Piracy to Blame for Falling Music Sales? I Don't Think So

[Rob Williams]

The decline of music sales is a trend that's showing no end in sight. The UK experienced a 6% drop in overall sales during 2011, and it should come as a surprise to no one that the blame is going straight to piracy. Given other recent trends, however, I feel there are many other (legal) reasons why this trend continues.

Read through my editorial on the decline of music sales, and then discuss it here!

 

[On_Wisconsin]

Recording industry refusing to adapt to new technologies and paying the price? SHOCKING I MEAN THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED EVER

 

[OriginalJoeCool]

Survival of the fittest, yo. Coporate darwinism?

Also, wasn't the UK going to implement some kind of three-strikes law whereby you would lose your internet connection if caught pirating three times?

 

[Tharic-Nar]

The Digital Economy Bill? Not quite - it's a little more complex than just a straight up 3 strikes and you're disconnected. If your IP is flagged for infringement 3 times within a year, your details are passed on to the copyright holder, whereupon they can file for action against you, but it is up to the court whether or not you get disconnected - and only then, it is repeat infringers that are likely to see any kind of injunction (more than 3 times a year).

Further still, this only applies to the 'Big 7' ISPs, companies with more than 400,000 subscribers that are required to hand over details. Smaller ISPs do not need to. If things get out of hand, then the law may be enforceable upon all ISPs.

I believe a lot of the details are still up in the air though, since it has been amended countless times already, so i have no clue as to whether the law is actually being enforced at the moment.

 

[Glider]

In my previous job I actually got to see what ISPs are required to log, and what they have to be able to "spy in" on... You'd be shocked...

 

[OriginalJoeCool]

Ooh, do tell ...

Techgage should have more smilies. I wanted to put a wide-eyed but not totally freaked-out face here.

 

[eunoia]

I don't think so either, but it's a complex issue, so anyone boiling it down to specific data may interpret however they want. Let's stick to facts:

- There's huge competition from artists who produce and distribute cheaply or even free. Some of the most acclaimed albums of 2011 were both free and competing in the music industry's tradition bastion of postured youth rebellion.

- Demographics I: the northern hemisphere is getting old. Old people buy less music. I already own about 1500 albums, impressing me is rather more difficult.
"There are no new melodies nowadays. What people talk of as 'the last new song' always recalls to me some tune I've known as a child!"
- Lewis Carroll Sylvie and Bruno Concluded

- Demographics II: Young people enjoy their parents music. More college kids listen to Joy Division than when I was in school. It's rather sad, but it keeps me well surrounded by impressionable 20 year-olds. Want even older? Beatles? Bob Marley? Journey? Vince Guaraldi Trio? Lynyrd Skynyrd? Pink Floyd? Eric Clapton? Frank Sinatra? Elvis? Creedence Clearwater Revival? Three Dog Night? Barry White? Elton John? Bob Seeger? Rolling Stones? They're all on the Billboard 200 Albums for the Week of January 14, 2012.

- Though kids are desparate to find something worth spending money on, even to the point of buying a vinyl record to shelve unplayed, the ossified corporations that have impoverished the planet are no longer capable of understanding their market or even the basics of being human.

O.K. maybe that last part was a slight interpretation.

 

[TheCrimsonStar]

Ooh, do tell ...

Techgage should have more smilies. I wanted to put a wide-eyed but not totally freaked-out face here.

Like this one eh?

Got that in the TKC forums

 

[OriginalJoeCool]

Exactly like that!

 

[Relayer]

I blame it mostly on singles sales. "Back in the day" lots of people complained about buying an album and liking 2 songs. No need to do that anymore. Plus albums are too expensive. They need to drop prices. That's what every other business does. Well, that or cry to the Gov. for some sort of bail out or protectionism. I say if they can't survive let them go the way of the dinosaur. It sure as hell won't make music go extinct just because the record companies do.

 

[Tharic-Nar]

There are problems with digital costs too, they should be WAY cheaper than retail, but due to trade agreements, they are not. Then there is this thing called the internet, self hosting, blogging and social media in which bands can promote and even publish themselves - sure, it won't hit the masses unless you are already famous, but you get to keep 70-80% of the sale price. This self publishing is probably something that the statistics don't take into account.

 

[OriginalJoeCool]

I often download books to check them out, and then buy them if I like them. Technical books are very expensive - $40 - $60. Sometimes they aren't even worth the time of day.

Take this book for instance: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/06...&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470939031&pf_rd_i=507846.
It looks damn good, but check out the reviews. One reviewer says it's full of errors. Having read some Andre LaMothe books before, I know this is quite likely.

I can't find a torrent for this book anywhere, though.

 

[OriginalJoeCool]

What do you think of Blockbuster closing in Canada? That's a pretty big development. The Internet killed the movie rental business.

 

[Rob Williams]

Blockbuster has sucked forever, not going to miss them. I haven't rented a movie in ages though... can't even remember the last time. Blockbuster didn't jump online nearly as fast as it should have, and that's what's killing it today.

 

[Merlin]

piracy

With all these devices and all these songs on youtube.....Is that piracy?
And I think we still have Spotify streaming music...So why would anyone have the need for music piracy?

 

[marfig]

Instead of focusing on trying to justify our own piracy habits by dismissing upfront piracy is responsible by loss of sales (in a kind of mind game that can only result in us lying to ourselves), we should instead try to support the notion that piracy does exist, it does affect sales, not just maybe to the extent these reports show.

Because it's only with a piracy well aware society and with a genuine commitment to reduce it, that we can ever hope to have the necessary weight to deal with the real problem that plagues intellectual property based industries; copyright laws.

Do not ever, not even once, think that we will ever be able to change copyright laws by ignoring the real fact that piracy does exist and it seriously damages both business (particularly small retailers and independent artists of all kinds). The only way to fight the current draconian copyright laws and the draconian protection measures around these laws, is to fight piracy and to fully admit to its disease (starting with ourselves). Only then there will be good arguments because the balance will visibly tip towards the weight of these unjust laws.

Don't forget, since internet piracy has become a virulent activity, that copyright laws have been toughened and news protection laws have been introduced, each more damaging than the other. It's not been the other way around (a loosening of the laws). If anyone thinks piracy is the way to fight these injustices, think again. The world we live in is a business world, made of real cash that hires you and hired your parents so they could lead a life that allows you today to have a computer and discuss piracy, instead of picking garbage of the streets to feed yourselves completely unaware of the "oh! this unjust world! plight of the spoiled middle class of our western societies.

 

[awebuser]

The problem is digital music is so easy and accessible. Think Last.fm and Spotify, which are making a huge impact. Digital music allows you to listen to your songs on all your devices whenever you want, people don't really need to pirate music anymore just listen to it on these free services.

 

[RainMotorsports]

What do you think of Blockbuster closing in Canada? That's a pretty big development. The Internet killed the movie rental business.

I never rented a single movie from blockbuster my entire life and of the things you can put on my list of having once pirated movies dont make the cut.

I saw movies in theatres and on TV or if family rented them. How many movies only a year or so old are now available on demand for free, especially as a part of a not so free premium package? That alone would have killed any chance of block buster getting my business. I moved onto red box when they hit the east coast here and mind you that was only a couple years after i was 18.

Modern TV and rental solutions that didn't require large buildings with multiple employees (versus RedBox where you still have your corporate offices and distribution network but 1 employee serves many locations a day) could have killed Blockbuster on their own forget about internet solutions and piracy.

They should have pioneered the solution in the way they fought for the ability to do a new thing called video game rentals. Piracy is a problem separate from that companies real issues. That's my opinion from the American side of the border. I never have any money when these stores go out of business either. Like to pick up older stuff for my collection.

 

[Kougar]

What do you think of Blockbuster closing in Canada? That's a pretty big development. The Internet killed the movie rental business.

No way... have you used Blockbuster recently? Why would someone pay $4 + gas driving to/from the store to view a movie once, when they can buy the DVD online for a few bucks more? That's what killed Blockbuster, cheap widely available DVDs. There's a reason why Blockbuster (And competing) stores can only be found in the lower income areas of this city, all the rest closed up years ago.

Of course, then there's statistics like this one http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...londons-burglars-wont-even-steal-cds-dvds.ars