Digital Media Law

Chapter 1:
Defining Digital Media

Chapter 1 introduces the concept of “digital media” and situates it within the broader landscape of media law. The chapter explores how advances in technology have reshaped the creation, distribution, and consumption of content, and how these changes impact the legal frameworks governing media. Students will learn the defining characteristics of both traditional (legacy) media and digital media, and consider how the two compare, overlap, and diverge.

By understanding the economic, technological, and regulatory differences between these two categories, students will gain a foundation for the legal issues discussed throughout the rest of the text.

Key Concepts in this Chapter

Traditional Media Characteristics

  • High barriers to entry (capital-intensive infrastructure like printing presses, broadcast towers, recording studios).

  • Market dominance by a small number of major enterprises.

  • Reliance on intermediaries for distribution (e.g., publishers, cable providers).

  • Use of audience measurement tools like Nielsen ratings.

Digital Media Characteristics

  • Lower barriers to entry due to inexpensive production and distribution technology.

  • Emergence of independent creators and “creator economy” alongside traditional media players.

  • Direct-to-consumer relationships via platforms such as YouTube, Spotify, or TikTok.

  • The blending of consumption formats: watching, reading, or listening across multiple devices.

Economic Models

  • Pareto principle in traditional media (a few “hits” subsidize many “misses”).

  • Digital platforms often rely on subscriptions, ad-supported content, or creator monetization tools.

Blurring Lines

  • Traditional media companies expanding into digital (e.g., Disney+ or Paramount+).

  • Independent creators achieving mainstream-level audiences without traditional gatekeepers.

  • Podcasts and streaming platforms as modern manifestations of radio and television.

 

Test Your Knowledge

1. Asynchronous media consumption means content is:

 
 
 
 

2. Podcast popularity grew largely because the format allows content to be:

 
 
 
 

3. Which of these is an example of a digital media ‘enterprise’ spawned by new platforms?

 
 
 
 

4. The Pareto principle, as applied to traditional media catalogs, predicts roughly what percentage of titles generate 80% of revenue?

 
 
 
 

5. According to the text, what is a key economic characteristic of traditional media enterprises?

 
 
 
 

6. Which of the following is NOT listed as a traditional broadcast television network in the United States?

 
 
 
 

7. One disadvantage traditional media companies face compared to digital media companies is:

 
 
 
 

8. Which term best describes media such as newspapers, broadcast television, and radio that existed before widespread internet use?

 
 
 
 

9. Which company began as a DVD‑by‑mail service before becoming a major streaming studio?

 
 
 
 

10. In the context of media economics, a large portfolio of content helps a company to:

 
 
 
 

11. The chapter defines a ‘media enterprise’ principally as an entity that:

 
 
 
 

12. Which device is highlighted as allowing almost anyone to create professional‑quality video content?

 
 
 
 

13. What is the primary technological factor that enabled the rise of digital media?

 
 
 
 

14. Streaming platforms like Netflix primarily changed media consumption by making content:

 
 
 
 

15. High speed cellular networks are significant because they:

 
 
 
 

16. YouTube is cited as evidence of which trend in modern media?

 
 
 
 

17. According to Nielsen’s The Gauge study mentioned in the chapter, about what share of ‘television’ viewing is on streaming platforms?

 
 
 
 

18. Which major record labels choose to license music to platforms like Spotify instead of running their own streaming services?

 
 
 
 

19. In the digital era, the barrier to entry for content creators is generally:

 
 
 
 

20. The chapter notes that ‘media product’ refers to:

 
 
 
 

Links & Resources

Ideas for Future Study

  • Creator Economy and Law: Explore how intellectual property law, contracts, and platform policies affect creators who bypass traditional media companies.

  • Regulatory Comparisons: Investigate how traditional regulatory frameworks (e.g., FCC broadcast rules) compare to the largely unregulated digital space (later discussed in Chapters 9 and 10).

  • Audience Analytics and Privacy: Examine the role of data collection in digital media distribution, and how privacy law intersects with audience engagement metrics.

  • Global Media Ecosystem: Consider how globalization and streaming platforms create cross-border legal issues, especially with licensing and content regulation.

  • Case Studies: Track how specific platforms (Netflix, YouTube, TikTok) have disrupted traditional industries and what legal issues they face today.

Parting Thought

As you read, think about your own media consumption habits. Which parts of your daily media diet come from traditional sources? Which come from digital platforms? How do your choices reflect the themes in this chapter?