Who Are We Including in Cultural Conversations?
Thesis Title: ‘The Health of Cultural Markets Under Copyright: Streaming Platforms and Cultural Exclusion’
Queensland University of Technology
Supervisors: Dr Kylie Pappalardo, Dr David Richard and Prof Nic Suzor
The diversity of content we can access matters
A conversation about art and culture enriches our lives. Popular films and series are a major part of modern popular culture. The paper does not advance an argument that access to cultural goods is currently unacceptable purely because the pricing of cultural goods is too high and consumers deserve better value for their money. The central argument is that cultural exclusion occurs when consumers are unable to access the current zeitgeist of film and television series. They are excluded from the cultural conversation. The inability to access the zeitgeist of video content is fundamentally connected to the range of content on SVOD platforms, which is exacerbated by the high pricing of subscriptions. The issue is not that middle to upper class consumers are incensed at the high price of cultural goods. Rather, societal divisions along class lines are extended to accessing and consuming cultural goods.
What content can be accessed on video streaming platforms?
I will answer this question through quantitative data collection. I am curating lists of film and television content (commercially valuable content, critically valued content and Australian content). A random sample will be taken. Using the Digital Media Observatory scraping platform, I will collect data on the availability of these titles across the streaming services accessible in Australia. The data methodology is designed to conclude whether the wide variety of consumer tastes are captured within the accessible content. The study will conclude whether the range of available content can encourage valuable cultural conversations.
How is copyright law contributing to the diversity of content?
Drawing on my law background, I will investigate how copyright law, in bolstering the economic value of video content, influences the range of content that is licensed by SVOD platforms for service. Areas of interest including the effect of pricing of cultural goods, the term of copyright comprehensively extending the economic life of content and the gridlock of rights that can occur. The paper will consider whether a compulsory licensing system would enhance the range of content by lowering prices and increasing the ability of competing platforms to licence the same content, rather than exclusive releases.
This project values what Madhavi Sunder labels '… truly democratic participation in cultural debates about the meaning of the works themselves'.
— Madhavi Sunder, ‘From Goods to a Good Life: Intellectual Property and Global Justice’ (51)