4 ms·

The problem is that there are $9B in recorded music sales. A small percentage of people actually steal music (I believe it's like 9%). You have a bunch of peo

The problem is that there are $9B in recorded music sales. A small percentage of people actually steal music (I believe it's like 9%). You have a bunch of people who probably don't buy much music because it's inconvenient. Then you have other people who would buy more music if it was more convenient. The % of people who steal isn't likely to go up just because storing files online through Amazon's PAID service (keep in mind these people are stealing because they don't like paying for things) makes it easier to access your music. But the potential for the $9B worth of customers you have increasing their purchases is completely mitigated by this nonsense. If I am not an example of a fairly typical consumer in this area, I don't know who is.

nl 15y ago
You don't need to convince me; you need to convince the music industry - and to be honest I don't think your arguments are strong enough. A small percentage of people actually steal music (I believe it's like 9%) Where did you get that number? Most studies I've seen estimate between 25 and 50% of music consumer pirate at least some. Here's a random article: Recently Entertainment Media Research conducted a survey with 1,500 UK residents and discovered that the number of music fans downloading music illegally actually dropped to 39 percent, a whopping 4 percent difference from last year’s statistics. http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Music-Illegal-Download-MP3,news-2755.html http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Music-Illegal-Download-MP3,news-... The RIAA says: NPD reports that only 37 percent of music acquired by U.S. consumers in 2009 was paid for. http://www.riaa.com/faq.php http://www.riaa.com/faq.php (Yes, it's the RIAA... but that's the music industry.. the people you need to convince) The % of people who steal isn't likely to go up just because storing files online through Amazon's PAID service (keep in mind these people are stealing because they don't like paying for things) makes it easier to access your music. That's where you and the music industry disagree very strongly - and in their defense I think they have a case. They look at the precedent of people paying for blank CDs to copy their friends CDs to, and say "well, why won't one person just go to their friends place and let them download their entire collection from Amazon".
earbitscom 15y ago
Wish I could comment on the comment below but... The point is, these people are stealing already, and the difference in the ease of stealing using what's already available and the ease of using Amazon is not that big of a difference, and the current stealing techniques don't cost a monthly fee. I don't see people switching to Amazon for all of their theft. As someone pointed out, Amazon could easily monitor this behavior and turn these people in. At least with the current theft you aren't being watched by a big company with a vested interest in you paying for your music.
- nl 15y ago
  (you can reply to a comment at any depth by clicking on the "link" next to the time stamp.)
  - earbitscom 15y ago
    Thanks!

nl 15y ago

You don't need to convince me; you need to convince the music industry - and to be honest I don't think your arguments are strong enough. A small percentage of people actually steal music (I believe it's like 9%) Where did you get that number? Most studies I've seen estimate between 25 and 50% of music consumer pirate at least some. Here's a random article: Recently Entertainment Media Research conducted a survey with 1,500 UK residents and discovered that the number of music fans downloading music illegally actually dropped to 39 percent, a whopping 4 percent difference from last year’s statistics. http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Music-Illegal-Download-MP3,news-2755.html http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Music-Illegal-Download-MP3,news-... The RIAA says: NPD reports that only 37 percent of music acquired by U.S. consumers in 2009 was paid for. http://www.riaa.com/faq.php http://www.riaa.com/faq.php (Yes, it's the RIAA... but that's the music industry.. the people you need to convince) The % of people who steal isn't likely to go up just because storing files online through Amazon's PAID service (keep in mind these people are stealing because they don't like paying for things) makes it easier to access your music. That's where you and the music industry disagree very strongly - and in their defense I think they have a case. They look at the precedent of people paying for blank CDs to copy their friends CDs to, and say "well, why won't one person just go to their friends place and let them download their entire collection from Amazon".

earbitscom 15y ago

Wish I could comment on the comment below but... The point is, these people are stealing already, and the difference in the ease of stealing using what's already available and the ease of using Amazon is not that big of a difference, and the current stealing techniques don't cost a monthly fee. I don't see people switching to Amazon for all of their theft. As someone pointed out, Amazon could easily monitor this behavior and turn these people in. At least with the current theft you aren't being watched by a big company with a vested interest in you paying for your music.

nl 15y ago
(you can reply to a comment at any depth by clicking on the "link" next to the time stamp.)
- earbitscom 15y ago
  Thanks!