Music Industry Graphics

These graphics give great detail about the current stance of the music industry in both economic and social viewpoints.

The first visual (right) gives a glimpse into the music industry and the effect music piracy is having over the industry.  The visual breaks it down into which record label, genre, and country sells most.  I like this visual because it also looks into whether or not the music industry is loosing as much business as they say they are.  The visual then breaks down where the money paid for a new album actually goes to, showing that only $1.60 of each cd goes to the artist (who then pays income tax on that).  The visual concludes by delving into the 'rise of digital music.'  This covers the downfall of album sales to charting the growth of digital music in all aspects of the industry.  On interesting fact that I learned from this is that iTunes is stated as the largest music retailer in the US!

The next visual (left) is similar to the first but focuses more so on who/what (digital music service) holds market share in digital music.  iTunes is still stated as the largest digital music retailer, but it has a lot of competition.  This visual listed the top 6 different digital services to look at who holds the most market share, who's growing the quickest and who's on the downfall.  This visual can be very helpful to someone deciding on which service to use because it gives an overview of what the service charges and whether or not people are using it, giving a clue to its future.  It shows a couple on the rise (rhapsody and emusic) and some on the fall (CD Baby and Napster), and overall is a visual with a wealth of information.  

This last visual I found intriguing because it lists some of the best responses digital music fans have had against the RIAA when they began suing individuals for illegally sharing music.  As you can see it is a little biased towards pro-piracy, but overall gives a glimpse at the feeling towards the RIAA taking legal action on people simply downloading music.  

Final Draft :: Piracy in the Music Industry

Privacy In the Music Industry: Illegal Music Downloading

Abstract:

This study researched the world of illegal music downloading, taking information from sources of different backgrounds. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and news media outlets, along with a survey and explanation of opinions on the subject, have aided in the shaping and direction that the report has taken. We believe to find that a majority of internet-savvy population, focusing on college-aged individuals, will be more tolerant to music piracy. The results of the survey agree with our hypothesis in that our sample shows that college-aged individuals are much more likely to download music illegally.

Introduction:

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is the organization that controls the finances of recordings of all of the major music companies and labels in the country. They are responsible for about eighty-five percent of all genuine music that is recorded, produced, and sold within the U.S. This means that they are also the main company working to prove that illegal downloading infringes on the rights that the First Amendment ensures to all people, including music artists.
Because the illegal downloading and piracy of music has resulted in such significant losses of revenue for the music industry as a whole, the RIAA worked with the FBI to create a new warning to place on all copyrighted music products. In addition to this seal, there are also two printed warnings that read as follows:

Extended Warning:
“The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.”
Abbreviated Warning:
“FBI Anti-Piracy Warning: Unauthorized Copying Is Punishable Under Federal Law.”
However, the fact of the matter remains: the illegal downloading and piracy of music is not slowing.

Coverage of the Issue by News/Media Outlets:

The Boston Globe:
Judge Slashes Penalty in Illegal Music Downloading Case
Written on July 9, 2010 by Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff
This article is about a graduate student at Boston University, Joel Tenebaum, who was sued for $675,000 for illegally downloading and sharing 30 songs. US District Court Judge Nancy Gertner ruled that the amount of money was “unconstitutionally excessive,” lowering the it to $67,500. Gertner believes that Congress did not anticipate the Digital Theft Deterrence Act of 1999 to expose people like Tenebaum to such enormous financial obligations for violating copyright law.

The Washington Post:
Download Uproar: Record Industry Goes After Personal Use
Written on December 30, 2007 by Marc Fisher, Staff Writer
This article is about an unusual case in which Jeffrey Howell received an RIAA letter and fought back. The RIAA then claimed that “it is illegal for someone who has legally purchased a CD to transfer that music into his computer.” This is a very significant claim because law only states that it is illegal to distribute copyrighted materials. In this case, however, the RIAA was arguing that transferring the music to a computer for personal use was also violating the law.

The Question:

The fact of the matter is that there are tons of websites that allow music to be downloaded and shared among users illegally. Although piracy of music is illegal because of copyright infringement, who is ultimately at fault? Should the people using these sites be punished for their actions, or are the actual sites who are promoting this behavior to blame? (should we include our target audience – college students)

The Survey :

This study conducted an online survey to gather information about the topic of music piracy and its effect on the music industry. The survey was created on www.surveymonkey.com and was then distributed through Facebook, email, and forums. The survey service automatically collected the responses for analysis.

The survey consisted of ten questions which included four demographic questions (gender, age group, education, and internet usage) followed by six questions specific to the topic at hand. These questions inspected the participant's history of downloading music online (both legally and illegally), sources/services used to download the music, and thoughts on the legality of music piracy. The target audience of this study is college age individuals who use the internet often and are active within the music culture/community. We feel that a sample from this community will produce credible results because the average college age individual has grown up within the digital age, usually has good familiarity with the internet, and is active within the music community.


Analysis :

Due to time restrictions, the survey was only available for a 36 hour time period from October 12-13, 2010. The survey started with a couple demographic questions to determine the sample we were working with. There were 72 total responses (58% male, 42% female). A majority, 63, of those were of college age (18-23) who are attending a university or have recently graduated. All of the participants, except for one, stated they visited the internet daily, half of which visit the internet every hour. Also, 69 out of the 72 participants download music online. Thus, the study sample is exactly the audience we wished to target.

The survey then began the questions that will help in answering the posed questions. The first question asked whether the participant has downloaded music legally, illegally, or both. Considering the amount of media coverage on music piracy, it was not very surprising to see that over 80% of our participants stated they download music illegally. Only 11 out of the 72 respondents who specifically download music legally. The following question sought the sources/services used for the participant's procurement of music: paid services (itunes), torrent sites (Pirate Bay), P2P services (Kazaa), media sharing sites (Mediafire), or other, leaving room for a written response. The results showed little discrepancy between the selections. This gives a glimpse in to the wide range of options there are to download music, both paid and free. The written responses even gave services that were unknown to the researchers.

The last set of questions examined the attitude of the participants toward the legality of music piracy. Exactly two-thirds of the participants believed that downloading music for free should not be illegal. When asked who should be held responsible for the music being pirated, two-thirds stated the service/program offering the music should hold responsibility, with only 20% believing the individual downloading the music is responsible. There was a third option, 'other,' with a written response, in which 6 of the 8 respondents stated “both.” These results reveal that many who are downloading may believe they are not responsible for the music downloaded from a site that makes it available to the entire online population.

The survey concluded with a optional written response about any extra thoughts the participant may have on the legality of music piracy. Thirteen responded with a variety of thoughts. Many argued that music piracy must be illegal due to economic reasons. But, one respondent had this sentiment: “Downloading the music is a means of distribution. If the artist is truly talented, s/he will earn fans and still play live concerts.” A couple of respondents agreed, arguing the fact that artists do not received a great deal of money from album sales, their income often comes from touring and merchandising.


Conclusions :

The results of the survey corresponded well with our hypothesis. A large portion of young adults, aged 18-23, download music from the internet illegally. The sample was mainly centered on students at the University of College Park, however, we believe that these results can expand to the population of college students. In further studies, it would be interesting to examine a greater audience in age and education, as well as class status and music interest.

The study was an overall success.  One error in the study that was foreseen was the possible bias the target audience would have to music piracy. Many in this age group have grown up in the time where music/file sharing was not actually illegal, it was simply sharing personal property. Thus, this group may be biased towards music sharing being legal. With more time and resources, this study could break way for further research about the culture of music piracy.


Further Resources:

Piracy Visual
http://curseofthemoon.deviantart.com/art/Music-And-Piracy-Infographic-162247383?fullview=1

Take the Survey

Click here to take survey

Securing Music in the Digital World

For the last month, and supposedly continuing until Christmas, Kanye West has been releasing new songs, featuring himself along with fellow G.O.O.D. Music artists, every Friday. The weekly single downloads have quickly become a hit among hip hop fans. Last week, however, Kanye felt the annoyance of the music business's greatest opponent, leaking. He announced, through his Twitter page, last Wednesday that due to someone leaking a track off his upcoming album, he would not release the week's GOOD Friday single. He did end up releasing a single this past Friday, but it does publicize the frustration artists, producers, and music executives must endure.

Advancements in technology have made song and album leaks universal. The rise of BitTorrent, a p2p protocol that makes it very simple to download entire albums in high-quality audio. Public torrent sites such as the Pirate Bay, TorrentReactor, and Torrentspy have become the hotspots for pre-release leaks. The music industry already has its problems with torrent sites, but they should not be blamed for leaks. These sites are hubs for spreading leaks, but the songs are not leaked directly to a torrent site, there is usually a middle man. The middle man often is someone within the industry or someone that received a promotional copy of the album. A former leak insider (see Ripped) gave some examples of how albums can easily get leaked: “I heard a member of one ripping crew was dating the daughter of the president of some label—that’s how he was scoring advances.” Or, “If you were a studio guy making $10.50 an hour, and you had the new Eminem album, and someone was offering you money for it, what would you do?”

More recently, services like YouSendIt, Megaupload, and UserShare have made it simple to upload anything from a single song to an entire album as a single zipped file, available to the masses. These services have created a new generation of music sites, specifically blogs, which are dedicated to new, often leaked, music. This advancement has also sparked change within the music industry in the battle over leaks. Many artists, majority hip-hop artists, have begun releasing a steady trickle of material on the internet as soon as it is recorded, while working on their albums. Which is exactly the case Kanye West has gone through over the last week, who still fell victim to leaked tracks.

Kanye, as well as the other artists, producers, and executives, will currently have to live with the fact that some songs will be leaked. The Vice label manager, Adam Shore, speaks for most in the music industry saying, “The problem with leaks is that people don't necessarily know what they are hearing—if it's the entire album, finished tracks, etc. There's incredible rush to judgment. People grab an album, listen to it one time, and they immediately want to post about it. That sets a tone for people who haven't heard it yet.” But fans will continue searching for newer, and newer material, as those in the music industry will continue searching for a way to protect their unreleased material.

Check these articles out (used as resources):

http://nymag.com/news/features/42391/index3.html

http://www.spin.com/articles/days-leak

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2002094,00.html