The Economics of Pop Culture

From CNN Finance: The economics of Britney Spears.

In the days after the Britney Spears soap opera rode a police-escorted gurney to its apex, celeb-mag sales spiked, traffic jammed gossip Web sites, tabloid TV ratings rose and paparazzi photo prices surged.

For a growing number of people and businesses, Britney's saga is about money: every time she sinks to new lows, cash flows. And these days, no one is above the fray.

Any time a magazine can boost newsstand sales past its average, the revenue is booked nearly entirely as profit, Harrington said: "People prints 2.5 million copies and sells about an average of 1.5 million. If they have an issue that sells 2 million, the extra half million goes to the bottom line."

Yep, any time you boost the average, it flows to the bottom line. Most importantly, it flows to the CEO's bonus.

Spears is just one of many stars driving the growing multibillion dollar celebrity news industry. But the Spears story in particular, with a new twist nearly every week, has become a very profitable sub-sector unto itself.

"Britney is the most bankable celebrity out there right now, and she has been for the past year," said Francois Navarre, founder of the paparazzi agency X17.

X17, which owns the infamous picture of a bald Spears taken in February, has a team of photographers tracking her at all times. "For us, she's the star No. 1," Navarre said.

On the flipside, the Spears story isn't making money for everyone. There are costs involved, too. For instance, the increased scrutiny puts a burden on Los Angeles civil service units, which have to keep Spears safe and public spaces uncluttered.

The L.A. Police Department wouldn't estimate the extra costs Spears generates. Her ambulance incident last week was handled by officers already on duty. The fire department said it was considering charging Spears for the ambulance ride, but did not disclose how much.

Oldest rule of capitalism: privatize the profits; socialize the losses.

Now that she's back in focus for offstage drama, her music is an afterthought. And at some point, most industry experts agree, the public will grow tired of the Spears story.

That doesn't mean the economy that sprouted around her will wilt.

"If it's not Britney, then it'll be Lindsay or Paris or some other person we haven't heard of yet," Smith said.

BINGO!!!

Nobody gives a crap about her, or Princess Diana, or Anna-Nicole Smith, or Lindsay Lohan, or Paris Hilton, or Amy Winehouse. They are only as good as they generate controversy and sales. If not, new candidates will arise. If none arise, new candidates will be created.

Does anyone in their right mind genuinely believe anything Ann Coulter says? She will say anything to generate "controversy" because the controversy fuels sales. That's all that matters.

I'm quite surprised to see this so nakedly in print. I guess the sheeple don't read CNNfn.

They are basically disposable which is the job of pop culture. It takes an extraordinary amount of foolishness not to see the flow of money.