Nettmøtet er avsluttet. Les svarene fra John Kennedy nedenfor.

Bread analogy

Seriously, you can't use the bread analogy without knowing there's a genuine difference between physical stealing and digital duplicating?
Innsendt av: Qwerty-man

Oh my goodness, you sound like a true dinosaur - why should legality and morality be different in the digital world from the physcial world?

John Kennedy
 

piracy, ARRRRRRRRRRGH

Whenever I see an article about illegal filesharing someone brings up the notion that every song downloaded is money lost for the record industry. That, to me is silly.

I download alot of music, and I buy a lot of music, if I like what I downloaded I might buy it, downloading merely allows me to find a large repertoir of music.

How do you feel about for example Spotify, this fuses filesharing with buying music, yet it seems the record industry still, in some cases choose to work against it, in todays market you have lost the war on piracy, should you not try to embrace what could be your saviour?
Innsendt av: Stianm

Many of our members are embracing Spotify - personally I am a big fan - I don't actually think your comments are reflecting the reality of where the dynamics in the music industry are today - personally, I can't think of any of our members not embracing Spotify - as we have so many members, it is certainly possible that there are some - however the aim of the industry and the aim of Spotify is to populate their service with as many tracks as possible.

John Kennedy
 

Why do you care

As I understand you represent the recording industry, and in fact not the individual artist. I guess most of the artist would like to get as much credit, publicity and money as possible of their work, they don't care how, where and by who the music is distributed.

I don't see you representing the artist, and I cannot understand why you should care how they chose to distribute their work. So why do you care ?
Innsendt av: Ivar

I care because I am and have been a big fan of music for a very long time and I know that music doesn't grow on trees or come out of thin air. It needs to be discovered, nurtured, marketed, promoted and distributed, but most of all it needs to be paid for to complete the virtuous cycle of investment. I have worked with artists for a long time and I believe I have a strong understanding of artists - they are first and foremost creative talents who want their art to be admired and respected, but they don't want to be buskers or relying on anyone's charity, they want to be paid for the product of their profession.

As always, there will be artists happy to give their music away for free and unless they are in partnership with someone who also has a say, then of course they are free to do so. Even in 2009, most artists who are successful and who have attracted attention from the public are working in partnership with record producers, many of whom this organisation represents.

John Kennedy
 

Subscription

Hello

Have you considered a subscription based model where the user pays say, $80 for unlimited downloading rights? I would gladly pay if i can find everything i want, in the quality available at torrentsites (320kb/s mp3)

I would argue that you do have an advantage having a massive library of artists. you can also guarantee better speeds for rare songs or albums which are notoriously hard to find with a sufficient ammount of seeders.

I would like to add that it's hard to compete with free, but i think the massive ammount of illegal torrentactivity is due to a lack of decent alternatives.

Thanks
Innsendt av: Rene

There are subscription models and I am a big believer in the subscription model - the TDC model in Denmark is clever as are many others - the Spotify model is an exciting innovation - unfortunately, often when we test these models in research groups the people in the research groups confirmed that they like the idea, but when we say will you subscribe, they say "probably not - not as long as that nice free model is available" - the challenge of competing with free can never be underestimated.

John Kennedy
 

Is the industry nessessary?

Music has existed for thousands of years, Mozart and Bethoven did not use a record company, they still made a living by having concerts.

What makes you think that music will disappear if the record industry does? I mean you did a good job to distribute the music worldwide back in the old days, but you surelly see that Internet has made you absolete? Wouldn't fighting this be the same as unemployed farmers fighting against inventions like tractor?

Maybe it's about time to switch priorities to concerts and T-shirts and invest in free advertisement called thepiratebay?
Innsendt av:

As always, and at the risk of repeating myself, I think it is a matter of choice. There may be many artists happy to give their music away for free - indeed there are millions on MySpace - there may be others who are prepared to revert to the old model for supporting the arts of patronage - you clearly feel passionate about it - take a proactive role - try out your proposition but only work with artists who want to engage in your model - there is no shortage of material.

John Kennedy
 

My biggest issue

Every time I buy a DVD (almost) I'm FORCED to watch a 2 minute "You wouldn't steal a car..." ad, that is impossible to skip over.

Can you understand this is provoking? I've spent the money, and bought the product legally. Still, the indutry insinuates that I am actually a criminal that would steal their stuff. Than add a bunch of copyright notices that cannot be skipped, even trailers that at times cannot be skipped etc etc.

Suddenly, the pirates offer a better product than you do, when one can simply download the film in HD quality, without all this stuff.
Innsendt av: Philo

I hope your understandable frustration won't make you stop doing the right thing - it's a shame that all of that is necessary, but unfortunately piracy is now doing the same damage to the film industry as it has done to the music industry and as we sadly know, there is no perfect way of engaging with the issues or fighting the battle and so each of the film and music industries have to take the best options available even if they have faults.

John Kennedy
 

The responsibility is with retailers and media companies

This is not really a question; but I just wanted to say - as a music industry rep - that it's never really been our responsibility to come up with the actual retail solutions.

I have yet to see that anyone with a sound business plan having been turned away by the labels and authors/publisher societies. As you say, Spotify and several drm-free alternatives do exist.

I think this has somehow gotten lost in people's perception of our communication.

Well done Mr. Kennedy. Keep up the good work.
Innsendt av: Music industry rep

Thank you - it's great to hear this sentiment and what it reminds me is how much we need people like you to continue to speak out. This is a subject which invokes great passion, but often the greatest noise comes from those who rather strangely are on the one hand fans of music and artists, but on the other hand want to disrespect those artists by depriving them of the respect for their talent that they deserve. We need to hear more from those who really understand the ecosystem/business models that make it possible for there to be ahuge number of new releases of music EVERY WEEK.

John Kennedy
 

Mr. Kennedy

Hi there Mr. Kennedy, I just want to wish you good luck in the struggle against the "pirates". Some friends of mine started a band and they tried to give out an album with their song, but it got leeked to a torrent site, and when they asked why their friends didnt buy the album they got the following answer, "Why, its on the Internet"

Keep going Strong
Innsendt av: Mats

How refreshing. You have put the problem and the issue so simply - thank you for your encouragement not only for IFPI but much more importantly for the artists, songwriters and producers just like your friends. You have highlighted how much the biggest artists and the smallest artists have in common.

John Kennedy
 

Go with the flow

Why doesn't the record industry follow the technological developments and supply the consumer with a cheap and endless source of digital high quality music?
As of now the only option is itunes wich isnt all that great, wich i might add took forever to be launched to the norwegian consumer.

We are a high tech people demanding high tech solutions, but the record industry is still holding on to the outdated cd. Physical copies with low quality doesnt matter to the young consumers anymore, so why fight the market and not launch a proper digital solution.

Is the record industry fighting technology?
If you spendt half the amount cash spendt on researching consumer inhibiting drm solutions wouldn't you have a operating digital musicstore 5 years ago?

And finally perhaps its time to look to the board rooms and exchange a few of the graying men with younger specimens who can think outside the box?
Innsendt av: KJU

I think if you look at a record company today and the type of skills employed you would find a very different organisation to the one you would have seen five years ago. In 2009, I think it's unfair to focus just on iTunes, there are more than 500 legal sites around the world, with more than 10 million tracks legally available, with varying quality and a multitude of different consumer models including streaming, subscription, bundled and ad-funded and many, many more.

John Kennedy
 

"Stealing"

How can you call making a copy stealing when you know not every copy equals a lost sale?
Innsendt av: \"Thief\"

If I was a baker and someone stole a loaf of bread from me, it doesn't matter if they would not have bought it, they have still stolen it from me and it's unfair on those of my customers who purchase my goods to let others steal it - if everyone stole my bread there would be no bread the next day.

John Kennedy
 

Standarized Distrobution platform?

Hello.

I was wondering why the record companies havent made their own online music shops.

Where users can log in, pay for the music and get to download it from their account mutch like "Steam (Valve Corporation)".
And offcourse, choose the format and bitrate they want.

People are choose piracy because its the easiest, iTunes seems to be doing it right and is regarded sucsessfull, but fails because it delivers 1-time downloads and limited encoding (MP4 ACC).
Innsendt av: Basso

At one time the record companies wanted to start their own online sites, but the US government and the European Commission did not feel comfortable about that - in any event I think consumers don't really want to go to one particular record label's site, they want to go online and find the whole universe of music.

John Kennedy
 

A sosial revolution

how can one defend the old music buisness where the expensive consumption of cds was(is) so unproporsonal in relations to the cheap production? The new times represents a sosial revolution. The music is coming to the people in a more humanitary way.
Innsendt av: Leif

I certainly don't think music is expensive - you have to focus on the money required for investment, recording, marketing, promotion and paying royalties and then remember that typically a single track costs less than one euro - compare that price with other things you consume - I can't imagine there is much that you value that you get for less than a euro. With a recording/song when you buy it it's something that you have decided that you want, it's like a work of art, you will probably keep it for forever and I bet there aren't many things - even things you pay 100 euro for - that you will still be enjoying ten years later and yet most of us revisit our music over and over again over the years.

John Kennedy
 

I'm not allowed to buy the songs I want

Hello,

I'm a DJ and i regulary buy mp3's from online stores. I spend many thousands a year. Sometimes I'm prohibited from buying tracks just because I live in Norway.

How am I supposed to respect a record industry that prevents me from buying the music that I want?

Give me 1 good reason to not download those tracks for free
Innsendt av: Andreas

Great that you spend so much money on music - we would need to understand why you are "blocked" - it's frustrating and it would be good to try and find a solution - however, I don't know why people feel it's OK to steal music in any circumstances - if you wanted a ferrari and couldn't get one would you feel OK about stealing one? Why would you disrespect producers, artists and songwriters - though I understand your frustration and the problem you mention certainly needs to be unlocked.


John Kennedy
 

Are you fighting for the administration, or the artist

I get the feeling that this fight is more on behalf of the administration behind, than the artist himself. How much money do the artist lose, and how much of the claimd loss is a managment fee?

Secondly, how much of the money you get back by suing is going to the artist's themselves?
Innsendt av: Asbjørn Haukebø

We are fighting the battle on behalf of all those involved in the creative process - sadly, the cost of fighting piracy exceeds the money recovered but artists around the world not only support the fight but in many cases are prepared to fund it because they know that it is their livelihood at stake.

Every time a piece of music is stolen, the artist misses out on his or her royalty as does the songwriter and composer.


John Kennedy
 

Bye, bye

I first thought of asking you some questions, but then decided against it.

You, your organisation and the organised criminals you represent are soon to be history, as there is no point in paying a bunch of leechers like you.

More and more artists understand that they can earn even more money by kick out the superflous CEO's and lawyers of record companies.

Some people, like Frank Zappa, understood that in the 70's, but the possibilities of doing this today are even bigger because of internet.




Innsendt av: Runes

Why not start your own label, find some artists and pursue the model that you suggest.

John Kennedy
 

Some advice

You should try to make an online store, no DRM, no copy protection of any kind. I want to choose between MP3 and a version with no compression. Flac or SHN would be nice (uncompressed files).

And if my computer gets a virus, and i lose all my music, its OK, cause you've been logging what i've been downloading.
That way i know what to download again. And, of course, i dont have to pay to download it again, cause ive already bought the music.
Thats something i dont get from the torrent sites. :)

This is a battle you cant win. If you take down a torrent site, there will always be someone else to take over.
If you cant beat them, join them.

But i still want to buy CDs. A digital file cant be compared to putting the CD in your CD player.

BTW: If you use torrent technology in your online store, it'll save you a lot of bandwith.
Innsendt av:

I agree with you we will never eradicate piracy completely, but we have a responsibility to the creators in the music industry to do the best we can to make it possible for them to pursue their careers and to be rewarded in their career.

As you know, there are many non-DRM options available legally and I certainly have sympathy for the concept of online back-up - it's great that you still have affection for CDs, but of course the affection is really not for the CDs but for the music on it - a 100 per cent piracy - no revenues - no investment - no reward for artists and songwriters - no music!

John Kennedy
 

The big picture

Hi.
What is your take on the following statement(s):

I often find that the big record labels disregard the fact that the illegal downloading also benefit the artists. Today many new artists are being discovered by listerners worldwide because they do not have to pay for the music. This in turn leads to many people buying legal products such as cds or legal compressed audio as well as attending concerts.

Do record labels agree to the fact that people must be able to select the quality compression rate and format more so than today? For me personally , price as well as being only offered badly compressed music files makes me somewhat hesitant towards buying most of my music online from Itunes and the likes.






Innsendt av: John Doe

First of all, it's not actually a very complex issue - it comes down to the word choice. An artist and the producer should have the right to choose where, when, at what quality and at what price their music can be consumed and you should have the choice whether or not to pay that price for that quality, but if you don't like the bargain, you don't have the right to steal the music any more than you can steal a sandwich or a car because you think you don't like the price or the quality.

Of course, there are artists who may be prepared to make their music available for free - that's whose music you should consume if that's what you want - simple laws of supply and demand.

John Kennedy
 

Donate Button on Piracy Sites

Hi,

Sunde from The Pirate Bay said that they have considered opening a donate option, so if you enjoyed what you downloaded, you could give money to the right people. However this got declined by either IFPI or some of the Labels. I'd imagine it would've been a huge success, and it could serve as a quality check. Recent studies has shown that pirates are eager to pay up for their downloads. So how do you feel about this?
Innsendt av: Eivind

Why should artists and songwriters be insulted in this way? Theirs is a profession which requires great talent and they should have the right to be rewarded appropriately for their work - they shouldn't have to rely on a condescending "tip" - you wouldn't expect a tradesman to work for you and then be at the mercy of whether you wanted to pay him or not - equally Pirate Bay can get music from a host of artists who, if they are the rights holders, can decide they want to buy into this system - there are millions of artists on MySpace for example who would probably be happy to receive a "tip", why not change The Pirate Bay model to include this tip system but only for artists and producers who have opted in and then take off everyone that Pirate Bay has not obtained permission from.

John Kennedy
 

How can you fight technology?

In the '60s the tape recorder came, in the '70s the cassette recorder, and finally video recorder in the '80s. In those days we copied everything we could lay our hands on, especially all the albums from all our friends and later videos. Then came Internet and torrent technology which made it possible to copy over a network. It was impossible to thwart copying in those days. What makes you think you can do that now? Let alone make it a crime?
Innsendt av: Bjarne Thorsen

The simple answer is we have no choice but to fight not technology,but the abuse of technology.

The most interesting thing for me is the naivety that surrounds this debate - most people engaged in the debate are music fans and want to enjoy the wonderful flow of new music that has continued for decade after decade - none of this happens without a massive investment in the creative process and in addition of course the creators want this to be their profession, not their hobby.

The music industry relies on a virtuous cycle of investment. Great music is purchased by those who appreciate it and the revenues are used to invest in great new music. No revenues and the supply of music will simply dry up - we are even seeing this in a number of countries as far as their own local music is concerned.

John Kennedy
 

Your own doing...?

Isn't this situation a direct result of your own procrastination against customer demands, and why do you think i would want to pay for my music as long as you're using that money to wage war on us, your customers with ridicoulus financial claims (like millions of dollars from ordinary people) for filesharing?

I used to download to check out your products and then buy what i liked, but now i just download via torrent in protest to the arrogance of IFPI & RIIA. There are many millions like me. How do you think you can possibly stop us?
Innsendt av: michael dique

I would ask you this ¿ why have laws that protect artists and creators if you are not willing to see them effectively enforced? You only have to look at the collapse of music sales in the last few years to see the real pain that has been inflicted across the music sector as a result of illegal file-sharing. Of course, taking legal actions against hundreds of people is not the most practical option and that is why today we are pushing for a much simpler solution of engaging internet service providers. We have to find a solution that protects the rights of the creators and does so in an effective way. If a polite letter were enough to dissuade someone from stealing music, I would be the first to recommend that as our policy. Unfortunately, as in most of life, that isn¿t how it works. If we have laws we believe in, we have to be ready to enforce them for the benefit and preservation of a great creative industry.

John Kennedy
 

I do understand, but...

Hello, you got a impossible task a head of you.
As long the internett exsists people will download everything for free.

But what do you mean the solution for the problem could be actualy?
Innsendt av:

Difficult, I agree. Impossible? I don¿t think so. First of all, music companies are still producing great music and developing new ways for consumers to enjoy it. We are continuing to invest in artists, building their careers and opening up market opportunities to them. However, I think everyone accepts now that there is a huge problem ¿ not just for music, but for films, books and other media. How can these sectors thrive in an environment where their rights are so eroded? The answer to us is clear: the internet service providers ¿ the gatekeepers of the internet ¿ have a key role to play in protecting artist and creators¿ rights. We have come with what we think are sensible and proportionate ways to engage ISPs while at the same time scrupulously respecting consumer rights. What has been pleasing is that governments are now so seriously engaged in the issue. Certainly there is a debate and some opposition from ISPs, but the idea of ISP cooperation, which was almost absent from government agendas only three years ago, has become a big issue on the agenda of many governments. The biggest reason for that progress is that governments accept that there is a huge problem to be addressed and that doing nothing about it is not an option.

John Kennedy
 

Too late?

As I see it, it's already too late to shift the consumers view on digitalized culture. Everything is easily distributed for free, between friends and unknowns, and the 'pay-per-view'-philosophy cannot, and will not, be able to compete with the new consumer-view. How are you supposed to convince us that when YOU suffer, it will ultimately be the consumers who will suffer? Because the entertainmentindustry exists because of consumer-wants, or?
Innsendt av: Jake

Let me take your second point first. Who suffers when music is illegally downloaded? The answer is everyone who put work into the song or album and who deserves payment ¿ the artist, the songwriter, session musicians, recording engineers and all of the others involved in the production of the song ¿ and of course the music company whose investment underpins so much of this activity.

As to your first point, I don¿t believe the music business today can afford to be married to any one business model. That¿s why so many new models are being tried out ¿ downloads, subscription, music access deals, free-to-consumer, advertising-supported and so on. The only idea we are married to is that the rights of artists and creators are properly respected. So I would turn the question around and ask you: How can it be right for artists and creators not to get paid for their work?


John Kennedy
 

New business model needed!

I believe that the music industry needs to think twice on how they wish to earn money on their music. It seems to me that the music industry haven't followed the technology evolution and are now running around like headless chickens because they don't really know what to do. Why not actually listen to 'pirates', conducts surveys, analyze how music is purchased, downloaded, spread today and actually come up with a new business model that works? Spotify and Streaming is absolutely two keywords here in my opinion.
Innsendt av: GLeNN

Are you talking about a new business model that pays the creators of the music or a model which generates no rewards for the artists and producers? If it¿s the latter, that isn¿t really a business model ¿ in fact that would really just be the end of our business altogether. You¿re right that we need new models, as you say Spotify and streaming are key words at the moment.

John Kennedy
 

What about free programs?

I have two questions for you:

First of all, if technologies like bittorrent is banned, how can the users of non copyrighted material share their files? First guys like you killed the eDonkey network, witch by no doubt was used to spread alot of illigal material, but also where used to spread alot of Linux distros, unlabeled artists, free programs and other non copyrighted material.
Now youre going after bittorrent, because it suffers from illegal sharing. How do you expect non copyrighted material to survive your fight against illegal filesharing?

2: If i own a CD/DVD, program, music or whatever.
This CD/DVD is full of dents and mostly unplayable/unsuable, but still bought in some sort of certified store, i have a legal lisencenumber/code but i cant use the CD/DVD, because of the state of it.
Why shouldnt i be allowed to download this via technologies like bittorrent, instead of having to buy a new CD/DVD even though i have bught it at some point before?

Sharing is caring...
And belive it or not, the more you fight filesharing, the more pissed of people are gonna get... Thank god that i live in Norway, even though guys like you excist here as well, they have no power what so ever :)

Innsendt av: Chriss

I don¿t want to ban BitTorrent or any other form of technology. The only problem I have is when technology of any kind is used to abuse other people¿s rights.

I don¿t know what you do to your CDs and DVDs but I¿d advise you to make a digital copy when you buy them (the record industry has no problem with you doing that for personal use) if you¿re going to put dents in them.


John Kennedy
 

What if you...

Hi John,

I admire your passion for the music industry.
Your organization spend millions of dollars trying to fight a lost battle, both you and me know that when you closed oink.cd (formerly known as oink.me.uk) two new sites popped up, and if you close piratebay.org, there will be even more. And as long as there is laws there is workarounds too.

Wouldn't it be better if you spend the money on developing a new way of releasing media? For instance, release music for free, and give the consumers the possibility to donate to the artists they like, this way we assure quality media, and those artists who deserve the money will get it. This is also a cost effective way of running business.

Thanks in advance!
Innsendt av: Ole Anders Danielsen

Your idea sounds great in theory and no one would want to stop an artist giving their music away if that¿s their choice. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that a ¿virtual tip box¿ could fund the work of those who created the music you are listening to today, let alone provide enough funds to invest in the artists of the future. Having said that, if anyone is trying to find that model, it¿s the music companies. Free-to-consumer services are easy to find, they are supported by advertising and they are proving popular. But let¿s not confuse those legitimately licensed services with services that just take music without giving the artist or the producer any choice in the matter.
On piracy - well, you¿re quite right that there will always be piracy, but that does not mean we should simply give up. We believe that, with the cooperation of internet service providers we can help create that thriving online business where the consumers get what they want and artists get paid and the industry can invest in the music of the future.


John Kennedy
 

Problemsolving..

How do you as an organisation plan on solving the music industry's problem with the continuisly developing it-industry where new software and new solutions for free sharing of good music are constantly updated.
Fight the development?
Demand that we turn back time?
Or have some of you the "If you cant win over them, then join them" attitude?
Have you any people working with online-solutions for new and better ways for the artists to make money?
Cause.. thats what you all want right?
You're not fighting for an industry that want to be the "inbetween-link", like the pimp for the prostitutes?
I would really like to see where you stand on these matters, and if you can give a resonable answer, i might consider joining your organisation.
Innsendt av: Kjell

I think music companies today are fixed on two big objectives ¿ first to find new ways of getting music to consumers in the way they want to access it. Second, to create an environment in which it is possible for anyone ¿ artist, songwriter, retailer, music company ¿ to make money from music. On the first point, just take a look at some of the new models that are being developed now. Nokia¿s Comes With Music, where music is bundled into the cost of a phone. TDC in Denmark, where music comes with your broadband subscription. Spotify and We7, where it is free to the consumer and supported by advertising. Then there are the video-sharing sites and the computer games ¿ the mantra is to find all the ways consumers enjoy music, create the best deal for the music fan and make sure all the right holders get paid in the process.
But having said that, even the most innovative ways of meeting consumer demand don¿t have a chance in a world where music can be distributed in vast quantities for free and without paying any of the creators. Developing a thriving online business is a combined strategy of developing new business models and curbing online piracy.


John Kennedy
 

Why continue the struggle?

Facts:
1. Filesharers buy more music than others.
2. People who fileshare buy more only AFTER they start sharing files.
3. Copying is not a problem, it has been around since forever on different platforms (books, cassettes, videos etc.), and you guys have always been screaming bloody murder. Still, the industry and the artist have survived.
4. You can't fight technology without complete control of the Internet, politically reminiscent of eastern Europe under communism.
5. You loose credibility and market shares by going after your biggest customers (filesharers).
6. You could just offer every record you have on file, at a single internet-page, for maybe a dollar an album, and people would buy it.
7. Don't you think we'd be stupid to pay a dollar a song on iTunes, when that's the prive we pay for a song on a CD? Full price, at a much lower cost to you? We don't like to be ripped off.

I know you're paid not to acknowledge the facts above, but it's common knowledge, and that's why you get no sympathy from 20-25% of the population in western Europe. It's really simple, so why continue the struggle?
Innsendt av: Viper0000

I am afraid I can¿t answer all seven of your questions, but let me pick on a few points. You aren¿t correct to say file-sharers buy more music than others. The body of research emphatically proves otherwise and sheer common sense suggests that when music is made available in vast volumes for free, then it will certainly take away the reason for people to buy music. There¿s further evidence of the link in our global sales figures ¿ down by about one third during the last six years since file-sharing really took off.

As for your point about the price of music, it is one of the most misunderstood points about our business. When you are buying music, you are buying the intellectual property, not the bit of plastic you buy or the file you download. The Financial Times costs £1.80 to buy from a newsstand in London, but the paper it is printed on is only worth a couple of pence. In music, we have to pay the composer, artists and session musicians. We have to recoup the investment in marketing and promotion that makes you hear of the artist in the first place. Those costs haven¿t been reduced by selling the music digitally.


John Kennedy
 

It should be easy

Hi John
Would you agree that some of the reasons for people downloading music from file sharing networks are simplicity? Downloading legal and illegal material through bittorrent is much, much easier than to go through approved channels, many find.

And are you working to make it easier for customers and potential customers to buy music instead of pirating?
Innsendt av: Rolf Barbakken

Maybe some would say that, but I think it is just common sense that the main reason why people download from infringing sites is because they are free. The research tends to back that up too. I agree that Downloading music from unlicensed file-sharing sites is easy. But it has also never been easier to access and buy music legitimately as well. iTunes has a library of ten million tracks. Services like Spotify or YouTube enable you to listen to music for free, to try before you buy. One research firm, Entertainment Media Research found the biggest driver for file-sharers (70%) was that the music was free. So it is, but then no money is invested back in creating more music.

John Kennedy
 

Hello,

What is the reason that the music buisness took so long to understand that releasing of music digital (itunes) is the future? Does the buisness understand that they did probably did a mistake by letting this go unoticed?

A apology for my bad english.
Innsendt av: Bk

Your English is better than my Norwegian! Hindsight is a fine thing and I always ask people ¿tell me how we should have done it differently¿. All businesses have found it difficult to adapt to a world where their content was devalued ¿ look what¿s happening to the newspaper business now, and they¿ve had much longer to see it coming. I¿m sure some things could have been done differently, but on the whole I think record companies are criticised far too much on this front. In the late 1990s, record companies tried to set up online websites only to find competition rules wouldn¿t allow them to do it. Today, just look at the way music companies are doing business ¿ the whole approach is to make music available in every way we can as long as the creators get paid for it.

John Kennedy