Suzanne Lainson: Music and the "Gift Economy".

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1: An Introduction

I have been planning on doing a piece about gift economies for quite awhile. I've already discussed pay-what-you-want models, but didn't get into the concept of a gift economy.

I've decided to tackle it now because I'm noticing a shift in conversations about music business models from "we'll all be small business people" to "I'll make music and give it away and see what happens." And Nancy Baym, who has written about fan communities, recently did a presentation on gift exchanges as the basis for fan involvement in music: "Nancy Baym on Changing Relationships, Changing Industries."

Here are two text summaries of her presentation:

* "Nancy Baym: Pop music and social exchange."

* "Nancy Baym: Changing Relationships, Changing Industries."

Suzanne Lainson: Music and the "Gift Economy".