The TRUE Music Industry x Filesharing Conspiracy

This THREAD will present quotes from torrentfreak analysis on the Music Industry, presenting enough evidences that piracy is not the reason for the decline in the music industry.

ARTICLE FROM TORRENTFREAK:
torrentfreak.com...

For more than a decade the music industry has claimed that digital piracy is the main cause for the gradual decline in revenues. However, looking at the sales data of the music industry itself shows that the disappointing income might be better explained by a third factor that is systematically ignored.

According to statistics taken from the RIAA shipment database, between 2004 and 2008 the number of single tracks sold in the U.S. increased by 669 percent while the number of album sales dropped 42 percent. Consequently, the income of the big labels suffered since single track sales are less profitable than full albums.

File-sharing is obviously a by-product of the digital revolution in music, but its effect on revenues has been much overstated. In every annual report that comes out, the music industry blames piracy for its troubles, even though digital sales are booming and even though these are directly competing with piracy.

We believe that the format shift from physical to digital music, and the change in buying habits that came along with it, may explain the decline in revenue more than piracy can. To back this up we’ve compared the labels’ revenues in two countries on opposite ends of the digital / physical rift, the U.S. and Germany.

In Germany physical CDs are still very popular, with digital sales representing less than 25% of all music ‘units’ sold. In the U.S. on the other hand, digital outsells physical with 70% of all sales.

If the theory that the shift towards digital music is negatively impacting revenues holds up, then the German record labels should do much better. Indeed, between 2004 and 2008 the net revenue (in dollars) of the U.S record companies fell more than 30%, compared to less than 5% in Germany.

Many younger people don’t even own a CD-player anymore, yet the music industry sees digital piracy as the main reason for the decline in physical sales. Strange, because digital piracy would be most likely to cannibalize digital sales. This anomaly also refutes the excuse that the U.S industry could be hit more by piracy than the German.

So, why is industry trying to blame piracy for their problems, instead of realizing that, with the Digital revolution, most people use iPODs/mp3 players and most people dont buy entire CDs anymore, but individual songs

The article present enough evidences to support the theory that the Music Industry dont want to accept the fact that nowadays their ancient business strategies just dont work. People dont buy CDs anymore, simply because its expensive, they dont have CDPlayers, digital download is cheaper, and its hard to find CDs where fans love all the songs, so, individual songs downloading is replacing a lot of Albums purchases from the past.

I recommend this article, there are more paragraphs with good historic comparisons with old media formats too, so if you still have some doubt, you will understand better.

So, please, stop spreading the propaganda from the the ancient industry that piracy is hurting their business, they are just desperate that they are losing a lot of money and their profit is not increasing at the same rate as before, since digital services are more affordable and comfortable for most people.

The digital media revolution is still in process and in a near future there wont be blurays, games or whatever available on external disks.

This is a very good point you have.

You used to have to buy a whole CD with one or two good songs and 8 or 10 filler songs.

With the idea of digital music being purchased one song at a time, it makes the practice of recording intentional filler songs a bad practice.

I believe that this is a bad thing for big record companies, but good news for individual artists who are actually connected to their music.

Being part of the generation who thinks you can get everything for free, I think a lot of people end up buying a product related to the pirated one.

Myself for instance downloaded a lot of the new PC and XBOX games that came out.

However, I found myself either liking it and wanting to play online and buying a copy, or liking it enough to buy the next game by that title.

This is also with CoastToCoast, who is CURRENTLY taking down HUNDREDS of youtube chanels that deal with conspiracies, ranging from UFO's to bigfoot, to the NWO.

Why? Because they have one of their shows broke up into 10 or so videos.

They claim copyright on all the videos of theirs on that channel, and youtube closes channels after 3 strikes.

So if you even upload half of a coast to coast show, they delete your entire channel.

I don't know what's up, but I know myself and MANY others FOUND coast to coast on youtube and would not be listeners otherwise.

reply to post by Faiol


I think there are 2 reasons for the decline in revenues.

1. A simple lack of talent.
People aren't buying music like they used to, because there is just
not that much good music to choose from.

2. Too many other entertainment choices.
Back when I was a young adult (Late 70's / Early 80's)
Music was a huge part of our entertainment.
People had great passion for music.
We didnt have video games, sattelite/cable TV, internet, cell phones.
I think these have knocked music down a bit.

Just my opinion. Agree ?

This thread supports my argument in the previous music industry / piracy thread.

My argument was;

'The times are changing.'

I'll just add something I posted in the other thread.

You have free radio, you have free TV. If it doesn't have what you want save up and buy what you want. Can't afford the book you want then go to the library. You can't afford the video game you want? There are thousnads of free flash games to play while you count your pennies.

There are free options. If you don't like them save up and pay for what you think is the better option. In most western countries you are given tons of free access to information, music, and art. If you find the free options lacking you can pay for better options.

You are not being denied your needs. You are being denied your wants, your luxuries. To try justifying stealing a non necessity is simply justifying being a common thief.

Here is something else I posted on ATS.

No matter what people say piracy is killing the record business. I've watched it happen first hand. I've seen marketing staffs sliced in half and I've seen independent labels cut staff as well as production budget. The little guy it is supposed to be helping is hurting.

I was at an indy label recently. The owner/president was telling his staff that project budgets are getting cut by 15% because sells are still falling. This isn't some fat cat trying to maintain an exuberant lifestyle. He drives a Mazda 3 and lives in a 2,000 sqft house. This is the guy that should be doing great according to pirates. His artist should be making a killing because of piracy. They aren't.

The artist are flipping out because the budget from the label for production, photography, video, tour support, and promotion is shrinking. Yet they are playing shows to smaller crowds. The number of venues and the number of people showing up is shrinking.

People are stealing the music and failing to show up to support the artists. That is the truth of the matter. Like it or not piracy hurts artists.

[edit on 26-6-2010 by MikeNice81]

The artists don't make a lot of money off of sales. That is where the writers make a lot of their money. It is also where the label makes the money to release those bands that don't sell huge numbers. You can't take a chance on a new quirky band when you're not making money off of album sells anymore. It is also where the "promo" money comes from to send out the next album to radio stations and reviewers. It is wheret he money to pay the producer, engineer, publicist, tour promoter, and a million other people that make it possible comes from.

Piracy is destroying life for thousands of people that work to keep the music coming. The music business is about more than the artists and their recordings. The support staff it takes to get out there and make a successful album or career isn't free and it is necessary. Even the indie lables have teams of radio promoters, tour publicist, accountants, A&R guys, publicists to keep up with social media networks, IT guys, and more.

Piracy might not destroy the artists' income directly. However, once you start cutting off the money for all of these other things you start effecting the artists' ability to make money. Your also start taking jobs away from honest, hard working, people that do what they do because they love music.

Just some of my observations from inside the industry and years working out side of the industry with local and small bands.

[edit on 27-6-2010 by MikeNice81]

[edit on 27-6-2010 by MikeNice81]

The issue with what I have is you are limiting this to Music. The figures don't lie.. if singles sell better than albums than I completely applaud companies and artists that find a way to take advantage of the situation.. i-tunes is the most major example..

The other thread you are trying to attack is NOT just about music.. it is about PIRACY in general. People keep downloading books, programs, TV Shows you name it.

You can't download just ONE chapter of a book like you can a song off a CD.. you either buy the book or you don't.

Same for TV Shows or Movies.. you can't download just 5 minutes of a TV show or movie and expect to enjoy it.. SO STEAL THE WHOLE things is the attitude now.

How about programs? Someone was complaining they couldn't afford the OH SO EXPENSIVE Adobe suite so they pirated it.. GO DOWNLOAD GIMP.. it's free and incorporates Vector AND raster elements.. just wow! it's free..
Or even in a UFO thread I was reading where someone directed people to a pirated site to download 3D Max.. GO DOWNLOAD A FREE 3D Program such as BLENDER
--

great post in providing the numbers on only one element of piracy though. It still doesn't make it right to steal.

b

edited to add before someone comments on my avatar being ripped off.. I BOUGHT a Bloom County book, scanned a black/white page I liked, colored it, made it into a form that is really unusable for anyone else and the "location" in the info portion under my avatar is promoting the comic Bloom County by Berkeley Breathed... already been in that argument so go to the other thread and finish it there if you want to argue about it


[edit on 28-6-2010 by Bspiracy]

its amazing that in the other thread people seem to blame it all in piracy

but the data shows clearly that the music business changed, now you wont be able to sell a whole album if the songs suck

they will loose more and more money if they dont change their business ideas