All too often filesharers are painted as evil pirates who steal from artists and the music industry. However, a recent study has found that those downloading illegally, spend more money purchasing music legally than those who don't download at all.
Research group Demos surveyed over a thousand British people between the ages of 16 and 50 and found that one in ten people admitted to filesharing. However, those that download music illegally spent an average of £77 (around $126) on music each year. Those who say they don't use p2p sites spend an average of £44 (around $72).
The BBC reports that, of the 16-24 year-olds surveyed, 75 percent of them were willing to pay for their tracks if the price was right. The group agreed that a price of 45p (roughly 75c) would be ideal.
Do you think this is an accurate representation of those who use peer to peer services like the Pirate Bay? Indeed, an awful lot of people download their music illegally but if these results are to be believed, then these folk also purchase a significant amount of music each year. Many of you have said in the past that you'll download a track and if you like it, pay for it out of respect for the artist. Then again, a lot of you seem to think record labels make too much money off of the artists they sign and refuse to contribute to that kind of business model.
Do you purchase or pirate your music? Let us know in the comments below!
For me its always been about availability and quality. MP3s or their equivalents are pretty much the same via pirate sites as they are via online stores. When it comes to Films, I'm happy to spend the money on a Bluray for the quality or wait for it to appear on the HD movie channels.
However, as far as TV shows go, the pirates are way ahead of the game compared to commercial releases. Most TV shows take months to reach the UK after being shown in the US. A lot of them aren't even broadcast in HD. If a service such as iTunes offered TV shows to download in all English speaking countries as soon as they've aired in the US and would offer them in 720p for tops 49p per episode then we'd be talking.
I think filesharing probably damages pop sales--because noone ever goes out to buy one-hit wonders after downloading the song. Serious artists shouldnt be worried by sales declines though. Yes the crazy pop CD buying heyday of the 90s is over--but the real music industry is not.
For me its always been about availability and quality. MP3s or their equivalents are pretty much the same via pirate sites as they are via online stores. When it comes to Films, I'm happy to spend the money on a Bluray for the quality or wait for it to appear on the HD movie channels.
However, as far as TV shows go, the pirates are way ahead of the game compared to commercial releases. Most TV shows take months to reach the UK after being shown in the US. A lot of them aren't even broadcast in HD. If a service such as iTunes offered TV shows to download in all English speaking countries as soon as they've aired in the US and would offer them in 720p for tops 49p per episode then we'd be talking.