All of the people I know who regularly download or copy music also buy more CDs than the average consumer. The reason for this is simple - with CD prices so high (and they're worse in the UK than they are in the USA), many people want to listen before they buy, just in case the CD isn't as good as they thought. Over the last couple of years, I've been given quite a few CD copies. In every case, I've either gone out and bought a 'legal' copy (because I like it), or I've binned it (because I didn't like it). I have NEVER kept a copy to listen to in order to avoid buying, and I'm not alone in this attitude. Even those people who do keep copies to avoid buying CDs tend to go out and spend that money on other CDs. In other words, people are buying the same amount of music, but they're listening to more.

As the article says, the music industry needs to stop seeing new technology as a threat, look at it from the consumer point of view and identify where their new revenue streams are going to come from. We have this debate with every new technology, all the way back to VHS and audio cassettes, and the entertainment industry still looks in fine shape to me.

Posted by: Alan Fisher on July 4, 2002 04:10 AM

 

Contrast DVD's and CD's:
DVD's - - on sale at Walmart! Buy your favorite movie! See the neat out-takes, interviews, and such! Prices have actually dropped over the years, supply & demand works, people buy more.

CD's - - prices stay high and go higher. No new features or content. "Cram down" of 80% mediocre songs to the 20% I want. Sales stagnate, prices stay high, discounting by retailers is forbiedden. Record companies complain that the consumers are thieves, and try to introduce new copy protection schemes. If only the consumers would just pay us more money and buy more product, all would be well, say the record companies.

Can a company prosper and grow if its suppliers ( the musicians) and customers lack respect for it? I think the music business is in deep trouble.

Posted by: mcw on July 8, 2002 04:03 PM

 

I'd also like to hear a representative from the music industry explain how Wilco managed to make their entire new album available for download from their website several months before it was available in the shops, and it still sold as well as any of their previous albums. Is downloading an alternative to buying? Obviously not, in this case.

Posted by: Alan Fisher on July 9, 2002 04:10 AM