{"product_id":"digital-renaissance-joel-waldfogel-9780691162829","title":"Digital Renaissance: What Data and Economics Tell Us about the Future of Popular Culture","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHow digital technology is upending the traditional creative industries--and why that might be a good thing\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe digital revolution poses a mortal threat to the major creative industries--music, publishing, television, and the movies. The ease with which digital files can be copied and distributed has unleashed a wave of piracy with disastrous effects on revenue. Cheap, easy self-publishing is eroding the position of these gatekeepers and guardians of culture. Does this revolution herald the collapse of culture, as some commentators claim? Far from it. In \u003ci\u003eDigital Renaissance\u003c\/i\u003e, Joel Waldfogel argues that digital technology is enabling a new golden age of popular culture, a veritable digital renaissance. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBy reducing the costs of production, distribution, and promotion, digital technology is democratizing access to the cultural marketplace. More books, songs, television shows, and movies are being produced than ever before. Nor does this mean a tidal wave of derivative, poorly produced kitsch; analyzing decades of production and sales data, as well as bestseller and best-of lists, Waldfogel finds that the new digital model is just as successful at producing high-quality, successful work as the old industry model, and in many cases more so. The vaunted gatekeeper role of the creative industries proves to have been largely mythical. The high costs of production have stifled creativity in industries that require ever-bigger blockbusters to cover the losses on ever-more-expensive failures. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAre we drowning in a tide of cultural silt, or living in a golden age for culture? The answers in \u003ci\u003eDigital Renaissance\u003c\/i\u003e may surprise you.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Joel Waldfogel\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0691162824\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780691162829\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/13\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.55lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.50h x 6.50w x 1.20d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/01\/2019","brand":"Joel Waldfogel","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43925621866751,"sku":"9780691162829","price":27.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_8fb78a09-9b55-435d-ac61-0a43ba5e711f.jpg?v=1681078361","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/digital-renaissance-joel-waldfogel-9780691162829","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}