How Collaboration Is Stifling Innovation in the Music Streaming Market

Abstract

The subscription streaming market, dominated by some of the world’s most innovative companies (Spotify, Apple, Amazon, and Google) is surprisingly homogenous: same products, same prices, same catalogs. At the same time, there are countless other music streaming startups that have “died on the vine,” as Rutgers professor Michael Carrier once wrote. Why is this? In a new article, I examine how the major record labels (Universal Music, Sony Music, and Warner Music) have created a market largely devoid of choice by leveraging a contracting framework that was once believed to promote innovation.

Document Type

Op-ed

Publication Date

2-12-2024

Source Publication

CLS Blue Sky Blog

Disciplines

Antitrust and Trade Regulation | Commercial Law | Contracts | Law

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