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Rating: 
Summary: Insightful!
Review: Author and entertainment industry analyst Harold L. Vogel sheds valuable light on the growing importance of fun in the American economy. His book shows surprising versatility, sometimes reading like an economics textbook, and other times providing an engaging and easily readable overview of the entertainment business. Vogel provides exhaustive sources and an authoritative perspective, linking the entertainment industry's technology-driven increase in productivity to the public's increased expenditures on music, movies, sports, games, theme parks and other forms of entertainment. The relatively modest attention he pays to the performing arts reflects their unfortunate status as a poor stepchild we find this book's breadth and depth impressive, and strongly recommends it to analysts, scholars and students who seek a clear picture of the economic role of entertainment.
Rating: 
Summary: Lays it all out
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Want a book to Put you to Sleep????
Review: Then I'd recommend this book. It wouldn't be that bad if it were to exclude devoting a lot of time to basic principles of Macro and Microeconomics. If I wanted to study Macro or Microconomics, then I would have just bought a textbook on that subject. The author seems more inclined to impress us with his knowledge of economics in general than to focus on the entertainment industry. Very dry book.
Rating:
Summary: Good entertainment overview
Review: This book did a good job of covering the many aspects to entertainment. It was a bit on the dry side though. For those trying to decide where they belong in the world of entertainment (as a career or as an investor), this book would provide great insight.
Rating:
Summary: Great overview of the business of entertainment
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Best used as a reference
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Best used as a reference
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Best used as a reference
Review: 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.
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