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New technology and market structure: Evidence from the music recording industry

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Abstract

This paper explores how new scale-reducing technology induced two periods of substantial new entry into the music recording industry. Many of the new firms were product innovators, whose products became popular with consumers. This in turn leads to shifts in the distribution of industry market share, and hence market structure. Reconcentration in the industry resulted largely from horizontal mergers, among other reasons. New digital distribution networks may induce a third-wave of industry deconcentration.

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Alexander, P.J. New technology and market structure: Evidence from the music recording industry. J Cult Econ 18, 113–123 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01078934

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