Proof that Downloading is not why Recording Industry is losing money

[chilon]

ah some research emerging proving that file-sharing is not why people are not buying bad pop music

A Victimless Crime?

The recording industry can stop blaming sagging sales and profits on online pirates: They’re cheapskates who probably wouldn’t have bought the albums they downloaded, according to an economic analysis of file-sharing and album sales. The study’s authors focused on the impact of Germany on downloads and sales in the fall of 2002: A sixth of all U.S. downloads are from German sharers, and during German school holidays—when kids are at home, online, and sharing their collections—the supply of pirated music available to U.S. listeners balloons, making downloading quicker and easier for Americans. But the authors found that albums that debuted in the U.S. when German kids were on holiday sold just as well as albums that debuted when German kids were in school. (They estimate the maximum number of album sales lost to piracy each week at no more than 368 copies.) Declining to endorse or condemn music pirates, the authors nevertheless point out that the net effect of piracy seems to be beneficial: The recording industry loses little or no money, and millions of American and German tightwads get their music for free.
—“The Effect of File Sharing on Record Sales,” Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Koleman Strumpf, Journal of Political Economy




-from Sept 2007, Atlantic Monthly

[Dayman]

My cousin works for a small record label, and from what he has told me, piracy isn't that big a deal. Most bands make money through merchandise, tickets, and royalties, etc.

[Kiki52]

The common thrend today amongst many law makers and copyright/anti-plagiarism advocates is to make it more and more illegal. One day I think those who download a song or show it on Youtube without the copyright holder's permission or citation, will be subject to very severe civil and criminal penalties. Some lawmakers are now saying that copyright infringement is worse than armed robbery, and police should do more to stop piracy than armed robbery or fraud. IP piracy will then be called an act of terrorism.

[Richard]

I'm a bit like this with videogames. Oblivion, Company of Heroes and Total War games very much deserved to be bought at the full price of $NZ100 on the day of release. Games that I have pirated would never have been bought by me in the first place. I'm not just saying that to make my evil and heinous crimes seem less...evil and heinous, but because it's the truth. I'm not made of money, I don't buy more than a handful of games a year. If I didn't have the internet I'd just go without anything I pirate.

[Captain Arrrgh!]

I've mentioned this before, I download as a form of consumer protection. I will check out the product and if it is up to standards I'll go out and buy it the day after. If it's crap, or will require a legacy of patches, not only will I not buy it, but I'll uninstall the d/l'd version immediately, as it's not worth the time to play it. In my eyes, such a use of file sharing is ethical and helpful to the considerate consumer.
Big corporate regimes that ruin franchises and gobble up smaller companies -such as EA- deserve whatever they get when it comes to filesharing, however. Down with EA.

[Chlodwig I.]

Well it was obvious that the piracy problem isn't that big


Who would like to watch a movie in low quality for free if he can buy it for 10€ on DVD?
Normaly only those who wouldn't buy it at all.

The same is for music.
Why buy a record if you only want one song?
in former times the people recorded the music from Radio
or borrowed the CDs from friends.
now they "record" from file sharing in the internet.

Maybe if the Music Industry would start to search for real Musicans instead of creating and promoting "casted clone bands" the people would be willing to buy more records.

[Gary88]

personally i was hoping that piracy would destroy cinema so the ****ers might lower their prices but it wasn't to be

[Captain Arrrgh!]

Yes, there is definitely too much money and detatchment from reality flowing through cinema these days. Hollywoods importance and influence on our lives needs to be reviewed.

[Gary88]

seriously £7 QUID A TICKET (THATS $14!!!!) where i live, for one single ticket.

[removeduser_487563287433]

£5.10... only because I have a student card. We usually only go on Wednesdays for Orange Wednesdays too. I only ever go to the cinema if it's a movie I specifically wanna see on the big screen.

[Centurion-Lucius-Vorenus]

Most money dosent even come from album sales, they ususally come from touring.

[ajm317]

seriously £7 QUID A TICKET (THATS $14!!!!) where i live, for one single ticket.

The worst is the price they charge for concessions. They have this sweet combo deal at my local AMC, large popcorn and a large soda for $10.

I mean seriously. The price of the popcorn and soda is what, 20 cents?

If it were up to me we'd boycott it, but my girlfriend insists that "we have to get popcorn."

[JP226]

The worst is the price they charge for concessions. They have this sweet combo deal at my local AMC, large popcorn and a large soda for $10.

I mean seriously. The price of the popcorn and soda is what, 20 cents?

If it were up to me we'd boycott it, but my girlfriend insists that "we have to get popcorn."

popcorn is 5 cents and soda is 30 bucks per 3200 ounces of syrup. And then you factor in CO2 which is from what I rememebr around 30 dollars for a tank that can take care of all that syrup, your looking at roughly 2 cents per ounce + whatever the cost of the cup and plastic straws and tops. So maybe 75 cent variable cost as far as a drink and a bag of popcorn go. Certainly no more then a dollar.

[Rush Limbaugh]

seriously £7 QUID A TICKET (THATS $14!!!!) where i live, for one single ticket.

The theaters we own charge 5 dollars in the afternoon and 7 dollars at night.

The worst is the price they charge for concessions. They have this sweet combo deal at my local AMC, large popcorn and a large soda for $10.

This is where theaters make their money not the box office. in reality their glorified candy stands with a captive audience. In fact when you have a big movie the company will send counters to make sure your not letting anyone in free.

Buy the way we offer a special ticket for 11 dollars that comes with a popcorn and soda

Who would like to watch a movie in low quality for free if he can buy it for 10€ on DVD?
Normaly only those who wouldn't buy it at all.

I had the new Halloween 3 days before it was released in theaters and it was perfect. Just burn it to dvd and play it on your tv. The stupid companies keep putting out what they call screeners and then complain their getting bootlegged.

[ajm317]

popcorn is 5 cents and soda is 30 bucks per 3200 ounces of syrup. And then you factor in CO2 which is from what I rememebr around 30 dollars for a tank that can take care of all that syrup, your looking at roughly 2 cents per ounce + whatever the cost of the cup and plastic straws and tops. So maybe 75 cent variable cost as far as a drink and a bag of popcorn go. Certainly no more then a dollar.

Oh well then, if it's 75 cents that's different.

Buy the way we offer a special ticket for 11 dollars that comes with a popcorn and soda

Gee, that's big of you.

Still a rip off.

[Rush Limbaugh]

Gee, that's big of you.

Still a rip off.

It costs more than 11 dollars just to get into most theaters. We give you a medium popcorn a soda and you choice of candy. Thats a 6 or 7 dollar value right there. In fact in most multiplexs you can stay there and watch movies all day once you are in.

[ajm317]

Thats a 6 or 7 dollar value right there.

Which, I believe, is my point.

Popcorn and soda being a 6 or 7 dollar value is crazy. At McDonald's I get a soda and 5 double cheesburgers for that (or I could anyway, if I WANTED 5 double cheeseburgers).

It's a better deal than most theaters offer, I'll grant you that.

[Rush Limbaugh]

It's a better deal than most theaters offer, I'll grant you that.

Well we could lower the prices more and go out of bussiness and then you would be forced to go to some other theater and pay more. Half the box office goes to the film companies.

I work at a CD distributer as well and were in real bad shape. No one wants CDs anymore and with I pods and MP3s theres no software to sell.

[Roy Batty]

The only impact the Internet has had on music piracy is that it is easier to track who is pirating the music. I mean, do record company executives really think that many more people are downloading music than there were recording it onto tapes as it played on the radio, 15 years ago?

[Kiljan Arslan]

the only games I have ever pirated are the ones I had but lost.