Music Downloads Not Hurting Industry,

[Will E Worm]

Music Downloads Not Hurting Industry, Says Study


With the release of a new analysis of 16,000 European music consumers, those on the side of piracy have evidence to back them up.


A few findings of the study — conducted by Luis Aguiar and Bertin Martins using Nielsen “clickstream” data, and released by the European Commission Joint Research Centre — confirmed assummptions: attitudes differed by country, and piracy definitely affects off-line music sales.

But one was startling: illegal music downloads, they discovered, had essentially no effect on the number of legal music downloads:

Perhaps surprisingly, our results present no evidence of digital music sales displacement. While we find important cross country differences in the effects of downloading on music purchases, our findings suggest a rather small complementarity between these two music consumption channels. It seems that the majority of the music that is consumed illegally by the individuals in our sample would not have been purchased if illegal downloading websites were not available to them. The complementarity effect of online streaming is found to be somewhat larger, suggesting a stimulating effect of this activity on the sales of digital music.


Specifically, the study found that legal purchases would be about 2 percent lower without illegal downloading available—meaning, yes, illegal downloads boost legal downloads. Their conclusion: people who download pirated music mostly do so for tunes they wouldn’t have ever spent money on. The positive effect of streaming was even larger.

Other findings include:

Women and men stream music about equally but men download more.
People with higher education levels stream more music, but income does not affect streaming levels.
Spanish people click on illegal downloading sites 230% more than Germans, with Italians coming next at 134% more than their neighbors to the north. The study’s authors speculate that these differences could be due to cultural differences and/or economic situations in the countries involved.

Article

:clap:

Anyone can go to a site like youtube and listen to anything they want.

Also, anyone can sell or give away their copy of whatever they bought. A few downloads is not hurting any of these multi-millionaires.

 

[xfire]

So you condone digital theft?

 

[JaanaRuutu]

I only illegally download when i legitimately can't afford the music, and I always buy the LP as soon as I have the extra cash. I'm pretty open about this fact to the bands I listen to and all of them are cool with it, which is why i absolutely love the punk scene. It's just how I've always done things. I go to shows, i buy merch, I do my part when I can. i just don't think I should have to wait two weeks to hear a record I really want to hear just because I don't have $10 right then and there. I do have an eMusic subscription though, which has drastically reduced how much I "illegally" download since it's $6 a month and all of the albums are under $6. A good chunk of what i download is stuff I already own on vinyl as well.

I think it's super shitty to pirate music and not give back to the artist somehow, especially if most of what you listen to is indie music. I feel the same way about my clips and cam shows. if you feel the fucking need to steal from me, make it up to me when you can afford it. Don't just have the "LULZ I DON'T PAY FOR PORN" attitude because you're taking food off of my table.

 

[Jeep!]

So you condone digital theft?

Only if it's committed by people who also murder civilians and is powered by the eternally infinite fossil fuel supplies we have.

 

[Mayhem]

Everything in the OP is what I've been saying for years. And yes, I've downloaded a shitload of free music, and no I'm not going to apologize for it. First of all, I've seen a few too many episodes of "Lifestyles of the Overindulged" to worry too much about how my d/ls are hurting the artists ability to build their kids a 2 story treehouse. Secondly, many of my d/ls have been music that I didn't know about, and when I decided I liked it, I bought the albums. Albert Collins, Johnny Clyde Copeland, Sonny Rhodes and a host of others can thank "illegal" downloads for me putting more money in their pockets.

And the point is also very well made (and again, I've long since noticed it myself) that downloading is soooo last week. Want to listen to a song? Go to Youtube and spool it up.

 

[L3ggy]

I only illegally download when i legitimately can't afford the music, and I always buy the LP as soon as I have the extra cash.

This.

 

[Gape_Fan]

Hmmmm, piss off Lars Ulrich or fund terrorism? Tough call.

 

[Will E Worm]

Metallica's Lars Ulrich illegally downloads own album Link



Downloading has helped the music industry.

Lars finally eats his own words....

 

[Red XXX]

With data taken from Jan 1st, 2001 to Dec 31st, 2011 - I wouldn't have thought the study period was long enough and only looking at 5000 individuals makes it a very small data base. But they've come up with the answers they wanted so that's ok, yet another good use of European tax payers money

 

[lurkingdirk]

Okay, I'm in the industry, and I can tell you this with 100% certainty:

Illegally downloading music hurts the artist most. If you like an artist, and you're illegally getting his/her music, that artist isn't getting paid. It's just that simple. Thinking of it in any other terms is just plain stupid. Sorry to offend people, but it's a black and white issue. Are you downloading music you didn't pay for? Yeah, then it's stolen. Get onto noisetrade and similar sites, and you'll get plenty of free music from legitimate sources. Otherwise, pay for what you listen to. If you're in a phase where you can't afford it, don't get any new fucking music. "I'm poor, so I can steal." Stupid fucking logic.

Pay for what you like, or decide you don't need new music. Music downloads are hurting the industry. I can tell you that with 100% certainty from an insiders perspective.

 

[JaanaRuutu]

Okay, I'm in the industry, and I can tell you this with 100% certainty:

Illegally downloading music hurts the artist most. If you like an artist, and you're illegally getting his/her music, that artist isn't getting paid. It's just that simple. Thinking of it in any other terms is just plain stupid. Sorry to offend people, but it's a black and white issue. Are you downloading music you didn't pay for? Yeah, then it's stolen. Get onto noisetrade and similar sites, and you'll get plenty of free music from legitimate sources. Otherwise, pay for what you listen to. If you're in a phase where you can't afford it, don't get any new fucking music. "I'm poor, so I can steal." Stupid fucking logic.

Pay for what you like, or decide you don't need new music. Music downloads are hurting the industry. I can tell you that with 100% certainty from an insiders perspective.

And the bands that really don't care if you steal it as long as you buy itin the end? Like I said, literally every band I listen to is completely okay with this, even some label owners I know.

 

[lurkingdirk]

And the bands that really don't care if you steal it as long as you buy itin the end? Like I said, literally every band I listen to is completely okay with this, even some label owners I know.

Okay. I'll illegally download everything you release henceforth. That'll be okay, right?

 

[JaanaRuutu]

Okay. I'll illegally download everything you release henceforth. That'll be okay, right?

Read what i said above. if you pay me in the end I'm okay with it. I'm not stupid. i know my shit's probably out there somewhere, but as long as the people who aregetting off to it come back to me and tribute, get something off of my wishlist, or book a cam session, I'm fine. All I care about is getting paid in the end. the only kind of pirates I hate are the "WAAAH I DON'T PAY FOR PORN! I DON'T PAY FOR MUSIC! I DON'T PAY FOR MOVIES! NONE OF THEM NEED THE MONEY ANYWAY BLAH BLAH" types.

Honestly you'd be surprised at how many people involved in music and film have the same mindset that I do.

 

[xfire]

the only kind of pirates I hate are the "WAAAH I DON'T PAY FOR PORN! I DON'T PAY FOR MUSIC! I DON'T PAY FOR MOVIES! NONE OF THEM NEED THE MONEY ANYWAY BLAH BLAH" types.

Meet the poster boy for the type you hate.

 

[JaanaRuutu]

Meet the poster boy for the type you hate.

Why am I not surprised?

 

[HappyHapyJoyJoy]

So you condone digital theft?

Mm. This doesn't exactly seem like the best place to discuss the benign nature of such an act, now does it?

 

[xfire]

Mm. This doesn't exactly seem like the best place to discuss the benign nature of such an act, now does it?

What with IP addresses and what not, naw. I certainly would tread lightly, particularly considering porn is the embodiment of digital property.

 

[HappyHapyJoyJoy]

...particularly considering porn is the embodiment of digital property.

Oh so very this.

Nothing quite like implying it's okay to steal from a bunch of people who host here (and literally saying it's okay to steal from a bunch of people who [probably] don't).

 

[JaanaRuutu]

Oh so very this.

Nothing quite like implying it's okay to steal from a bunch of people who host here (and literally saying it's okay to steal from a bunch of people who [probably] don't).

i just wanna be clear: i really don't condone tge act. it's been a long time since i've done it - but i have also been
poor.

 

[HappyHapyJoyJoy]

i just wanna be clear: i really don't condone tge act. it's been a long time since i've done it - but i have also been
poor.

I totally get this.

There's the ideal, then there's reality. There's a nice wide margin between, "I do this bad thing sometimes" and "hey, there's nothing wrong with doing bad things!"

We all do wrong on occasion, but there's a difference between doing it and basically recommending it, or even just downplaying the harmful effects. I used to smoke, but I'd never recommend anyone do it, nor would I tell someone they'll grow up big and strong thanks to all the vitamins in nicotine. At the same time, even though I'm quit, I'm not about to harass or malign anyone for smoking (Hell, I actually don't mind a little secondhand every now and then ).