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Pick_n_Roll19394

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Closing File-Sharing Portals Pays Off

posted 15 Jun 2012, 06:32
A House Commerce Committee hearing on “The Future of Audio” was held a few days ago, where the RIAA, represented by its head Cary Sherman, was telling lawmakers how the industry has transformed its business model.

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The Recording Industry Association of America claimed at the hearing that digital formats are currently responsible for over 50% of its revenues. The RIAA’s chairman also pointed out that physical CDs are now becoming obsolete and replaced by digital music. The latter has brought about $3.5 billion in revenues last year, which is around 20 times more than in 2004.

However, digital music was on the tide since P2P services appeared, like Napster, KaZaa and LimeWire, because they were all facilitating the free exchange of digital material. But today the entertainment industry seems to have started adapting to the digital age.

The RIAA also claimed that LimeWire’s “demise” had positive effect on digital sales. Most of the US citizens are familiar with LimeWire, which was the most famous P2P file-sharing service in the world. Within 3 years, since 2007 to 2010, about 67% of file-sharers on the Internet used LimeWire. By the end of October 2010, a federal court finally closed the service down for inducing mass copyright violation. According to the RIAA’s statistics, the very next month, digital music sales increased and they have remained higher ever since. Although LimeWire closure may not be the sole reason for improvement, it definitely wasn’t a coincidence: a few months ago, market research company NPD has published a survey revealing that over half of the people who had used LimeWire didn’t switch to another unauthorized music website to download their music after the LimeWire’s shutdown, all thanks to the availability of legitimate music download services.

Meanwhile, the RIAA claims to believe that the best and single most important anti-piracy strategy is still innovation. That’s why they promise to continue “experimenting” and working with their technology and Internet partners on user-friendly new business models.

Source: ET

Top Comments

4
SirSeedsAlot52781 • 15 Jun 2012, 08:10
i personally think the iPod was the reason for sales increases. But..the demise of LW and Napster certainly helped
3
SocialismSUX186 • 15 Jun 2012, 07:31
Why are the feckless still PAYING for inferior "quality" mp3? I am waiting for music stores to stock FLAC.
.
.
FLAC has no evil-, imbecilic drm, and has all the QUALITY of the RECORDING STUDIO.
.
.
If a label is RIAA I *still* won't buy them.
3
GenX4333 • 15 Jun 2012, 08:48
People swap music all the time. If there were no sharing sites they'd still do it the old-fashioned way. They still hand each other CD's, they download each other's music collections and dump them on to their computers, etc. Just like they did with books and records back in my grandma's day. People like something. They share it with someone they like. It's what people DO. The industry's just making a big deal about it because they are unbelievably greedy and want to cash in on every buck they possibly can. They think in this PC age that they can get away with it, too, because they have a lot of money and power and can influence laws that have yet to be put into place to catch up with technology. And not everything they want to do is ethical, thank you, especially with the way the Entertainment Industry KILLS the public domain. But ya don;t hear 'em screamin' about THAT, do ya? Of course not, because by abusing the public domain by unethically slipping between laws that have yet to catch up with technology they're making hellamoney, that's why. Is a record exec gonna go smack one of my homeys for handing out his iPod? Don't think so, but let him try it. I need a good laugh.

All Comments

0
jimranks111123 • 16 June 2012, 04:37  Show comment
If you buy something ; you own it.
If you are given something ; you own it.
You can do what you want with that which you own because it is yours.
Making file sharing of any sort illegal is idiotic to say the least.
Please do your parts in this war on our freedoms.
0
SocialismSUX186 • 16 June 2012, 06:05  Show comment
If you buy an album can you sign a contract with a different label and release that as your own?
0
Phoenix4ever7646 • 16 June 2012, 02:07  Show comment
LimeWire cry
1
AhrimanThorn12865 • 15 June 2012, 19:15  Show comment
I sometimes pirate music by going into HMV or a Virgin store and wandering around for an hour or so listening to the music that is being played. I then go home and sing everything I have heard into the mic on my webcam. They have no idea I am stealing their music like this! If anyone is interested I can upload a few of my pirated albums, I have all the latest stuff. biggrin
0
MOST_WASTED4604 • 16 June 2012, 03:06  Show comment
whats your stage name?
0
TimeBandits15961 • 15 June 2012, 16:01  Show comment
Music was created to be shared & enjoyed, that will never stop.
1
DaCreAtOrS11545 • 15 June 2012, 11:45  Show comment
we should take a mini gun and kill RIAA.
simple and effective.
3
GenX4333 • 15 June 2012, 08:48  Show comment
People swap music all the time. If there were no sharing sites they'd still do it the old-fashioned way. They still hand each other CD's, they download each other's music collections and dump them on to their computers, etc. Just like they did with books and records back in my grandma's day. People like something. They share it with someone they like. It's what people DO. The industry's just making a big deal about it because they are unbelievably greedy and want to cash in on every buck they possibly can. They think in this PC age that they can get away with it, too, because they have a lot of money and power and can influence laws that have yet to be put into place to catch up with technology. And not everything they want to do is ethical, thank you, especially with the way the Entertainment Industry KILLS the public domain. But ya don;t hear 'em screamin' about THAT, do ya? Of course not, because by abusing the public domain by unethically slipping between laws that have yet to catch up with technology they're making hellamoney, that's why. Is a record exec gonna go smack one of my homeys for handing out his iPod? Don't think so, but let him try it. I need a good laugh.
4
SirSeedsAlot52781 • 15 June 2012, 08:10  Show comment
i personally think the iPod was the reason for sales increases. But..the demise of LW and Napster certainly helped
1
johnno232201 • 15 June 2012, 12:27  Show comment
I would agree with the 1st part and argue the second. Napster and LW went down and the RIAA would state that as a result sales went up. However I believe that had they stayed alive sales would still be up......only the range of music being purchased would have been greater.......much of what i and many of my friends own today is the result of the nets as we have music not ordinarily found on radio or promoted by the labels.
Before the nets for myself as a UK person my main source of music was John Peel.
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