“Around 35% of music consumers now download tracks legally via the Internet and the percentage will soon pass the 40% who have pirated music, according to a new survey released Monday by Entertainment Media Research,” Ray Bennett reports for The Hollywood Reporter.
“The online research company used data collected from 4000 music consumers to compile the 2006 Digital Music Survey in association with media law firm Olswang,” Bennett reports. “‘The findings indicate that the music industry is approaching a strategic milestone with the population of legal downloaders close to exceeding that of pirates,’ Entertainment Media Research chief executive Russell Hart said.”
Full article here.
what about those that do both?
or those that only steal what isn’t available for legal download?
I’m not saying I know anybody like that…
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”ohh” style=”border:0;” />
Hehe yeah – I confess, if I can’t find it via iTunes, I’ll go check the file sharing networks. But yes, iTunes is the *first* place I always go. As long as Apple’s catalog keeps growing, this won’t be a problem for long with me (and probably many people).
Of course, if the RIAA forces a price-hike… I might go back to the networks…
I am truely amazed at how many p2p users are out there stealing music. I’ve never done it, and I never will. My parents taught me right from wrong. What the hell are those people thinking? I read post from people who try to justify it, but it’s absolutley sad. They use phrases like ‘my rights’ and ‘my music’. I got news for those people, it has never been your music. It becomes your music when the person who wrote and performed the song decide to give it away, and that decision is theirs and not yours. Buying a CD only gives you certain rights, not unlimited rights, no matter how much you may want it to not be true. There is nothing wrong with that either. If it weren’t for you theives, we wouldn’t have to deal with all the DRM crap. All of us honest people have you to thank for that.
is not based on what you want or feel like. It’s hard to believe that many people will pirate artistic works without paying. A shame.
And thanks to all you dishonest ones, for the DRM and nonsense we all have to deal with.
Not factored into this statistic is how many tracks are downloaded by legal downloaders and how many are downloaded by thieves. My guess is that even the most enthusiastic legal downloaders only download a few hundred songs a year, while a pirate may download that many in a day or two.
There’s still a long ways to go.
Another distortion of statistics.
The number of tracks stolen should be compared to the number of tracks purchased. Not the number of users who have done either. It’s a lot cheaper to steal 100 songs than it is to buy 100 (or even 1).
Further distortion is done by record cos. They look at all the files shared and say “see, see how much money we lost” when the reality is that the number of tracks stolen would never directly relate to the number of songs that would have been purchased. Heck, even I would download crappy music if it were free.
MW blue, as in The record co’s can yell till they are blue in the face, but most of the problem is their fault.
the duke-
a very good point, but now i would like to point some things out:
1) if you were never going to buy the cd in the first place, what dif. does it make if you DL it? some songs you like to have, but are not dying to have, and wouldn’t pay for it otherwise. so DLing it isn’t taking anything away from the artist (but if you start sharing that song…)
2) the CD prices are still outrageous. $10 for an album on itunes? theres not even a cd that has to be distributed (no manufacturing/distribution costs)!! pure profit. surely they could cut us a break. even cd’s in stores…if cd’s were $10 in stores and $7-8 on itunes, people would be a lot more willing to buy music.
3) so you thank pirates for drm….cmon there are more important things to be mad about…like terrorists heightening airport security…..you gonna thank the taliban for that?
drm is only crap when you want to share the song with others, which is exacly why it’s there. how many people actually have more than 7 computers (the # of dif. computers an itunes-purchased song can be played on)? itunes drm is hardly invasive, it’s only those people who want to convert it to play on their iriver et al that are complaining (or those who want to share it with their friends).
MW “room”-itunes drm gives us plenty
Assuming they surveyed 13 – 18 year olds
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”tongue rolleye” style=”border:0;” />
“1) if you were never going to buy the cd in the first place, what dif. does it make if you DL it? some songs you like to have, but are not dying to have, and wouldn’t pay for it otherwise. so DLing it isn’t taking anything away from the artist (but if you start sharing that song…)”
That is a very lame excuse “yeah but.” Why did you download it at all if you didn’t WANT the song? And if you wanted it and acquired it illegally, you are STEALING. Plain and simple. It doesn’t matter if you share it, you already stole it.
The artists who create the music don’t make that much per song, the least you can do is to legally pay for the music you use.
Just wondering… do they factor in people who download live tapings from artists that allow it, or are “legal downloads” only those paid for from an online service?
Also, do music thieves include those who borrow a CD from a friend and rip it onto their computer, or is this strictly online transactions we’re considering here? In that case, are they considering the direct transfer of info from friend to friend?
These numbers seem difficult to report on, and it is important to know where their numbers are coming from.
Glad I don’t live in China,
–swashbuckler
yeah but,
1. the only way I can justify DL a song is when the 30 second sample on iTMS just isn’t enough. In those instances, I almost always buy the entire album anyway. It’s still stealing but it’s a better excuse than the “Never going to buy the CD in the first place”
2. Economics isn’t a reason to steal. A company that profits off of high demand for a product isn’t a justification to commit a crime. Additionally, the cost of each theft is passed on to the consumer more than the corporations – higher prices due to increased losses. This is true of any business that has to deal with theives and shoplifters.
3. “cmon there are more important things to be mad about” – so why are you here on this forum instead of hunting down terrorists?
I bought a CD and couldn’t play it in my cars CD player – that was the last CD I have ever bought. I am now buying on iTMS, and if something is not available I download it. The record companies are crooks who are ripping us of, so I don’t have a particularly bad feeling when downloading – the guy telling me I shouldn’t download takes 95% of the CDs price for himself, giving 5% to the artist. Who’s a thief here?
Up until several years ago (sixteen to be exact) I was a struggling rock musician. The band I was in was what we would call in Australia a Pub band.
We played at hotels (bars) and were the second support for bands that had recording contracts. Our band new exactly what making it was all about…getting well known enough to score a recording contract. We used to travel from gig to gig in a beat up Kombi van.
Those muso’s who were under contract made money from performing, royalties from record/cd sales (cds were still taking off) and product sales. It’s still pretty much the same although increasingly bands are online, but the cd/legal online sales is still controlled by those bastard bloodsucking record companies.
What I’m getting at is that if you just illegally download music you are most definitely depriving musicians of a living.
Sure there are some performers who directly sell music to their fans but they are quite often those who have lost contracts with the companies.
I don’t have a problem swapping music with friends because quite often this actually leads to increased sales but to just illegally download music is a pretty low act.
Nowadays I really get stuck in my students who do the illegal option. Interestingly when I compare movie companies who pay a fee to most actors rather than pay royalties many of the students understand where I’m coming from, but they still download. Why? Because it’s free.
Halix,
“Who’s a thief here?”
Actually, the only thief is you. What the record companies are doing is making money off a product that they control and that you want, which is a lot more legal than what you are doing. It may not be the most ethical practice, but they are not technically theives.
And who do you think you’re ripping off when you steal a song? The record companies may be losing money in sales, but the execs are still going to get their fat paycheck either way. Think the process through and you’ll see that the people that you are stealing from are the employees that get laid-off, the artists that lose sales, and the consumers that have to pay for the increasing prices due to the record companies trying to recoup their losses.
It sounds to me like you’re just trying to create justifications for a practice that you don’t want to give up.
What about songs / albums that were never released on CDs? Or remixes that never released? But somehow found their way on to the net? I spent 20 years looking for a copy of Marlena Shaw’s Sweet Seventeen Suite and Yvonne Fair’s It shoulda been me. Either the companies couldn’t be bothered pressing them or the stores couldn’t be bothered carrying such a small seller. Yeah, so when they showed up on the net, I downloaded them and have been happily listening to them ever since. If and when they show up on legimate site I will buy them, but I’m not holding my breathe.
Many of you guys are making an assumption here that is not entirely accurate. There is a common, but laughable, assumption that what is legal is (by definition) “right”, and what is illegal is “wrong”. This is most definitely NOT true across the board. It’s an easy assumption to make because then you can, in one blow, attack a person’s moral values as well as their agreement as a citizen to abide by the laws.
If you truly believe that, for you, downloading P2P music (or receiving CD mixes from friends) actually increases your appreciation of music in general, and therefore increases the amount of music that you purchase, then most likely you do not believe that downloading P2P music (or receiving CD mixes from friends) can be considered the immoral act of “stealing”. However, there’s no doubt in this corporation-controlled legislative system that, since the music industry has paid GOBS of money to campaigns of important legislators, laws have been made which strictly forbid the downloading of even one singal song without FIRST paying for it. Therefore, downloading P2P music is most definitely illegal.
It’s up to each person to decide what actions they will take, just as long as they take into consideration the risks of getting caught. Everybody has a right to believe what they will, even if it might be considered illegal.
Remember, it used to be ILLEGAL for a man and a woman to live together without first being married. Still is in some states… sigh.
most enthusiastic legal downloaders only download a few hundred songs a year, while a pirate may download that many in a day or two.
Er.. There’s not that much good music you know.. you can download 200 songs in a day.. but Most music out there is freakin shite…
You rate them in iTunes and three quarters of them are in your trash can…
We’re not even gonna talk about songs with blips in them
t’s up to each person to decide what actions they will take, just as long as they take into consideration the risks of getting caught. Everybody has a right to believe what they will, even if it might be considered illegal.
———–
No it’s not. Theft is theft. Unless you don’t get the music industry’s business model.. a 5 year old can see that by not going to the store and buying the Coldplay album, you’ve deprived Coldplay of revenue…
How is this odd? Stealing = Bad.
You just can’t compare the number of downloads, pirate vs purchase. For every technically good song downloaded on P2P networks there are 2 to 4 poor recordings that go straight into the trash bin. For every technically good tune that is artistically good there are 6 to 8 technically good recordings that you will never play again and they go straight into the trash bin also.
I would say that for regular P2P downloaders only 3% to 5% of all their pirate downloads are actually kept and played regularly and represent a loss to the artists and the industry. The billions lost claim is just industry bullshit.
Every download purchased ispaid for, kept and listened to. For all real purposes, the two digital sources, P2P and Purchase are probably equal.
As for calling P2P stealing, let me say this about that. I have many P2P sourced tunes on my iPod that I purchased as vinal 45’s or LP’s or Cassettes or CD’s that I haven’t ripped yet or even, God help me, 8 Tracs. There is one tune that I have actually purchased 6 times counting compilation CD’s.
I’ve spent around $15,000 on music purchases since I was a kid. I’ve paid my dues. If I want to fill out my collection with a few missed tunes via P2P I will feel no guilt.
mike said:
No it’s not. Theft is theft. Unless you don’t get the music industry’s business model.. a 5 year old can see that by not going to the store and buying the Coldplay album, you’ve deprived Coldplay of revenue…
How is this odd? Stealing = Bad.
—————————–
Obi-Wan said:
“Only the Sith deal in absolutes.”