14 DAY TRIAL // The music business is changing and there's nothing that anyone can do, including the huge music labels, to stop that. However, while the record labels try to cling on to their dying business model, yet another study shows that those who download music illegally are also the ones who spend more on it. A lot more, it turns out, £77 per year on music, compared with the £33 those who claim that they don't obtain music illegally spend.
The study, commissioned by Demos, would indicate that the music business' apparently worst enemies are, in fact, its biggest fans. The survey questioned 1,000 people in the UK on their music habits and spending and found that only ten percent admitted they had downloaded music illegally. However, those ten percent spent more than double on music each year than those who only acquired it legally. The study is especially important in the UK, where there are talks of introducing a “three-strikes” law to kick repeated file-sharers off the Internet.
“The latest approach from the Government will not help prop up an ailing music industry. Politicians and music companies need to recognise that the nature of music consumption has changed, and consumers are demanding lower prices and easier access,” Demos' Peter Bradwell said.
There are a few caveats to the study, the biggest one being that it relies on people admitting to what it is, after all, a crime that many would probably be wary of. Still, this isn't the first such study to find similar results and it most likely won't be the last, as the debate intensifies. And, while its results may not be completely accurate, it does make sense that the ones more interested in music are the ones that spend more on it and, indeed, the ones that use file-sharing more, seeing that there are still very few legal alternatives that provide what they need.
Spotify is one such alternative, allowing users to stream music to their desktops for free, and others are following suit. These may not have a proven business model yet, but at least some of them are on the right track towards generating revenue while also catering to a real need to have easy access to a large catalog of music.