As I am also a consumer of music this letter will also be directed at myself as well as those who partake in the buying or pirating of music. Let me state clearly, that I do not wish to antagonize or attack anyone who has partaken in illegal downloading. I simply wish to convey the pros and cons of piracy based on a couple studies that I found and to provide an idea of which to handle the situation. I believe that we should be more willing to spend money to support the artist that we enjoy, so that they can keep making content. Now, before you form your opinion bear with me here and really take in what I have to say within my letter.
Over the course of the new millennia there has been an increased surge in the amount of illegal downloading that has occurred or as it’s more commonly known as pirating. This is most likely due to the availability of digital media and how easy it is to take a video or sound file and upload it to the internet for all to click and enjoy, free of charge. Now, you might be asking, “Where are you going with this?” Well, there is much controversy right now as to the affects that piracy has on the music industry. The music industry will claim that piracy is to blame for the declining sales that they are experiencing. Others will speculate that piracy actually supports the music industry. So, I have come forward to voice my opinion and provide a route which I think will be a possible solution to the issue.
One study titled Digital Music Consumption on the Internet: Evidence from Clickstream Data indicates that “The crucial point is to know whether illegal consumption (the downloading of an album or a song) would have been converted into legal consumption (the purchase of that same album or song) in the absence of illegal consumption channels.” The statement provides the foundation for one of the main points in the argument that piracy does not impact sales. Basically, this says that music industries cannot claim that piracy is to blame for their declining sales because they cannot prove that those who engage in illegal downloading would have purchased the music legally. This study also claims that illegal music consumption is actually beneficial to the music industry and actually, slightly increases their sales. The study alludes to how easy access to music via sites like YouTube and MediaFire allow for consumers to find artists and songs that they wouldn’t have found otherwise. This is something that I must admit to be true in my own personal situation because without YouTube I wouldn’t have been able to get into music from other countries such as Russia and South Korea. Without YouTube I wouldn’t have found bands like Nightwish, Evanescence, and Within Temptation who I enjoy very dearly and listen to on a daily basis. However, this is also a double-edged sword because there are programs and websites which allow users to rip music from YouTube without paying a penny.
On the other hand I have one study by the Institute for Policy Innovation that voices opposition against piracy and addresses piracy as an issue that is costing the music industry billions. The study declares that “As a consequence of global and U.S.-based piracy of sound recordings, the U.S. economy loses $12.5 billion.” It is also shows that thousands of jobs are being lost as a result music piracy and that U.S. workers lose $2.7 billion in annual earnings and that $1.1 billion of that is from the earnings of workers within the music industry, while the other $1.6 billion is from other U.S. industries. The music industry is having their money burned by piracy.
Over the course of the new millennia there has been an increased surge in the amount of illegal downloading that has occurred or as it’s more commonly known as pirating. This is most likely due to the availability of digital media and how easy it is to take a video or sound file and upload it to the internet for all to click and enjoy, free of charge. Now, you might be asking, “Where are you going with this?” Well, there is much controversy right now as to the affects that piracy has on the music industry. The music industry will claim that piracy is to blame for the declining sales that they are experiencing. Others will speculate that piracy actually supports the music industry. So, I have come forward to voice my opinion and provide a route which I think will be a possible solution to the issue.
One study titled Digital Music Consumption on the Internet: Evidence from Clickstream Data indicates that “The crucial point is to know whether illegal consumption (the downloading of an album or a song) would have been converted into legal consumption (the purchase of that same album or song) in the absence of illegal consumption channels.” The statement provides the foundation for one of the main points in the argument that piracy does not impact sales. Basically, this says that music industries cannot claim that piracy is to blame for their declining sales because they cannot prove that those who engage in illegal downloading would have purchased the music legally. This study also claims that illegal music consumption is actually beneficial to the music industry and actually, slightly increases their sales. The study alludes to how easy access to music via sites like YouTube and MediaFire allow for consumers to find artists and songs that they wouldn’t have found otherwise. This is something that I must admit to be true in my own personal situation because without YouTube I wouldn’t have been able to get into music from other countries such as Russia and South Korea. Without YouTube I wouldn’t have found bands like Nightwish, Evanescence, and Within Temptation who I enjoy very dearly and listen to on a daily basis. However, this is also a double-edged sword because there are programs and websites which allow users to rip music from YouTube without paying a penny.
On the other hand I have one study by the Institute for Policy Innovation that voices opposition against piracy and addresses piracy as an issue that is costing the music industry billions. The study declares that “As a consequence of global and U.S.-based piracy of sound recordings, the U.S. economy loses $12.5 billion.” It is also shows that thousands of jobs are being lost as a result music piracy and that U.S. workers lose $2.7 billion in annual earnings and that $1.1 billion of that is from the earnings of workers within the music industry, while the other $1.6 billion is from other U.S. industries. The music industry is having their money burned by piracy.
The music industry is in quite a terrible predicament and seems to be trapped in a hole. As to whether this is caused by piracy or not, I’ll let my audience draw their own conclusions about it. However, what I do know is that things cannot continue as they are and so I am asking my fellow lovers of music to support the music industry in its’ time of need. We as the consumer need to support the artist and songs that we love and care about by actually buying CDs, digital media through legal sites, and also through legal streaming sites such as Spotify. Streaming yields the least amount of profit towards artists out of all the options, but it is still better than illegal downloading, which yields no profit toward the artists. The average artist from Spotify can earn anywhere from $0.006-$0.0084 per play. So, let us do a little math here and say that an artist gets 100,000 plays at $0.0084 per play. That only equates to $840 which is a miniscule amount of money that certainly couldn’t be used to support oneself. Now, let us keep in mind that there are less well-known artist who are certainly not getting 100,000 plays. Buying physical CDs is what actually yields the greatest amount of profit for artists, so if you don’t mind spending a little extra to support your favorite artists, then you should definitely get physical copies.
Regardless of whether you decide to stream music, buy it off ITunes, or buy physical CDs, the important part is that you are spending money to support these artist. None of us want our favorite musician to suddenly stop making music because they can’t support themselves anymore. At the end of the day it is your choice and no one else can force you to make it.
Thank you,
A Fellow Music Consumer
P.S.
Even if you do not consider yourself a consumer of music, piracy happens across all forms of media including movies, video games, apps, and books. Please, try to support the products that you care about so that companies can keep producing more of the product.
Regardless of whether you decide to stream music, buy it off ITunes, or buy physical CDs, the important part is that you are spending money to support these artist. None of us want our favorite musician to suddenly stop making music because they can’t support themselves anymore. At the end of the day it is your choice and no one else can force you to make it.
Thank you,
A Fellow Music Consumer
P.S.
Even if you do not consider yourself a consumer of music, piracy happens across all forms of media including movies, video games, apps, and books. Please, try to support the products that you care about so that companies can keep producing more of the product.