Abstract
Information technology and mass media have opened the gates for a new type of stars: celebrities. Celebrities are individuals who are known for their well-knowness. Until recently, stars were considered as exceptionally gifted and highly talented individuals who earn enormous amounts of money. This paradigm has been challenged at the latest when several television casting shows like for example Big Brother experienced a boom. Through these pseudo-events anyone can become famous. It is no longer necessary to have demonstrated great talent, since fame itself has obtained tremendous commercial value. But why are millions of people spending a lot of time and money (for the voting procedure) to see ordinary1 people singing, dancing or just performing themselves?
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References
Evans and Wilson (1999, p. 1) speak about the “democratization” of fame.
Original statement in Marshall (1923, p. 94) quoted in Stigler and Becker (1977, p. 78). The accentuation is introduced by the author.
Of course, this requires an efficient price, which is disputable especially given the properties of a „natural monopoly“ (see e.g. Mas-Colell, Whinston, & Green, 1995).
Thus expectation management becomes crucial. In general expectation management is critical whenever the services themselves are not clearly distinguishable. In a very real sense, a new artist who is expected to become a star will become a star. Self-fulfilling expectations are a typical manifestation of bandwagon effects (Shapiro & Varian, 1999).
Frank and Cook (1995, p. 34) shortly addressed this point, writing that: „(…) one valuable part of the experience of reading a book is discussing it with a friend who has also read it. (…) Similar considerations apply to movies, plays, music, spectator sports, and a host of other interactive consumer activities.“
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© 2007 Deutscher Universitäts-Verlag | GWV Fachverlage GmbH, Wiesbaden
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(2007). Superstars versus Celebrities — Big Man or Big Name?. In: The Economics of Superstars and Celebrities. Gabler. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-8350-5429-5_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-8350-5429-5_5
Publisher Name: Gabler
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