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Taxing Purchases of Home Tape Recorders and Supplies to Compensate for Copyright Infringements: An Econometric Analysis of the Role of Economic and Demographic Factors
Author(s) -
WIDDOWS RICHARD,
MCHUGH RICHARD J.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
journal of consumer affairs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.582
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1745-6606
pISSN - 0022-0078
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6606.1984.tb00336.x
Subject(s) - legislation , music industry , advertising , business , windfall gain , economics , econometric analysis , marketing , law , finance , macroeconomics , psychology , pedagogy , political science , music education
Faced with a sharp decline in sales in the early 1980's, the music industry looked for an explanation which could be converted into windfall gains for itself. The explanation proposed by the industry was increased home taping of prerecorded music. Through the introduction of federal legislation, the industry hoped to realize gains at the expense of the consumer of home taping equipment and media. The analysis presented here indicates that the independent effect of taping on prerecorded music sales may not have been as high as the recording industry has claimed, so that consumers may end up paying more than their fair share toward the windfall.