Comments on: People who pirate music more likely to buy than non-piraters

By: Steve Jordan

Steve Jordan — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:38:37 +0000

Well, I figured since you seemed to know so much about America’s secret camps for whistlers…

By the way, what camp is Chatrou in?

By: Branko Collin

Branko Collin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:30:47 +0000

Steve, please forgive me. Unlike you I am not so intimately familiar with Norwegian copyright law that I could state without a doubt that one type of copying is so heinous that it's a crime, and the other is a harmless activity.

By: Steve Jordan

Steve Jordan — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:52:47 +0000

@David: Stealing isn’t limited to things that are legally available. If you downloaded the Rocky sountrack, legally available or not, it’s still stealing from the copyright holders.

@Branco: We reserve another, more pungent sauce, for those who:

Believe whistling a song is the same thing as downloading a recorded composition which was intended to be paid for;

Believe mix tapes from already-purchased music or music recorded from the radio or TV (for which broadcast royalties were paid) and enjoyed for personal use only is the same as playing unpaid-for copywritten music in public venues;

or Believe borrowing a book from a library, which paid fees requisite to the lending of that book, is the same as stealing from an author.

Those people can report to another camp designed especially for them… it’s called Primary School.

By: Branko Collin

Branko Collin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 07:01:59 +0000

Ah, nothing new really. Studies in Canada (2007) and the Netherlands (this year) have showed the same results. That's just from looking at the first Google results page for my search. I think we can safely let those who confuse infringement with stealing smother in their own special sauce of ignorance. Everybody who's ever made a mix tape, whistled a song in public or borrowed a book from the library, please report to Obama's secret prison camps. Rob Preece's suggestion that people who like music are much more likely to acquire music is probably much closer to the truth.

By: David

David — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:50:39 +0000

I agree with Rob Preece. The stats may be wrong, but the idea of music lovers buying and stealing isn’t insane.

Not all music is available for download. Try the Rocky soundtrack for instance. You can’t get it except as an illegal download. What if you listen to anime soundtracks like a friend of mine and many of them you have to purchase on cd for $30 or more plus shipping, and quickly before they’re not available anymore.

By: Rob Preece, Publisher

Rob Preece, Publisher — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 03:14:59 +0000

I’m not much of a music person. So, I’m not surprised that music-lovers would be more likely to steal and buy than, say, me who does neither. This does not prove that stealing leads to increased purchases even if the statistics are valid.

Rob Preece
Publisher

By: Christine

Christine — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:33:41 +0000

I’m sorry but I’m not going to believe that MOST people who buy music also steal music. That’s what you’re saying: thieves more likely to buy than non-thieves. It’s ridiculous.

I still believe most people don’t steal, and I also believe a significant percentage of those who do (on the internet) actually don’t realize they’re stealing and would stop if they did.

By: Steve Jordan

Steve Jordan — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 23:34:02 +0000

I’ll simply point out that the results are from a poll study, and apparently have no solid data to back them up… in other words, they are taking downloaders at their word when they say “I buy songs I downloaded for free.”

Maybe the poll should have correlated its data against the number of people who admit concern over getting fined or punished for having illegally-downloaded music…