Another study says file-sharers buy the most
source
Periodically, a survey will proclaim that illegal file sharers are among the entertainment industry’s best legitimate customers. It’s happened again in Amsterdam, where a new study says file-sharers buy as much content, or more, than everyone else.
Professor Nico van Eijk of the University of Amsterdam surveyed 1,464 Dutch citizens, and found that buying media and file-sharing “turn out to go hand in hand” across all forms of entertainment.
People who share music buy as much as their non-sharing peers, but they also spend more money on concerts and merchandise. Film file-sharers buy “significantly more” DVDs than people who don’t illegally download movies, and they go to the cinema just as often. File-sharing gamers are just as likely to purchase at least one computer game over a year, and they tend to buy more than people who obey the law.
“Note that no causal relationship is implied here,” says a report on the findings, which begins on
page 42 in the journal Communications and Strategies. “Aficionados of music, games or films will typically buy more, get into related products more but also download more.”
Last year,
a survey of Internet users in the United Kingdom by Ipsos Mori concluded that file-sharers spend 77 pounds per year on music, compared to 33 pounds per year for people who say they never download pirated tracks. In 2005, research firm
The Leading Question said people who download music spend 4.5 times more through legitimate means than people who don’t.
The survey by van Eijk stops short of saying that piracy is a good thing for the industry, but notes that its negative effects are minimal. The author cautions against strict DRM and lawsuits, and instead advocates innovative business approaches. Of course, the entertainment industry will likely dismiss this survey, as they have with
similar studies.
P2P users among music industry's best customers
source
A
new study published today claims that users who share and download music files online also buy
four and a half times more music online than your average music listener, at least in the UK. Instead of magically costing the industry money, these users are apparently interacting with more music, and as a result, buying more music from legitimate channels. The study stems from a survey conducted by
The Leading Question, a digital music research company who surveyed 600 self-styled music fans.
"There's a myth that all illegal downloaders are mercenaries hell-bent on breaking the law in pursuit of free music. In reality they are often hardcore fans who are extremely enthusiastic about adopting paid-for services as long as they are suitably compelling," said Paul Brindley, director of The Leading Question.
The study only assessed buying music online, and therefore did not factor in the relationship of this behavior to CD sales. Nevertheless, it's an interesting notion that those most familiar with P2P are also more interested in legitimate online music sales. Is it a "try before you buy" scenario, or are users afraid of being sued? One might think that fear is factoring into this, but the people buying all of that music in question were actively also downloading music illegally.
The British Phonographic Industry largely dismissed the significance of the study, however, claiming that study after study has demonstrated the harm P2P itself has done to the industry. The problem, of course, is that these losses have been
blown entirely out of proportion, and sometimes the industry actually tries to
cover up how well it's doing. The issue isn't profitability, it's control. That's what happens when an entity gets too much power: its "vision" for the future hopes to dictate part of that future.
Another study done
just two years ago also showed the correlation between music downloads and sales, and was also summarily dismissed by the music industry.
Another study says file-sharers buy the most
Linear Mode
