Abstract
In this paper we investigate the dynamics of chartsuccess in the U.K. pre-recorded popular music industryover the period 1980 to 1993 using the British albumchart listings. We find that the incidence of chartsuccess is substantially skewed to the right, whethermeasured by total weeks spent per artist, averageweeks spent per album, or the total number of albumslisted per artist. We subsequently investigatepossible determinants of the length of chart survivalof albums in order to determine what may be drivingthe observed skewness. Our results indicate that thetype of album, seasonal demand, and initial popularityplay an important role in ensuring continued chartlisting of an album.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adler, M. (1985) “Stardom and Talent”. American Economic Review 75: 208–212.
Burke, A.E. (1995) Employment Prospects in the Irish Music Industry. Paper presented to the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland (January).
Burke, A.E. (1996) “The Dynamics of Product Differentiation in the British Record Industry”. Journal of Cultural Economics 20: 145–164.
Burke, A.E. (1997) “Small Firm Start-Up by Composers in the Recording Industry”. Small Business Economics 9: 463–471.
Chung, K.H. and Cox, A.K. (1994) “A Stochastic Model of Superstardom: An Application of the Yule Distribution”. Review of Economics and Statistics 76: 771–775.
Dane, C. (1995) Rock Accounts 1995. Media Research Publishing, Weston-super-Mare.
Denisoff, R.S. (1986) Tarnished Gold: The Record Industry Revisited. Transaction Books, New Brunswick.
Evans, D.S. and Jovanovic, B. (1989) “An Estimated Model of Entrepreneurial Choice under Liquidity Constraints”. Journal of Political Economy 97: 808–827.
Hamlen, A.W. (1991) “Superstardom in Popular Music: Empirical Evidence”. Review of Economics and Statistics 73: 729–733.
Karmel, P.H. and Polasek, M. (1970) Applied Statistics for Economists (3rd edn). Pitman Publishing, Bath.
Lewis, E.E. (1953) Methods of Statistical Analysis in Economics and Business. The Riverside Press, Boston.
Leibenstein, H. (1950) “Bandwagon, Snob, and Veblen Effects in the Theory of Consumers' Demand”, reprinted in W. Breit and H.M. Hochman (eds.), Readings in Microeconomics, pp. 111–127. Holt, Rineheart and Winston, New York.
MacDonald, G.M. (1988) “The Economics of Rising Stars”. American Economic Review 78: 155–166.
Music Business International (1996) The MBI World Report. Miller Freeman Entertainment Ltd., London.
New Musical Express (1993) 30 Years of NME Album Charts. Boxtree, London.
Rosen, S. (1981) “The Economics of Superstars”. American Economic Review 71: 845–858.
Towse, R. (1992) “The Earnings of Singers: An Economic Analysis”, in R. Towse and A. Khakee (eds.), Cultural Economics, pp. 209–217. Springer Verlag, Heidelberg.
Towse, R. (1993) Singers in the Marketplace: The Economics of the Singing Profession. Clarendon Press, Oxford.
Tucker, C. (1997) An Economic Analysis of Popular Music Industry. Unpublished M. Litt. Thesis, Trinity College Dublin.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Strobl, E.A., Tucker, C. The Dynamics of Chart Success in the U.K. Pre-Recorded Popular Music Industry. Journal of Cultural Economics 24, 113–134 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007601402245
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007601402245