From listening to the claims from the music industry for the past few years, it is easy to get an impression that all file sharers are thieves hell-bent on the destruction of the music industry and breaking of the law but a research firm has found that this is quite different in reality. The Leading Question found that music downloaders who share music files also are big spenders on legal music downloads. In fact, according to the firm, they spend on average 4 and a half times more on legal downloads than other users.
The music industry seems to send out a message that file sharers are the bad guys but iTunes customers (and customers of the many other download stores) are the good guys. It seems they completely forget about people who both buy and share. The report from the firm suggests that the music industry stops taking legal action and starts focusing on enticing file sharers to use legal alternatives.
The report found that the average user of legal sites who do not download unlicensed music spend an average of about £1.27 a month downloading music. However, those users who do download unlicensed music spend an average of £5.52 a month. "The research clearly shows that music fans who break piracy laws are highly valuable customers," said Paul Brindley, director of The Leading Question. "It also points out that they are eager to adopt legitimate music services in the future. There's a myth that all illegal downloaders are mercenaries hell-bent on breaking the law in pursuit of free music."
The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) welcomed the findings but don't appear to want to change their way of dealing with the situation just yet. "It's encouraging that many illegal file-sharers are starting to use legal services," said BPI spokesman Matt Philips. "But our concern is that file-sharers' expenditure on music overall is down, a fact borne out by study after study. The consensus among independent research is that a third of illegal file-sharers may buy more music and around two thirds buy less. That two-thirds tends to include people who were the heaviest buyers which is why we need to continue our carrot and stick approach to the problem of illegal file-sharing,"
Source:
BBC News
The report found that the average user of legal sites who do not download unlicensed music spend an average of about £1.27 a month downloading music. However, those users who do download unlicensed music spend an average of £5.52 a month. "The research clearly shows that music fans who break piracy laws are highly valuable customers," said Paul Brindley, director of The Leading Question. "It also points out that they are eager to adopt legitimate music services in the future. There's a myth that all illegal downloaders are mercenaries hell-bent on breaking the law in pursuit of free music."
The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) welcomed the findings but don't appear to want to change their way of dealing with the situation just yet. "It's encouraging that many illegal file-sharers are starting to use legal services," said BPI spokesman Matt Philips. "But our concern is that file-sharers' expenditure on music overall is down, a fact borne out by study after study. The consensus among independent research is that a third of illegal file-sharers may buy more music and around two thirds buy less. That two-thirds tends to include people who were the heaviest buyers which is why we need to continue our carrot and stick approach to the problem of illegal file-sharing,"
Source:
BBC News
