22.
    3. George, Lisa M., 2016. "Mobile, Media & More: Contributions and Developments at Information Economics and Policy," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 1-2.
    4. Stan J. Liebowitz, 2017. "Responding to Oberholzer-Gee and Strumpf's Attempted Defense of Their Piracy Paper," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 14(2), pages 174–195-1, May.
    5. Tatsuo Tanaka, 2019. "The Effects of Internet Book Piracy: Case of Comics," Keio-IES Discussion Paper Series 2019-016, Institute for Economics Studies, Keio University.

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