Media Innovation Strategies for Sustaining Competitive Advantage: Evidence from Music Download Stores in Iran

This study explores the value of media innovation strategies for driving business success within the Iranian e-market of music downloads. It argues that the context of music e-markets in emerging countries differs markedly from that of developed economies by highlighting the political and cultural challenges that local e-music platforms in Iran are continuously facing. As literature is scarce in this specific area, and this study is one of the first attempting to gain a comprehensive understanding, a qualitative approach has been applied, and 14 digital music industry experts were interviewed in Iran. Data were collected through semi-structured face-to-face interviews and then analyzed with a qualitative coding approach. This paper revealed that issues such as copyright challenges and governmental permission barriers are limiting the capabilities of digital music distributors to reach a sustainable competitive advantage.