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In this paper I want to examine the scope and limits for a major shift in the internationalisation of trade in information and communication services (or ‘tradeable information’ markets) by the close of the present century. I will seek to relate together some of the key socio‐economic, policy, institutional and other factors which, in interaction with new information and communication technologies (ICT), will influence the form and extent of transformations in the structure and spatial scale of information services markets. Thus, the focus of the paper is on some of the key issues related to the globalisation of information and communication (IC) services markets associated with the development and diffusion of new ICT. My discussion is strongly influenced by the British industrial, policy and research context where the potential for the development of international trade in information services has become a matter of increasing concern to industrialists and public policy makers in more recent years (eg ITAP, 1983).

The goal of this paper is to explore how an approach upfronting the notion of crisis and related restructuring processes may yield certain strategic stakes and anchor points by which to identify and measure the forms and extent of unfolding changes or innovations broadly understood. One key objective of this exploratory project is to undertake a comparative investigation of the major commonalities and differences between the specific forms, features and manifestations of “crisis” tendencies and counter‐tendencies in two sub‐sectors of mediated “content”: the music industry and the news media industry.

The paper engages with issues and concerns relating to these two particular sub‐sectors of the media and cultural industries and considers relevant concepts and indicators of crisis and recent developmental trends in these domains. It introduces the background setting and implications of “crisis” and introduces some distinctive concepts and other aspects of the approach of this exploratory study. It identifies key concepts in research literature surrounding deep economic crises akin to the current crisis and applies and advances initial conceptual frames further in light of manifest developmental trends and relevant indicators of crisis in the two sectors.

Drawing on recently completed research studies in the music and news media industries by the current authors, the paper highlights differences and specificities across the two media domains under study. This highlights the form, features and extent of some key changes and challenges unfolding in the media sector.

Its upfront engagement with the idea of “crisis” and related concepts of creative destruction, restructuring, multiple innovation and paradigm shifts makes this exploratory project distinctive, as does its efforts to conduct a comparative analysis of the relevant dimensions of “crisis” and restructuring based on the authors' primary research in two distinct sub‐sectors within the media “content” layers.

Digital technological innovations are commonly perceived to be radically disrupting the power or role of corporate actors within the music industry and their established industrial practices and interests. In particular, the internet is widely regarded as having produced a “crisis” for the music industry. While such assumptions reflect the predominance of technological deterministic thinking in relation to the music industry, this paper aims to draw upon historical insights from past research on radical technical innovation processes to inform this approach to examining some of the key innovations that have occurred in the music industry in the digital era.

This paper draws on a range of qualitative data obtained primarily from a recently completed Irish‐based music industry research project, primarily comprised of interviews conducted with key music industry informants and personnel.

Key findings indicate that ongoing legal innovations, combined with the widespread adoption of social networking sites and other online content platforms are (amongst other factors) serving to maintain and bolster the position of major music copyright owners.

In the context of the contemporary “knowledge economy”, the authors propose paying special attention to one specific area of policy innovation – that related to the intellectual property rights (IPRs) regime. In particular, they place emphasis on the copyright strand of IPRs in shaping the outcome of digital platforms for the promotion and dissemination of music. In doing this, they consider the evolution of a re‐configured music industry “structure” which re‐conceptualises the music artist as an “all‐encompassing bundle” of rights through which a diverse range of revenue streams are increasingly streamlined back to a small handful of major copyright owners.

I must start by congratulating Aslib on its 60th anniversary. It is a great pleasure to speak at this celebratory conference, and I am even happier that I can do so in a godfatherly way, as representing not only CICI, of which Aslib is a member, but also The Publishers Association. We enjoy a friendly rivalry, with the emphasis on the word friendly, because even if at times our interests do not coincide, there has to be a clear recognition that both the producers and the users of books and information are in the same game together. Indeed, it is a commonplace these days that we are all both ‘providers’ and ‘users’ of information, all of us in our industry drawing upon information provided by others and providing our own information to our own customers. It's an unending cycle, and we are in it together, all with the need to maintain the viability and success of the whole operation.

Public concern for the natural environment has been one of the vital issues of discussion in recent decades across the globe. Individuals are now stressing the importance of the natural environment. In the context of developing countries, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) are well positioned to have powerful impact on the discharge of corporate social responsibility through the usual pressures and lobbies exerted by the NGOs and their various networks than any other stakeholder. This study examines the impact of NGOs on environmental reporting of quoted manufacturing companies listed on Nigerian Stock Exchange. Using simple random sampling technique, secondary data were collected from annual reports and accounts of 10 selected manufacturing companies spanning 2010–2019. Multiple regression technique was used to analyse data collected. The findings reveal that environmental reporting and corporate social responsibility costs do not have significant impact on ROA and NPM with p-value of 0.713 and 0.612 at 5% level of significance, respectively, but both variables have positive significant effect on ROA. This means that the fund committed to environmental cost by these selected firms does not reflect on their profitability for the period reviewed. Based on this, it was recommended that as a matter of urgency for international Environmental NGOs should collaborate with local ones in achieving environmental friendly society. Similarly, United Nations should channel more funding on environment-focused NGOs because environmental issue is one of the cardinal points to be achieved by Sustainable Development Goals.