This material has been prepared by Will Page at the MCPS-PRS Alliance for information purposes only and should not be relied on for any other purpose. It does not constitute the view of the Management or the Boards of MCPS, PRS or any associated company. It is provided for the information of the intended recipient only and should not be reproduced or disclosed to any other person without the consent of the MCPS-PRS Alliance PR department. For further enquiries, information, and to request permissions, please contact: press@mcps-prs-alliance.co.uk
Will Page is the Chief Economist at the MCPS PRS Alliance. He graduated with a MSc in Economics in 2002 and worked for four years at the UK Government Economic Service. His role is to provide analytical support to colleagues within the Alliance and to provide economic insight to the music industry as a whole. His work is focussed around three main areas: economic modelling of the recorded music business, the application competition law in two-sided markets and the broken supply chain between copyright and ISPs. He is currently working with Professor Elberse, of Harvard Business School, on the profile, tension and profitability that exists within 'Long Tail' markets.
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UPDATED 1 OCTOBER 2008
Economic Insight 7 – Competition with Reciprocity in a Two Sided Market – A Primer
Although the burgeoning literature on this subject of 'two-sided markets' has obvious relevance to collecting societies, who provide a two-sided platform for rights holders and users, the theory rarely gets discussed in the exchanges between societies, stakeholders and the European Commission. Here, Will Page provides a 'primer' on the theory to make us better placed to understand where competition law and collecting societies might be misunderstanding one another.
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Ecomonic Insight 11 - The R Words: Recession and Royalties
The 'R' word 'recession' is being used with increasing frequency these days, so much so that there's a legitimate danger that the media could talk the economy into entering one. But what actually is a recession, what effects will it have on the UK economy and then what impact will be felt by the various sectors of the music industry? Here, Will Page works through the two 'R' words - recession and royalties - to help the music industry understand who wins and who loses, when an economy contracts for two quarters or more.
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Economic Insight 10 - In Rainbows, On Torrents
For all the media hysteria that surrounded the In Rainbows project, and what the 'average price paid' might have been, there is another less intuitive but far more relevant question that has yet to be asked, or answered. That is, did their offer of their album 'for free' succeed in diverting traffic away from/Torrent sites, and (back) towards their own 'venue' of InRainbows.com? Put another way: could 'legal free' displace 'illegal free'. Will Page teams up with Eric Garland, CEO of Big Champagne to provide a meaningful answer.
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Music Ally 7 June 2008 - Wannamaker's Solution?
Will Page, Chief Economist at the MCPS PRS Alliance, looks at the potential revenues to be gained from advertising funded models, and the economic problems which stand in the way of realising them.
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© The Register 28 March 2008 - Can 1,000 Fans Replace the Music Business?
Will Page picks through Kevin Kelly's 1,000 true fans argument and finds the maths doesn't add up.
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Economic Insight 9 - Should Societies Pursue Equity?
Will Page tag-teams with David Touve of Vanderbilt University to instigate a wider discussion about the contentious issue of 'taking equity', providing a catalyst for rights holders to work through what that question would entail.
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Economic Insight 8 - Understanding and interpreting the digital market
Will Page, with contributions from Bruce Dickinson, Oliver Tuercke and IFPI Director of Market Research Gabi Lopes, provides a comprehensive understanding and interpretation of the digital market.
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Economic Insight 6 - Getting the bundle back, Pt. 1: Albumbase.com
Will Page pools his economic analysis with the technical awareness of Paul Sanders of Playlouder, to provide much needed insight into the increasingly and diverse secondary black market for music.
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Economic Insight 2 - A prisoner's dilemma?
What can the film A Beautiful Mind teach us about competition between Europe's Collecting Societies?
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Economic Insight 1 - The value is in the scarcity, but also in the convenience
What can the economics of ticket touting teach creators about the pricing of their music?
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Music Ally 29 November 2007 - Is live the future of music?
Will Page, Chief Economist at the MCPS-PRS Alliance, offers an economic view on how best to approach this question, and whether an answer can be constructed.
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Music Ally 18 October 2007 - Economics: Time To Face The Music
Will Page, Executive Director of Research at the MCPS-PRS Alliance, gives an explanation of the concept of 'wallet share' to help us find out.
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Transmission Conference Paper - Is the price of recorded music heading towards zero?
A conference paper prepared by Will for Transmission - a conference which took place in Canada from 30 November - 2 December 2006.
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