NEOMA Business School says higher commissions on digital sales may help online platforms invest more aggressively in anti-piracy tools, according to new research co-authored with Temple University that examines a persistent commercial tension in online content markets.
The study, by Prasenjit Mandal of NEOMA and Abhishek Roy of Temple University, argues that larger commission pools can encourage platforms to protect the revenue streams on which they depend. In practice, that means more incentive to fund automated content-monitoring tools, restrictions on file duplication, and traceability systems designed to make illegal distribution harder and riskier.
The paper does not present higher fees as an uncomplicated fix. Raising commissions can deepen tension with authors, publishers, software and videogame developers, artists, and other creators if the platform’s share is viewed as excessive or financially damaging. Mandal and Roy therefore frame coordination between platforms and producers as essential if stronger anti-piracy systems are to benefit all sides of the market.
A central part of the research compares the two dominant contract models in digital distribution. Under an agency contract, the creator sets the final price and the platform takes a commission. Under a wholesale contract, the creator sells the content to the platform, which then sets the final price. While agency agreements remain more widespread, the researchers conclude that the wholesale model is better suited to improving overall market performance when piracy is a persistent threat.
The underlying logic is that stronger enforcement can shift more consumers back into legal purchasing. That, in turn, can improve revenues for creators, support reinvestment into new products and services, and give consumers access to a wider range of safer and better-quality legal content. In that framing, commissions are not only a source of conflict, but also a potential funding mechanism for stronger market governance.
The findings land as digital marketplaces continue to balance creator relations, platform economics, and the cost of enforcement across books, software, music, and games. The study suggests that anti-piracy investment works most effectively when commercial incentives are aligned closely enough to sustain it.
The research was published in Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, under the title “Agency vs. Wholesale Distribution Contracts for Digital Content in the Presence of Pirated Content”.
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