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Superstardom in Popular Music: Empirical Evidence

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Author Info
Hamlen, William A, Jr
Abstract

This paper offers empirical evidence which counters two opposing but frequently expressed views concerning the market for popular music. The first view is that the consumers of popular music have no recognition of or appreciation for "quality" or "ability" in singing. The second is that the market is an example of the "Superstar Phenomenon," in the Marshall-Rosen sense, wherein small differences in ability are magnified into disproportional levels of success. Using an external measure of "voice quality," provided by the literature on voice, the estimated elasticity of record sales to voice quality is found to be significantly greater than zero but less than one. Copyright 1991 by MIT Press.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by MIT Press in its journal Review of Economics & Statistics.

Volume (Year): 73 (1991)
Issue (Month): 4 (November)
Pages: 729-33
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Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:73:y:1991:i:4:p:729-33

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  1. David E. Giles, 2005. "Survival of the Hippest: Life at the Top of the Hot 100," Econometrics Working Papers 0507, Department of Economics, University of Victoria. [Downloadable!]
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  2. Michael Pokorny & John Sedgwick, 2001. "Stardom and the Profitability of Film Making: Warner Bros. in the 1930s," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 157-184, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. W. Crain & Robert Tollison, 2002. "Consumer Choice and the Popular Music Industry: A Test of the Superstar Theory," Empirica, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 1-9, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Egon Franck & Stephan Nüesch, 2006. "Explaining the Star Shift in the Media– Why “Manufactured” Celebrities are More Lucrative than “Self-Made” Superstars," Working Papers 0057, University of Zurich, Institute for Strategy and Business Economics (ISU). [Downloadable!]
  5. Jonathan Gander & Alison Rieple, 2004. "How Relevant is Transaction Cost Economics to Inter-Firm Relationships in the Music Industry?," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 57-79, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Olivier Gergaud & Vincenzo Verardi, 2006. "Untalented but successful," Cahiers de la Maison des Sciences Economiques bla06017, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1). [Downloadable!]
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  7. Cansino Muñoz-Repiso, José Manuel & Sánchez Braza, Antonio, 2009. "Evaluación del programa de Escuelas Taller y Casas de Oficios a partir de su efecto sobre el tiempo de búsqueda del primer empleo. El caso de Sevilla/," Estudios de Economía Aplicada, Estudios de Economía Aplicada, vol. 27, pages 277 (22 P, Abril. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. M. Bagella & L. Becchetti, 1999. "The Determinants of Motion Picture Box Office Performance: Evidence from Movies Produced in Italy," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 237-256, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Louis Lévy-Garboua & Claude Montmarquette, 2002. "The Demand for the Arts," CIRANO Working Papers 2002s-10, CIRANO. [Downloadable!]
  10. Andrea Ordanini, 2006. "Selection models in the music industry: How a prior independent experience may affect chart success," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 183-200, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Alan Krueger, 2004. "The Economics of Real Superstars: The Market for Rock Concerts in the Material World," Working Papers 863, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section.. [Downloadable!]
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  12. Egon Franck & Stephan Nüesch, 2005. "Talent, Past Consumption and/or Popularity - Are German Soccer Celebrities Rosen or Adler Stars?," Working Papers 0043, University of Zurich, Institute for Strategy and Business Economics (ISU), revised 2006. [Downloadable!]
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  13. Orley Ashenfelter, 1977. "Unemployment as Disequilibrium in a Model of Aggregate Labor Supply," Working Papers 484, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section.. [Downloadable!]
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  14. Eric Strobl & Clive Tucker, 2000. "The Dynamics of Chart Success in the U.K. Pre-Recorded Popular Music Industry," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 113-134, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  15. David E. Giles, 2005. "Increasing Returns to Information in the U.S. Popular Music Industry," Econometrics Working Papers 0510, Department of Economics, University of Victoria. [Downloadable!]
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