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File Sharing Remains Constant

Studies

from the good-or-bad-depending-on-how-you-spin-it dept

Thu, Jan 19th 2006 12:34pm — Mike Masnick
While the recording industry likes to declare that its legal actions against file sharers are a success, a new report shows little change in file sharing traffic. This can easily be spun to support both sides -- and the likely truth is that there are multiple forces at work here. Some people have almost definitely stopped their file sharing activities due to the threat of lawsuits. Though, you could argue that's a hollow victory -- because those people may discover less music and may end up giving less money to the recording industry and its artists. The industry's spin is not surprising. It's celebrating the fact that sharing has been "contained" by noting that with more broadband use, it should have increased. However, again, we're talking hollow victories here. There's still a ton of file sharing going on and the real question is what it's actually done for the industry's ability to make money in the future -- and you could make a reasonable case that it's done a lot more harm than good. The other bit of doublespeak from the industry spokesperson is the claim that all these complaints about copy protection are simply misunderstandings, and that the technology "helps get music to consumers in new and flexible ways." That's funny, it doesn't seem to add any new method of delivery that we can see, and seems to remove flexibility, not add it.
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23 Comments

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  • identicon
    Renae Makoto, 19 Jan 2006 @ 1:33pm

    No Subject Given

    I intend to agree with this, however, the only difficulty I have is how does the industry know that it's harming the business or not? How does the RIAA know that when people hear one song(s) by the same artist, that the person will go to get the cd from that one artist alone? Can they even prove that? If they can't, they should stop wasting their time thinking that they're saving the world from the 'evil little people who purchase the artists things', stop wasting money on a lawyer who kisses rear ends, and stop making themselves the 'evil little people'.

    Because so far, that's what they're doing.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Mr. Lucas Brice, 19 Jan 2006 @ 4:26pm

      Music Is Over

      Who really cares about file sharing when music is over anyway. The RIAA can complain like wounded babies about file sharing but the truth is that all they have to offer is manufactured pap garbage. Brittany Spears? Ashlee Simpson? Excuse me while I barf on my shoes.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 19 Jan 2006 @ 2:08pm

    No Subject Given

    The 'new and flexible' ways have stopped me from purchasing several CD's (and I have notified the band that I will not be purchasing digital versions)
    There were a couple of CD's (one through EMG) that I wanted. I want to listen in my car and I want to listen on my MP3. Thanks to the new and flexible copy-protection, I can only rip the CD three times, and even then, only to WMA. What player worth a damn plays WMA? Oh don't worry, I was still able to hack the crap out of (insert CD while holding shift disables auto-run. Then use ISOBurner) but the effort I had to go through to get some fair use out of it was ridiculous.
    This crap is a joke.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Miser, 19 Jan 2006 @ 3:27pm

      Re: No Subject Given

      there are a number of wma to mp3 converters out there, xillisoft makes my favorite, (cause i hate the wma formate too)

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonomous dude, 19 Jan 2006 @ 3:50pm

    No Subject Given

    I use a filesharing program occasionally to see if I like the music, then decide whether or not to buy it, and then delete the song. However, I recently downloaded a few songs of the "Chronicles of Narnia" soundtrack, and the next day went out and bought the cd. Now, why doesn't the music industry, instead of suing people and getting pissed off, use filesharing programs to offer versions of the songs that can only be played once or twice, so people can decide if they like the songs?

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      James Biddulph, 9 Feb 2006 @ 1:40am

      Re: No Subject Given

      Quite simple because half of what the music industry put out is crap, it has been this way for decades but we the 'small people' have not had the power or money to complain about it like they do, the music industry have been ripping us off for decades an album will have at most 3 fairly decent songs/tunes/tracks on it the rest are 'fillers' crap that would never make it on it's own just to 'fill up' the album so they can charge the highest price for it. But where do we go to get that kind of 'crime' addressed.... answer NOWHERE!!!!!

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Me, 19 Jan 2006 @ 4:10pm

    Above

    People dont want to download a song they can only play once or twice when they can download an unlimited play version of the ablum for FREE.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Tyshaun, 19 Jan 2006 @ 4:15pm

      Re: Above

      I agree "Me" but at least the suggestion is a step closer to the music industry embrassing the potential power of a new advertising/distribution model rather than clinging to the dying horse that is the current model.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Me, 19 Jan 2006 @ 10:16pm

        Re: Above

        But i dont believe that the populas would take to that any better than whats going down now

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Innovator, 19 Jan 2006 @ 4:38pm

    Reasons.

    Maybe people use file sharing because of the prices of CDs. 10 bucks for 10 songs. Even the shuffle holds 120 songs. $120. Thats as much as the player itself.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Chris, 19 Jan 2006 @ 4:56pm

    RIAA is wasting its time

    Until the day the RIAA installs cameras in my room and monitors my internet traffic I'm going to continue to download music for free. I'll support the artists by going to their shows.
    Yea it may be wrong, but that's what the RIAA & major labels get for being greedy bastards. Labels get most of the profit from record sales anyway.
    Oh, and I'll buy the cd if it's an indie label. I don't care about major labels, they can rot in hell.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 19 Jan 2006 @ 5:27pm

    No Subject Given

    If someone can give me the addresses to the artists that I listen to, then I will gladly send them the money. Seeing as how they get pennies per CD purchased. I would rather the entire ammount go to them to do with what they want. I so miss the old, pre RIAA lawsuit, MP3.com, where the little guy could go to publish their music. RIAA took good care of that one. What a goat F...

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 19 Jan 2006 @ 5:46pm

      Re: No Subject Given

      What kind of music are they worried about any way? That ghetto rap crap they are so fond of cramming down our throats? Get a life, get a job and rise above your self imposed povery. Stop whining about how the "man got you down" because if anyone put you where you, are it is you.

      Sorry for the rant, but I know too may people where I live that wonder why their lives suck and blame me for their failure to use their time in school for educating themselves. Most of them are drop outs and borderline felons. And that ghetto music that RIAA keeps pushing on us is an example of how backwrds this country is. They say there is no future without history, but if you let some of history go, things may actually get better for everyone. So let the friggen past die and get over it!!!! We are not in the civil war anymore, there are no more slaves (in the US). Get the F over it. And stop making music about it!!!

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Jim Garrison, 19 Jan 2006 @ 8:47pm

    RIAA must hate consumers

    The only thing DRM does is punish legimate buyers. I copy DVDs, put up the originals and give the kids the copy to play. After they've managed to scratch up the copy or get so many finger prints on it that it's unusable I make another copy. Same with music CDs for my car. I don't want the original (and over priced CD) sitting in the southern Texas heat in my car. Lately though I've had no choice but to seek out applications on the Internet to assist me in making copies or finding MP3s of the songs I want. Besides who wants to infect their computer with the rootkits and other crap automatically installed with a store brought CD.
    Any copy protection in the past has always been broken. Pirates will always get what they want. The only thing software copy protection and DRM does is inconvience legimate customers.
    I'll also second the fact that a large part of the problem with both music and movies today is the crap is being cranked out. Name just one supergroup today. All we have are lip-syncing personalities. The big money in the music industry was in touring anyway, not record sales (just look at the Grateful Dead). But how can you fill a stadium with someone that can't even sing?

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Garfiode, 19 Jan 2006 @ 8:55pm

      Re: RIAA must hate consumers

      Most of the Good Stuff out there is so far progressive that people just can't recoginize it. Like Dream Theater. Most people have every heard of it. The reason for that is because it so far techniquly advanced above all the other crap that is getting put out now days.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        DJ Twiztid - iT LAN Admin, 20 Jan 2006 @ 6:55am

        Re: RIAA must hate consumers

        I think KoRn Said it best with their music vid ya'll want a single. The RIAA is a bunch of money hungry bullies that think they are gods gift to the world. Look back to the days where entertainers played, acted for near nothing. For the amusment of others is all they wanted in turn. Yeah I agree they should get some money to help sustain them...but millions upon millions of dollars?! That is not realistic. The RIAA needs a wake up call. Before long they'll be right there with the very people that can't afford a lot and turn to the internet for entertainment. They need to walk in others shoes before they start placing blam on file sharing.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Paul, 20 Jan 2006 @ 3:02am

    File sharing

    I still have a hard time understanding why it would be illegal to share files. Radio stations put music out there on the airways, we'll call them the "servers". Then the electronic industry has created mini stereos, recorders, dual tape decks etc, let's call that the peer to peer tool for recording music. Why doesn't the music industry go after disabling tape deck recording functions etc. How about going after all the electronics manufacturers who make it possible to record music with they're equipment? I believe they did and lost if I am not mistaken in the early 80's. Is there really a fundemental difference? Shut down the radio stations for supplying me with music I can copy on a tape deck and burn to a cd. Quit making cd burners and tape decks etc. Has nobody argued this point? I have flat out stopped buying music cd's. I use to file share, and when I liked something I also bought the cd, No more... Yes, I do believe that the music industry has shot themselves in the foot and will more than likely continue doing so.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Mousky, 20 Jan 2006 @ 6:36am

      Re: File sharing

      "Is there really a fundemental difference?"


      A slight difference in that radio stations pay a royalty for each song played. But other than that, there are no fundemental differences.


      One argument used by the RIAA is that one can make perfect copies of songs. Well, based on the technology at the time, people could make almost near-perfect copies of songs. I copied plenty of CDs onto tapes in the late 80s - hey I was a college student at the time with a limited budget. But I also bought plenty of CDs based on those tapes.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 20 Jan 2006 @ 7:03am

      Re: File sharing

      Radio stations have tight rules on what and when they can broadcast, and essentially all of them make a clean copy off the air impossible with talk-over and crossfade. Not that the highly compressed bandwidth-limited signal sounds like the original anyway; most MP3 rips have more dynamic range than radio. And the content marketers are strong-arming the government to prop up their obsolete business model by making it illegal to own and use equipment that can record "protected" content, regardless of digital or analog encoding.
      This will make classic analog equipment quite desireable ...
      Analog hole, ArsTechnica
      Analog hole, TechDirt

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        THE TRUTH, 20 Jan 2006 @ 9:08am

        Re: File sharing

        What do i care if the record companies die? I say "good riddens". They have been ripping us off for years charging $20 for a cd that cost 5 cents to make. Besides, artist dont make money from CD sales..they make money from touring and playing live. I represent the legion of people who file share and we say "you cant stop us!" All the copy protection in the world will not save them. Its nice to see all the record stores in town go out of buisiness. whooraa!

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Paul, 21 Jan 2006 @ 2:54am

        Re: File sharing

        I think you miss the point. The fact remains the same. Radio stations play music and electronic companies provide me the means to capture it and record it, regardless of the quality, I am still enabled to copy it and share it. PERIOD. Peer to peer file swapping/ sharing is no different fundementally.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          fredfrumppy, 22 Jan 2006 @ 6:35pm

          Re: File sharing

          if you make a living selling any sort of data, it's going to get stolen by someone. there are $20,000 programs available on p2p networks, but do you see their authors complaining? software will always be pirated. live with it. and for people like me that is the only way they will ever their hands on that stuff without getting riped off.

          [ link to this | view in chronology ]


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