The medias take on illegal downloading seems to me completely ignore any questions around elasticity of demand or the wider positive effects of an individual downloading for free (somehow) a bands track. Thank god for people like Ben Goldacre to set the record straight on whats really going on.
It's simply not the case that when a person downloads a tune illegally they are making the statement 'this is a tune that I would pay x for'. They are instead simply saying 'this is a tune I'd like to download for free', no question has been asked about their preference at a higher price. Therefore when the Sun bounds a figure around of £120 billion, it might sound impressive but it's in no way correct.
The reasons why we're even here debating it right now are two fold
- the music industrys inability to understand consumers behaviours and motivations due to their reluctance to give up on the cd as cash cow/tour as promotion for cd business model
- the speed with which all things digital have changed the world we live in
Footnote - yesterday was mostly spent compiling and sharing spotify playlists, all made possible by invention and a willingness for some labels out there to understand the new music industry business model. I might even download the rhythm and sound album tonight via itunes.
extra footnote - think it's going to have to vinyl - need the bottom end
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