the impact of social network sites(3)

YouTube) enable their users to share content in a social setting (Kumar, 2009). Indeed, SNS functionality is beginning to appear in desktop software, such as Apple s iTunes (Apple 2010). Social media, and SNS in particular, can be differentiated from other web-based applications by a number of

3 Consumption of Cultural Goods

The creative industries encompass such fields as design, video games, fashion, music, TV, software, etc. (Potts et al., 2008; Solidoro, 2009). Cultural goods have unique consumption attributes based on their nature which include experiential and hedonic characteristics. While utilitarian product

consumption is goal-directed, hedonic consumption involves entertainment and enjoyment factors (Childers et al., 2001; Holbrook & Hirschman, 1982). Cultural goods are differentiated because they are: (1) experiential in nature; quality is uncertain and may not be learned or measured even after consumption, (2) subjectively meaningful; there is no standard reference to compare tastes, (3) culture dependant; consumption of these goods expresses who people are and the social groups they belong to, and (4) subject to individual preferences and taste; people consume cultural goods according to taste but also as a part of a wider social and cultural matrix (Molteni & Ordanini 2003, p. 390-391). Demand for cultural goods is thus uncertain (Flew, 2002; Throsby 2003). The evolution of the Web and the growing use of social media affect these goods in significant ways. The creative industries have evolved with the “new knowledge economy” (Solidoro, 2009) and develop in conjunction with economic growth (Potts et al., 2008). The consumption of cultural goods relies on “word of mouth, taste cultures, and popularity, such that individual choices are dominated by information feedback over social networks rather than innate preferences and price signals” (Potts et al., 2008, p. 4). As a result the production and consumption of cultural goods is heavily influenced by social networks (Potts et al., 2008). Thus the use of SNS have a notable role in the consumption of these goods. Music, as an exemplar cultural good, has seen many industry upheavals, particularly in response to technological change. The Web has created many new challenges for the music industry and has