Vertical integration in studio system Essay -- Economics

Vertical integration in studio transcriptionThe term vertical integration refers to the structure of amarketplace, which is integrated (rather than segregated) at a varietyof crucial levels. In the case of the motion picture industry, thestudio system established a market in which the studios ownedproduction facilities, scattering outlets, and theaters. In otherwords, the studios controlled every level of the marketplace from thetop down, from production to exhibition.Vertical integration began in the 1910s and inspired the postwarconsolidation of the studio system as national distribution companies,such as Paramount merged with production companies, such as FamousPlayers and Lasky and subsequently began purchasing theater chains. alone of the major studios in Hollywood (Paramount, MGM, Warner Bros.,etc) owned theater chains the minors, Universal, Columbia, and Unitedartists, did not. The minors, distributed their pictures, by specialarrangement, to theaters owned by the majors. Th e majors booked oneanothers films in their theaters.Vertical int...