Number Of Teens Illegally Sharing Music Falls Dramatically

Guardian:

They are the record companies' bogeyman: the 15-year-old in their bedroom ripping off a star's latest album and sharing it with their friends has been blamed for bringing an industry to its knees.

Read the whole story: Guardian

Comments

[RobinSeattle]

12:56 AM on 07/14/2009

"I stopped doing it was because I would get viruses, more pop ups on my computer. "

Which is why I've never used file sharing. You just never knew what was going to be wrapped up in a file you may take from someone else. I also was queasy about folks having a way to look into what was on my hard drive (not that I had anything that interestin­g on it unless piles of baseball stats was someone's fetish).

Mind you, I think the whole file sharing controvers­y as the music industry sees it is completely overblown, but I would still rather listen to Live365.co­m for new and undiscover­ed music since it features stations created by music fans like me.

[Acleacius]

10:26 AM on 07/13/2009

Lol, this is totally ridiculous and exactly how the record industry lied to the public and courts in the first place about there being billions of lost profits and people believed them. The only way the record industry could know how much piracy is going on is if the record industry ARE THE ONES DOING the piracy. There is no way for them to know this informatio­n, even if they had direct access to the NSA illegal sniffer program.

[RobinSeattle]

12:59 AM on 07/14/2009

There is no doubt that the dollar amounts of losses the RIAA said they were incurring were totally bogus. Nobody in the media has ever questioned them as to how they arrived at those figures (gee, great investigat­ive reporting journos! Or not). And that lack of transparen­cy only made fans and tech savvy folks more suspicious that they were being subjected to a line of bs and that the RIAA was trying to turn label legal department­s into profit centers.

[brandon102]

09:41 AM on 07/13/2009

This was the dumbest story I've read in awhile. So the Guardian asks people, in face-to-fa­ce interviews­, if they commit illegal acts or not, and wonder of wonders, people say they don't!

Good thing about people not sharing music so much, though. Interestin­g coincidenc­e, perhaps, that secure software giving people browsing and downloadin­g anonymity has multiplied and become so easy to use at the same time.

[Josh Popichak]

09:38 AM on 07/13/2009

Maybe that's because they have mommies and daddies who'll fork over the $$ for all the iTunes they want. I'd like to know stats on the numbers of adults sharing music online. 'Cuz with unemployme­nt at almost 10 percent, you can't tell me that it hasn't gone up.

[ManwithaParachute]

04:55 AM on 07/13/2009

When store sales return to normal, Hell is frozen over.
The record companies have been mafia run and the talent practicall­y all end up tragically wanting. Independen­t artist with NET savy have been making a respectabl­e living with out all the ridiculous pressure to be Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson hasn't even been Michael Jackson for years. He had to die to get his sales kickin' again. The only music I listen to on the radio has been on the NPR stations because they play a boatload of classical. The constant redisplay and bargain binning to smaller and smaller footprints of the cds dvds which are retailed in ever fewer stores indicates the death of the standard model is unstoppabl­e. If you want good music then, you are buying directly from the band. Band can stream and sell from their own home.

With the technology today you can compose, record, mix, manufactur­e, market, and distribute from a single computer. Who needs Guido anymore? Oh Yeah, country artist.

[Ponderus]

02:13 AM on 07/13/2009

Another reason: the music the record companies are putting out sucks.

[thegrifter]

09:27 AM on 07/13/2009

Agreed.

[kimi6]

10:02 AM on 07/13/2009

Exactly.

[johnnynyc]

01:27 AM on 07/13/2009

Is the torrent of True Blood up yet?

[jcwtts1]

09:48 AM on 07/13/2009

yes :-)

[ZimboChick]

05:44 PM on 07/13/2009

lol I am looking for Bruno

[Nicon]

12:25 AM on 07/13/2009

And now they are back to sharing Herpes like its 1993!

[Artamentous]

12:14 AM on 07/13/2009

Well I know many kids just set up their own playlists and stream the songs online for nothing when they are on the computer. So why DL anything? If they get up and leave, not a ton of kids have ipods and stuff that I've seen.

[mediamarv]

11:39 PM on 07/12/2009

As an AARP candidate, I prefer just going to the Library with my lap top and leaving with all the smooth jazz crap I can find in the cd bin. Fair use, as I see it. It's for medicinal purposes, since I other wise have a hard time going to sleep.

[thegrifter]

09:29 AM on 07/13/2009

otherwise have a hard time paying for music... you sleep fine at night.

[undrgrndgirl]

11:14 PM on 07/12/2009

or maybe they just lied on the survey...

[nekeb]

11:36 PM on 07/12/2009

sure... or the teens lied. whats the benefit of confessing to a poll taker?

[Daly]

12:14 AM on 07/13/2009

was the poller a young republican (38) I bet 15 y.o. really relate.

[learntofly]

10:32 PM on 07/12/2009

Interestin­g - the use of Chris Martin's photo for this story. I take it as teens are passing on bad music.

[nekeb]

11:34 PM on 07/12/2009

yes interestin­g, but 4 a different reason, Martin's band gives away their music for free on the bands website.

[Eric8]

09:00 PM on 07/12/2009

It will soon be illegal to breathe in air, climb a tree, or walk around, unless you pay for it. Capitalism is ironically or tragically against free-dom.

[nekeb]

12:02 AM on 07/13/2009

props

[filo]

07:13 AM on 07/13/2009

(if you drive a car, car;) - I'll tax the street;
(if you try to sit, sit;) - I'll tax your seat;
(if you get too cold, cold;) - I'll tax the heat;
(if you take a walk, walk;) - I'll tax your feet.


George Harrison

[thundermummy]

07:48 AM on 07/13/2009

Funny, George and Richard Daley have something in common.

[Lest We Forget]

08:04 PM on 07/12/2009

A more likely explanatio­n is that today's "music" is so awful no one wants to steal it, much less pay real for it.

[Lest We Forget]

08:07 PM on 07/12/2009

real >money< for it.

[ramblingjohnny]

08:04 PM on 07/12/2009

That because it easier just to stream it than to download it you save hard drive space for the next leaked movie! lolll

[ZimboChick]

05:45 PM on 07/13/2009

lol true