Concluding Remarks

Abstract

This monograph integrated applied economic and statistical theory into a framework for the study of income in a performing rights organization. We test the empirical assumptions of Anderson (2008) and his Long Tail theory in an application of music performance copyright. The hope behind this study is that it would continue to broaden the scope in the study of cultural economics along the lines of Ginsburg and Throsby (2006). Putting aside all of the legal, regulatory, and contestable markets’ case studies that have been done on PROs in general, there has been few, if any, empirical studies of PRO members in economic literature. This study, among others, is the first step in bridging that empirical gap. This study is limited in scope, for obvious reasons and due in part to the proprietary nature of the data involved when it comes to royalty income and licensing fees in contractual agreements. We did not address all of the questions when it comes to the many issues involved in music copyright because of data limitations, time constraints, and other factors. We will, however, define some of the unanswered questions in the following sections that may worth further economic and policy analyses.