Will Page | |
---|---|
Nationality | British |
Occupation(s) | Economist, author |
Will Page is a British economist, author, podcaster and DJ. He is the former Chief Economist at streaming music service Spotify, [1] a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, [2] and a Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics and the Edinburgh Futures Institute.
Page graduated with an MSc in Economics at the University of Edinburgh in 2002. His Master's thesis ‘Germany's Mezzogiorno Revisited’ looked at the problems facing East Germany ten years after German Reunification. The paper was published by Deutsche Bank in 2003, and cited in 2005 by Martin Wolf in the Financial Times .
From 2002–2006 Page worked for the Government Economic Service at the Scottish Executive, working for the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser and Department of Finance. [3] He contributed to the Scottish Executive Economic Discussion Paper Series with a publication on ‘Infrastructure Investment & Economic Growth’. [4] While there he moonlighted as a music journalist for the magazine Straight No Chaser . [5] [6]
From 2006–2012 Page was Chief Economist at PRS for Music, a non-profit collection society representing writers, composers and music publishers in the UK. [7]
In this role he published writing about topics such as the economic strength of the UK music industry [8] [9] and Long Tail theory in the music industry. [10] and on the success of Radiohead's In Rainbows album.
In 2008 he co-authored an influential paper in which he challenged Chris Anderson's popular Long Tail theory, showing that the demand for digital music instead followed a log-normal distribution. [11] [12] In another paper, In Rainbows, On Torrents written with Eric Garland, Page discussed whether Radiohead's innovative pay-what-you-wish release of its seventh album could compete with illegal free downloads, and observed that it could not, with two million copies of the album shared on file-sharing networks within a month of release; as the Washington Post summed it up, "legal free was trumped by illegal free." [13] [14] [15]
In May 2010 Page helped save the new music radio station BBC 6 Music. [16]
Page joined Spotify as Chief Economist in 2012. [17] In this role he was deeply involved in Spotify's industry outreach and lobbying efforts. [2]
Early in his career at Spotify, he focussed heavily on the impact the Swedish streaming service was having on music piracy. Focussing on The Netherlands he established that "piracy [in the Netherlands] overall is now lower, and artists that engage with Spotify see less piracy." [18] This work led to a study on Spotify's relationship with festivals in the Netherlands [19] and a similar study on piracy in Australia that showed a decrease in downloads from 2012 to 2014. [20]
Page's focus then moved to the transformative impact Spotify was having on the music business generally, and how it exposed concepts like 'catalogue' and 'frontline' as antiquated and not fit for purpose. In a seminal study on the band Imagine Dragons, he demonstrated how artists will often see more streams in the second year of release than the first. [21]
He was an expert witness in the US Copyright Royalty Board's Determination of Rates and Terms for Making and Distributing Phonorecords, often termed "Phonorecords III", regarding mechanical streaming rates. [22] He challenged the claims that Spotify was at fault for cannibalizing revenues from downloads by showing how Canada's iTunes revenues, for example, went into decline without the presence of streaming services like Spotify. [23]
Throughout his tenure at Spotify he championed the global value of copyright by piecing together three sources of revenue that are typically presented independently: the IFPI Global Music Report; CISAC's Global Collections Report; and Music & Copyright value of music publishing. [24] [25] [26] [27] His work included an annual analysis on the global value of copyright. [28]
His work also looked at data on how songs were becoming hits for artists like Lorde as streaming took hold, [29] and drew attention to the value of the UK music industry as a national export. [30]
In 2019 he left Spotify to transition from economist to author, having contracted with Simon and Schuster in the UK and Little Brown & Company in the US to write a consumer-facing book about disruption in various industries. [2] The book, titled Tarzan Economics: Eight Principles for Pivoting Through Disruption, came out in 2021.
In 2020 Page was made a fellow of the London School of Economics Marshall Institute, and has continued his affiliation with its European Institute from 2021 through the present. With Chris Dalla Riva he wrote the paper "‘Glocalisation’ of Music Streaming within and across Europe" for the LSE. It explored the unexpected rise of local artists on global streaming services. [31] [32] [33]
In May 2021 his book Tarzan Economics: Eight Principles for Pivoting Through Disruption was published by Simon and Schuster in the UK and by Little, Brown and Company in the US. The book argued that industries need to find ways to work with, not against, disruption, [34] and that the experience of the music industry bears lessons for other sectors. [35] The book has secured five translations to date: into Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean and German. On Audible, the book is narrated by Angus King. [36]
In his post-Spotify career Page continued to report on the total global value of music copyright [37] and other aspects of the music business, such as the impact of COVID-19, [38] new developments in streaming services, [39] and artists' objections to streaming services' practices. [40]
Beginning in May 2021 Page and Richard Kramer have co-hosted "Bubble Trouble," a podcast on the Magnificent Noise network discussing inconvenient truths about financial markets. [41]
In 2019, Page was an executive producer of the documentary Black Stars of Highlife which traced the history of Highlife music from its origins in Ghana and through its many fusions, telling a story of musical cross-pollination between the West and West Africa.
Page has released an annual DJ mix on MixCloud. [42] Carole King provided the introduction for the most recent, titled "Believe in Humanity" after King's song of that name. [43]
Tarzan Economics: Eight Principles for Pivoting Through Disruption, Little, Brown and Company, 2021 [34]
2023: "‘Glocalisation’ of Music Streaming within and across Europe" – inspired by British artists having accounted for all of the Top 10 in Britain's end-of-year singles chart in 2022, this study found that in most countries studied, the share of domestic artists and songs in a country's Top 10 had increased: "Contrary to the perverse effects of globalisation where large markets often dominate small, we uncover evidence of local markets growing in their domestic identity." [31] [32]
2021: "Twitch's Rockonomics" – a study of how live streaming and live music could coexist after the COVID-19 pandemic [44]
2015–Present: Annual reports on the global value of music copyright, [24] analyses showing, for example, that the total value had increased from $25 billion in 2015 [25] to $39.6 billion in 2021, [26] and that the percentage of the total from streaming rose from 22% in 2016 to 54% in 2020. [27]
2016–2019: Discussion papers for Society of Economics Research on Copyright Issues:
2012–2019: Various publications for Spotify on subjects such as online privacy, online advertising, and social media, such as "Does the music industry's definition of 'catalogue' need an upgrade?" [49]
For PRS 2006–2012:
Financial Times articles including:
The Economist
Numerous articles for Billboard including:
Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a stream of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downloading, a process in which the end-user obtains an entire media file before consuming the content. Streaming is more commonly used for video-on-demand, streaming television, and music streaming services over the Internet.
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1933 by Francesco Braga. It operates a secretariat based in London, with regional offices in Brussels, Hong Kong, Miami, Abu Dhabi, Singapore and Nairobi.
PRS for Music Limited is a British music copyright collective, made up of two collection societies: the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and the Performing Right Society (PRS). It undertakes collective rights management for musical works on behalf of its 175,000 members. PRS for Music was formed in 1997 following the MCPS-PRS Alliance. In 2009, PRS and MCPS-PRS Alliance realigned their brands and became PRS for Music.
A green economy is an economy that aims at reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without degrading the environment. It is closely related with ecological economics, but has a more politically applied focus. The 2011 UNEP Green Economy Report argues "that to be green, an economy must not only be efficient, but also fair. Fairness implies recognizing global and country level equity dimensions, particularly in assuring a Just Transition to an economy that is low-carbon, resource efficient, and socially inclusive."
The Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) is an organisation that collects royalties and protects rights for music publisher, song writer and composer members, when their music is reproduced, in any format – including online, physical and synchronised.
The music industry refers to the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, represent and supply music creators. Among the many individuals and organizations that operate in the industry are: the songwriters and composers who write songs and musical compositions; the singers, musicians, conductors, and bandleaders who perform the music; the record labels, music publishers, recording studios, music producers, audio engineers, retail and digital music stores, and performance rights organizations who create and sell recorded music and sheet music; and the booking agents, promoters, music venues, road crew, and audio engineers who help organize and sell concerts.
Monetization is, broadly speaking, the process of converting something into money. The term has a broad range of uses. In banking, the term refers to the process of converting or establishing something into legal tender. While it usually refers to the coining of currency or the printing of banknotes by central banks, it may also take the form of a promissory currency. The term "monetization" may also be used informally to refer to exchanging possessions for cash or cash equivalents, including selling a security interest, charging fees for something that used to be free, or attempting to make money on goods or services that were previously unprofitable or had been considered to have the potential to earn profits. And data monetization refers to a spectrum of ways information assets can be converted into economic value.
The open music model is an economic and technological framework for the recording industry based on research conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It predicts that the playback of prerecorded music will be regarded as a service rather than as individually sold products, and that the only system for the digital distribution of music that will be viable against piracy is a subscription-based system supporting file sharing and free of digital rights management. The research also indicated that US$9 per month for unlimited use would be the market clearing price at that time, but recommended $5 per month as the long-term optimal price.
Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) is a British music copyright collective. It is a private limited company that is registered in the UK. PPL was founded by Decca Records and EMI and incorporated on 12 May 1934, and undertakes collective rights management of sound recordings on behalf of its record-company members, and distributes the fees collected to both its record company members and performer members. As of 2022, PPL collected royalties for over 140,000 performers and recording rightsholders.
Copyright infringement is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, such as the right to reproduce, distribute, display or perform the protected work, or to produce derivative works. The copyright holder is usually the work's creator, or a publisher or other business to whom copyright has been assigned. Copyright holders routinely invoke legal and technological measures to prevent and penalize copyright infringement.
Deezer is a French music streaming service founded in 2007 that provides users with access to a vast library of music tracks, podcasts, and radio stations. The company has been a subsidiary of Access Industries since 2016. It offers streaming services in over 180 countries and features a catalog of more than 90 million licensed tracks, making it one of the largest streaming platforms available. Deezer is available on various devices, including Android, iOS, macOS and others.
Spotify is a Swedish audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. As of September 2024, it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services, with over 640 million monthly active users comprising 252 million paying subscribers. Spotify is listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the form of American depositary receipts.
In the first decade of the 21st century, the rise of digital media on the internet and computers as a central and primary means to record, distribute, store, and play music caused widespread economic changes in the music industry. The rise of digital media with high-speed internet access fundamentally changed the relationships between artists, record companies, promoters, retail music stores, the technology industry, and consumers. The rise of digital music consumption options contributed to several fundamental changes in consumption. One significant change in the music industry was the remarkable decline of conventional album sales on CD and vinyl. With the à la carte sales models increasing in popularity, consumers no longer downloaded entire albums but rather chose single songs.
A music streaming service is a type of online streaming media service that focuses primarily on music, and sometimes other forms of digital audio content such as podcasts. These services are usually subscription-based services allowing users to stream digital copyright restricted songs on-demand from a centralized library provided by the service. Some services may offer free tiers with limitations, such as advertising and limits on use. They typically incorporate a recommender system to help users discover other songs they may enjoy based on their listening history and other factors, as well as the ability to create and share public playlists with other users. It may also include customized radio or social media platforms.
The Indian Music Industry (IMI) is a trust that represents the recording industry distributors in India. It was founded on 28 February 1936, as Indian Phonographic Industry (IPI). It is the 2nd oldest music industry organisation in the world that was involved in protecting copyrights of music producers and supporting growth of music entertainment industry. In 1994, it was renamed as Indian Music Industry (IMI) and represented India at the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). It is also registered with the West Bengal Societies Registration Act. All major music labels in India are part of this association.
SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming services in the world and is available in 190 countries and territories. The service has more than 76 million active monthly users and over 200 million audio tracks as of November 2021. SoundCloud offers both free and paid memberships on the platform, available for mobile, desktop and Xbox devices. SoundCloud has evolved from a traditional online streaming platform to an entertainment company.
Music piracy is the copying and distributing of recordings of a piece of music for which the rights owners did not give consent. In the contemporary legal environment, it is a form of copyright infringement, which may be either a civil wrong or a crime depending on jurisdiction. The late 20th and early 21st centuries saw much controversy over the ethics of redistributing media content, how much production and distribution companies in the media were losing, and the very scope of what ought to be considered piracy – and cases involving the piracy of music were among the most frequently discussed in the debate.
The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA), originally the Independent Music Publishers and Labels Association, is a non-profit trade association established in 2000 to help European independent record labels represent their agenda and promote independent music. Its offices are in Brussels, Belgium. IMPALA is a member of the Worldwide Independent Network (WIN), a coalition of independent music bodies from countries throughout the world.
Mariana Francesca Mazzucato is an Italian–American-British economist and academic. She is a professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London (UCL) and founding director of the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP). She is best known for her work on dynamics of technological change, the role of the public sector in innovation, and the concept of value in economics. The New Republic have called her one of the "most important thinkers about innovation".
Online piracy or software piracy is the practice of downloading and distributing copyrighted works digitally without permission, such as music, movies or software.
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