Course 2010-2011 a.y.

Course Objectives

Content industries are undergoing structural changes driven by technological innovations as well as customer  behavior. Three major effects are relevant for the purposes of this course:

• convergence of once separate competitive spaces;
• explosion of distribution channels;
• entrepreneurial ferment.

The goals of the course are:

• to discuss the specificity of content industries and the different drivers of competitive advantage for producers and distributors in the mass and niche markets;
• to analyze the issue of convergence and the implications for new and traditional players in content industries;
• to assess the sustainability of emerging business models
• to discuss the possibilities offered by the explosion of distribution channels to content diffusion.

Course Content Summary

The course is about the evolution of content industries in a converging world, with an emphasis on the role of distribution channels in scouting and promoting new artists as well as established players.

The course is logically divided into four parts:

• Content production and distribution in mass and niche markets;
• Innovation at the borders of competitive spaces: convergence and the emergence of new business models;
• Strategies of incumbents and newcomers;
• Business models in content distribution and diffusion.

Detailed Description of Assessment Methods

Attending students

• Mid term exam (25% of the total grade)
• Final written exam (25% of the total grade)
• Multimedia group project (40% of the total grade)
• Class participation (10% of the total grade)

Non - Attending students

• Final written exam

Textbooks

Attending students

• Reading package with cases and copyrighted material available at EGEA bookstore.
• Links to materials available on the web listed in the detailed program.
• All students enrolled in class will receive extra material under creative common licence via mail.

Non Attending students

• Reading package with cases and copyrighted material available at EGEA bookstore.
• Links to materials available on the web listed in the detailed program.

Prerequisites