ABSTRACT

This chapter explores how academic economists have analysed the economics of music. From the late 1990s, faced with the record industry crisis instigated by new digital technologies of recording and its consequences, notably CD piracy, public authorities promoted research into the digital economy and royalties. The musical field naturally became a privileged subject for research, and the economics of music thus made a noted entry into academic research. It was not until the 2000s that some tentative economic studies in the sector of contemporary music institutions could be observed. The industrial aspects of the music sector have for a long time produced much research. Analysis of the cultural employment market has produced much research in France, notably due to the particular nature of the unemployment benefit system in place for people working in the arts, but such research avoids dealing specifically with musicians' income.