[File Sharing] No Threat To Music Sales (Study)

[BouncyCaitian]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...4300_2004mar29


Study link
http://www.unc.edu/~cigar/papers/Fil..._March2004.pdf

[Balok]

The chief threat to music sales has always been the extremely high prices record companies charge. Price so high they were successfully sued over the matter recently. When you charge a high price, you lose customers.

Certainly the ability to get music for free has cost them some sales; but there are many people who want their music on a silver, or who want the album (for some bands, the entire album is worth owning because it's a thematic construct or they're that good). Some people aren't technically savvy enough to download and burn, or they lack the resources.

The labels' big mistake is that they're not figuring out how to profit from downloading. If they can't do that, then sooner or later, new groups will start to go directly to their customers. Especially since labels nowadays expect instant success -- a number of acts that took time to succeed (like Tom Petty) wouldn't even have that chance today, unless they went directly to their customers.

It may also be that the album concept, in which the label packs two or three decent songs and four or five filler tunes, is in trouble (if this wasn't the case for a lot of bads, there wouldn't be much market for "greatest hits" albums). If you can buy the two or three best tunes for a dollar or so each, why pay $15 in some mall for the entire album? Add to that, when you download directly from an artist, he makes the money, instead of a record label suit that has little or no respect for his customers.

[Highway Hoss]

Originally posted by Fesarius
The chief threat to music sales has always been the extremely high prices record companies charge. Price so high they were successfully sued over the matter recently. When you charge a high price, you lose customers.

Certainly the ability to get music for free has cost them some sales; but there are many people who want their music on a silver, or who want the album (for some bands, the entire album is worth owning because it's a thematic construct or they're that good). Some people aren't technically savvy enough to download and burn, or they lack the resources.

The labels' big mistake is that they're not figuring out how to profit from downloading. If they can't do that, then sooner or later, new groups will start to go directly to their customers. Especially since labels nowadays expect instant success -- a number of acts that took time to succeed (like Tom Petty) wouldn't even have that chance today, unless they went directly to their customers.

It may also be that the album concept, in which the label packs two or three decent songs and four or five filler tunes, is in trouble (if this wasn't the case for a lot of bads, there wouldn't be much market for "greatest hits" albums). If you can buy the two or three best tunes for a dollar or so each, why pay $15 in some mall for the entire album? Add to that, when you download directly from an artist, he makes the money, instead of a record label suit that has little or no respect for his customers.

Good article Fesarius; As a matter of fact, Don Henley recently wrote an article called "Killing the Music" on the website Commondreams.org that deals with the state of the music industry.
Personally I always thought blaming file-sharing of music was just scapegoating. As a BBC radio report noted a while back, there are a number of other factors that are hurting the music industry:[list=a][*]The global economic downturn, which leesens the amount of money available for purchases.[*]The increasing popularity of DVDs and Video Games, which offer you more content for your money than a music CD.[*]Increasing industry consolidation (as Henley noted) which is making it harder for new talent to break through.[/list=a]

A related problem is the increasing consolidation of radio stations by a few media conglomerates; this is having the effect of "cutting out" local and regional music from the airwaves. The Dallas-Fort Worth area where I live has been badly affected by this: used to be, stations like the old Q102 would play a large number of local DFW and Texas bands...but nowadays such music is rarely heard over the airwaves here.

IMHO, the music industry (led by their cartel the RIAA) is using P2P sharing as an excuse to try to kill any threats to the acts they want to promote. These companies are trying to limit access to to market to those acts they deem worthy.

This BTW is why we need to enforce anti-trust laws.

Many artists are not much better; suing your fans for not buying your overpriced CDs is not a good way to help your cause. Why the hell should I pay $15 for a CD with only one or two songs I like? Why can't I buy just the song I like? As Fesarius noted with the internet, you don't really neeed to buy a CD nowadays when you can get your songs over the 'net.

(NOTE: I pretty much avoid buying music CDs nowadays because of these factors.)

Another problem is the fact that in their attempts to "push the envelope", artists are offending a large segment of the population....Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" was only a small example (listen to the lyrics of the song she and Justin Timberlake were singing when it happened...accident my arse!)

Personally I believe if the music act doesn't "get its act together", people are going to spend their money elsewhere.

[toadmage]

file sharing , the free flow of ideas , and , information it must be evil .

The internet must be watched at all time by our kind and caring govement . The control of ideas from the outside of our country is a must for good (( controlable ))
person .

[Liquidator Queeg]

This story made the news today:

<a href="http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1080774614475&call_pag eid=968332188492&col=968793972154" target="_blank">Music Swappers Win Court Victory</a>

Seems we can download all we like up here in the Great White North. For the time being anyway.

LQ

[Highway Hoss]

Originally posted by Liquidator Queeg
This story made the news today:

<a href="http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1080774614475&call_pag eid=968332188492&col=968793972154" target="_blank">Music Swappers Win Court Victory</a>

Seems we can download all we like up here in the Great White North. For the time being anyway.

LQ

I am not suprised by this ruling....the recording industry's hardball tactics are backfiring on them...which will continue to happen as long as they insist on treating customers as the enemy.