An extensive study has been published that pretty much confirms everything we've long suspected about the effects of P2P music sharing on actual music sales. …research now concludes that P2P downloading constitutes less than one-third of the music on downloaders' computers, that P2P users frequently try music on P2P services before they buy, that the largest P2P downloader demographic is also the largest music buying demographic, and that reduced purchasing has little to do with the availability of music on P2P services.
– CRTC via Michael Geist
The source of this study?
Canada's version of the RIAA, the Canadian Record Industry Association. The entire CRIA study can be found on the Canada Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) web site here.
Oddly, the main press release on the CRIA website breathelessly trumpets that…
The downward spiral of music sales in Canada resumed in 2005 as illegal file swapping exacted a high toll on the country's artists and music industry.
Geist notes that CRIA’s own survey critically asks about why people bought less music to better understand this “downward spiral of music sales”. CRIA’s answer?
…Only 10% of respondents cited the availability of music downloads. Instead, people cited a long list of alternatives that have nothing to do with downloading including price (16%), nothing of interest (14%), lack of time (13%), collection is big enough (9%), don't buy (7%), listen to radio (7%), change in tastes (6%), no CD player (3%), have an MP3 player (2%), lack of opportunity to buy (2%), watch more tv (2%), age (1%), only buy what I like (1%). Simply put, P2P simply is not a major factor behind decisions to buy less music.
– Michael Geist, March 17, 2006
None of this should come as a surprise to the “pro-user zealots” out there. It might come as a surprise to the RIAA. I wonder what our Government is going to do with this? Hopefully these facts don’t get twisted around to form the basis of new laws that take away more of my rights.
