Download Media Markets and Commodities

Media Commodities and
Markets
Concepts, Terms, Et Ceteras
OBEY, CONSUME
Commodities???



Commodities: products/services sold in
markets. Labor/Sale…
Perceived Value=Higher Cost
Marx...Value=Labor


Tradeable product of human work
Media Commodities:
content/software/hardware.
The Office
Commodification???
• Products, ideas, values, feelings or people
are turned into commodities.
Audience Commodity


“What economic function for capital do
they serve?” -Smythe (1977)
Audience commodity is:
–
–
–
the main product produced by media
that earn their primary revenues from
advertisers
Group of people that advertisers want
sell products to via
ads...DEMOGRAPHIC
All awake time was labor (work, audience
commodity through media)
AC Cont'd
• Labor=Decision to buy
Picard, “Unique Characteristics”
•
•
Media product vary among one another
Single Creation: AUDIENCE
–
–
•
creative/idea driven, CREATE content,
marketing, high failure
Manage portfolio and risk
Continuous Creation: AUDIENCE
COMM.
–
–
Concept driven/continuity, SELECT
content
Improve product/manage brands
Picard Cont'd
•
Distribution
–
•
How different:
–
–
–
•
•
Fixed cost vs. economies of scale
Creative work based on info/ideas
Copyright
Influence public policy/democracy
Supply
Demand
How different?
• Intangible, reusable, non-consumable
• Serve other industries (ads/promote)
– No Ads?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Info on other markets
Democracy
Ideological role?...
Reproduction?
Non Rivalrous
Intellectual Property
Expansive commodity/Franchise
Diversification/Synergy/Franchising
• Different commodities/markets but the
same…?
Media Markets
• Where buyers and sellers come together
to exchange media commodities.
– Software/Hardware
– Ads
• Geography/Product
• Industry?
• Multiple markets (Sony)
Understanding Markets
• Supply…Producers
– Low price=more buying
• Demand…Consumers
– Low price=more product
• Underlying market goal…
• Different Markets within ONE MEDIA
Market…
Markets In a Market?
Albarran
•
Dual Product Market
–
–
•
•
Goods/Product
Advertising/Access to eye and ears
Geographical
Market defined by
–
–
–
Concentration of buyers/seller
Product variation
Barrier of entry
Market Structures
• Monopoly: single seller of a product dominates
the market...price setters
– Local Newspapers
– Cable
• Oligopoly?...interdependence.
• Monopolistic competition: many sellers, similar
products, no perfect substitution
– Magazines
• Perfect competition: many sellers, same
products, no domination. Price takers
Why Competition is Good???
•
•
•
•
•
People make $$$
More choice and better products
Regulate and/or lower price
Consumer power
Competitive markets are…
– Effective
– Democratic