Product Description

In this newly revised book, Harold L. Vogel examines the business economics of the major entertainment enterprises: movies, music, television programming, broadcasting, cable, casino gambling and wagering, publishing, performing arts, sports, theme parks, and toys and games. The seventh edition has been further revised and broadened and differs from its predecessors by restructuring and repositioning the previous Internet chapter, including new material on the economics of networks and advertising, adding a new section on policy implications, and further expanding the section on recent theoretical work pertaining to box-office behaviour. The result is a comprehensive up-to-date reference guide on the economics, financing, production, and marketing of entertainment in the United States and overseas. Investors, business executives, accountants, lawyers, arts administrators, and general readers will find that the book offers an invaluable guide to how entertainment industries operate.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #80326 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 646 pages

Review
'From the death of vinyl to the rise of cable, Vogel has ferried investors through some major show business crises.' Matthew Benz, Billboard

About the Author
Harold L. Vogel is the author of Travel Industry Economics: A Guide for Financial Analysis (Cambridge University Press, 2001), a companion volume to this textbook. He was senior entertainment industry analyst at Merrill Lynch & Co. for 17 years and was ranked as top entertainment industry analyst for a record 10 years by Institutional Investor magazine. A chartered financial analyst, he formerly served on the New York State Governor's Motion Picture and Television Advisory Board and as adjunct professor of media economics at Columbia University's Graduate School of Business. Mr Vogel frequently writes and speaks on investment topics related to entertainment and media, leisure, and travel and currently heads an independent investment firm in New York City.

Customer Reviews

Great overview of the business of entertainment
This book is certainly the best economic text I've ever read. It covers all aspects of the entertainment business, including film, television, cable TV, music, gaming, and Broadway. People currently in the entertainment biz can add to their knowledge, while novices and those with a general background in economics will have a fantastic primer from Vogel.

Lays it all out
I had always wondered how claims of unprofitable multimillion dollar-grossing films could be substantiated; now I know. The author provides a very good presentation of the details of entertainment financing. I particularly liked its up-to-date financial information on specific films; as well as the explanation of the power balance among studios, producers and distributors. All of this, while providing a historical backdrop explaining how things got to this point made for compelling reading.

It may be a bit dry, but that's what you want from a text like this. Better that than to err on the side of being too insider-focussed, name-droppy, or "lite." This book explains how the money flows and that riveting enough for me.

Best used as a reference
This book is the most complete available dealing with the various industries that make up "entertainment " in our society. It has many nice figures and tables that can be used to illustrate a point if you're a student doing a report, or a teacher covering this area in a lecture. But, it is a very dry read otherwise. It works best for me as a reference text to be used in companion to other texts on the various subjects. It'll have to be updated anually to be a valid reference in this age of the internet... it could use a website to go along with it maybe? Good book to keep on the shelf and refer to when you need a stat.