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Topic: Report Refutes Anti-Trade Debate (Read 1245 times) |
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David Lucifer
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Enlighten me.
  
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Report Refutes Anti-Trade Debate
« on: 2002-05-04 12:44:14 » |
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http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,52305,00.html
Report Refutes Anti-Trade Debate
By Noah Shachtman
The music industry has been whining for years that online file-sharing services have sucked hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of revenue from legitimate music retailers.
But a new report from Jupiter Research strongly disputes that notion, arguing that file sharing, on the whole, actually makes people want to buy more music.
Experienced file sharers -- those with at least six months of trading experience -- said they were 75 percent more likely than the average online music fan to spend more on music, according to the report.
"This shows that while the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) continue to scapegoat file sharing for their problems, all reasonable analysis shows that file sharing is a net positive for the music industry," said Aram Sinnreich, the Jupiter analyst who wrote the report.
In April, the IFPI reported that worldwide music sales were down 5 percent in 2001, to $33.7 billion. The group blamed their woes squarely on the file-sharing services.
"The industry's problems reflect no fall in the popularity of recorded music: Rather, they reflect the fact that the commercial value of music is being widely devalued by mass copying and piracy," said IFPI Chairman Jay Berman in a statement.
Sinnreich responded, "They don't want to take the heat for the industry's declining sales. It's easier to pass the buck and shift blame onto boogums and spooks. They may be saving their jobs in the short run. But they're preventing the music industry from taking the steps that'll rescue it in the long term."
The main step in that process, Sinnreich added, is to break out of the album and single formats, and into online subscription programs. The major labels have teamed to form two such services, the recently introduced PressPlay and MusicNet. But consumers have been slow to adopt either one.
Not surprisingly, music industry groups think Jupiter's survey is, to put it politely, all wet.
Jonathan Lamy, an RIAA spokesman, said in an e-mail, "Though we have not seen the actual data of this study, the conclusions appear dramatically inconsistent with (our) findings."
"(Our) survey found that 23 percent of music consumers between the ages of 12 and 54 said that they did not buy more music in 2001 because they were downloading or copying their music for free," he said.
"(And) more than 50 percent of those music fans that have downloaded music for free have made copies of it."
What both Jupiter and the RIAA agree on is that file trading affects spending habits. Nearly half of experienced file sharers questioned by Jupiter reported that the amount of money they would spend on music had changed.
Fourteen percent of these people said they would lower their spending on music. Only 10 percent in the general online population had the same reaction. But 34 percent replied it would increase -- as opposed to 19 percent of Internet music fans.
Those that decreased their spending did so by a lot. Those that increased didn't boost their spending as much.
Sinnreich writes in the report, "This fact may explain the decreased overall market spending levels."
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Walpurgis
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Re:Report Refutes Anti-Trade Debate
« Reply #1 on: 2002-07-06 13:55:53 » |
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Right
File-sharing makes me want to buy more music. My file-sharing doesn't do the music industry any damage.
My CD burner however, is another story. I might buy more music, or a friend might, but why keep the original when you can make a copy then take the original back and get a refund. "Didn't like it, I want my money back. etc."
On that note, anyone in the UK want to swop copies with me? You can find the music I like at: http://walpurg.iwarp.com/music.html to see if there's any commonality/cross-over
BTW - I've got some stuff coming to you phanerothyme 
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the.bricoleur
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making sense of change
 
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OT: Walpurgis Music Trade Offer
« Reply #2 on: 2002-07-08 09:09:54 » |
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Sorry all for the off-topic post.
Hi Walpurgis,
I took a peak at your music page and it seems we have very similar music taste - such as C93, Coil, LPD, Ae, etc, etc. I noticed you did not mention Nurse With Wound or Zoviet* France (just 2 off the top of my head).
Anyway, I am in the UK (London), PM me with some of your want list and we can talk trade
Take care and control.
Bricoleur.
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