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Yes indeed. Quite a dilemma for the music industry.
I guess the author thinks we pirates should do it all.
Here's another dilemma facing the music business: A study from the BI Norwegian School of Management says that the biggest paying customers for recorded music are the same people who download it illegally.
Specifically: The study found that music "pirates" (as well as users who download legal-but-free music online) are 10 times more likely to buy music than those who don't download free music at all. The study polled 2,000 online music users aged 15 and up and took great lengths to validate the findings, forcing pirates to prove they'd actually purchased the tracks they said they did.
The results tend to validate a long-standing argument put forth by many music downloaders who say that downloading a song is no different than listening to it on the radio. For many, it's often used just as a sample for the listener to experience a few times, and if he likes it, he buys it -- or buys the full album the song is part of.
The industry obviously sees things differently, prosecuting individuals and networks for sharing music online.
But is the business biting the hand that feeds it? The Norwegian study is the first I've seen that actually tests the theory that pirates have a "good side" -- or at least a side that's willing to spend money.
Assuming the figures are accurate, this creates a really tricky situation for the music business. If free music stimulates music sales, how do you encourage downloads without angering artists and other copyright holders, and how do you keep things from getting carried away? If all music is free indefinitely, there would be no reason for anyone to pay for it.
The most recent tactic from the industry seems to be a measured approach to offering a few free tracks on a fairly limited basis, though labels and the RIAA continue to crack down almost mercilessly on piracy. The industry's latest gambit is to work with ISPs to shut off service to file sharers instead of outright suing them, but ISPs have so far been fairly cool to that idea. Based on the current data, perhaps the business should try turning a blind eye... just to see what happens to sales.
Whatever the current strategy is, none of it seems to be working: Music sales fell again last year by 8.3 percent, with a 19 percent drop in sales in the U.S. alone. Can't you pirates out there buy more music?
Specifically: The study found that music "pirates" (as well as users who download legal-but-free music online) are 10 times more likely to buy music than those who don't download free music at all. The study polled 2,000 online music users aged 15 and up and took great lengths to validate the findings, forcing pirates to prove they'd actually purchased the tracks they said they did.
The results tend to validate a long-standing argument put forth by many music downloaders who say that downloading a song is no different than listening to it on the radio. For many, it's often used just as a sample for the listener to experience a few times, and if he likes it, he buys it -- or buys the full album the song is part of.
The industry obviously sees things differently, prosecuting individuals and networks for sharing music online.
But is the business biting the hand that feeds it? The Norwegian study is the first I've seen that actually tests the theory that pirates have a "good side" -- or at least a side that's willing to spend money.
Assuming the figures are accurate, this creates a really tricky situation for the music business. If free music stimulates music sales, how do you encourage downloads without angering artists and other copyright holders, and how do you keep things from getting carried away? If all music is free indefinitely, there would be no reason for anyone to pay for it.
The most recent tactic from the industry seems to be a measured approach to offering a few free tracks on a fairly limited basis, though labels and the RIAA continue to crack down almost mercilessly on piracy. The industry's latest gambit is to work with ISPs to shut off service to file sharers instead of outright suing them, but ISPs have so far been fairly cool to that idea. Based on the current data, perhaps the business should try turning a blind eye... just to see what happens to sales.
Whatever the current strategy is, none of it seems to be working: Music sales fell again last year by 8.3 percent, with a 19 percent drop in sales in the U.S. alone. Can't you pirates out there buy more music?
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