Copyright reform and business model innovation: Regulatory propaganda at German music industry conferences

Inspired by new digital technologies, diverse actors in cultural and creative industries propagate conflicting visions of how to adequately innovate – or rather preserve and strictly enforce – copyright-related business models, which has resulted in substantial amounts of regulatory uncertainty. Looking at a decade of regulatory discourse at industry events in the popular music industry in Germany, we investigate how these actors make sense of and strategically shape this uncertainty in the process of industry transformation. Our longitudinal argumentative discourse analysis reveals cycles of regulatory propaganda of two discourse coalitions that do not engage in debate, but aim to find support for competing business models among regulators and the public. Organizing, canceling, and participating in industry events are discursive strategies used effectively to transport their claims by both industry lobbyists and challenging actors, but industry incumbents are failing to use these sites for testing out and introducing new business models. We conclude that regulatory struggles, not least at industry events, mediate between disruptive technologies and business model innovation. ⺠Analysis of regulatory discourse at industry events in the German music industry from 2001 to 2010 ⺠Regulatory uncertainty returns as actors (fail to) innovate in existing regulatory settings. ⺠Industry events as discursive spaces for regulatory propaganda targeting allies, legislatures and publics ⺠Address regulatory uncertainty not only attending but also by canceling or founding new industry events ⺠Importance of national regulatory discourse even in globalized industries with strong international law