Final answer:
b.) for economies of scale.The trend to release recordings simultaneously around the world aims to combat piracy, benefit from economies of scale, and ease international promotions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The trend of releasing recordings simultaneously around the world serves multiple purposes. Primarily, it is to thwart piracy by ensuring that legal recordings are available globally at the same time, reducing the incentive for piracy.
Secondly, this strategy allows for economies of scale, as global releases can reduce production and distribution costs. It also creates ease in promoting a hit from one country to another, leveraging success across markets.
When it comes to international trade, even small economies can take advantage of economies of scale. By engaging in trade, these economies can produce goods in larger quantities, which lowers the average costs, and sell to a bigger market beyond their borders.
This not only brings down prices for consumers but also fosters competition and introduces a greater variety of products.
While there are trends away from physical media like CDs, artists have avenues to reach audiences directly through platforms like Amazon, which aligns with web-based commerce.
However, it's important to note that while consolidation may offer monopoly-sized profits, market division and price-setting collaborations are illegal in many jurisdictions, including the European Union and the United States.
Small economies benefit from international trade as it allows them to produce on a larger scale. Although the industry is shifting towards digital, physical media pathways still offer artists a global reach.