March 30, 2004
Study shows P2P not hurting record sales
A HBS and UNC Chapel Hill study comparing file-sharing downloads to music sales data supports what several people outside of the recording industry have been saying for a while: file sharing isn't what's hurting music sales (thanks to Cory at BoingBoing for the pointer):
Downloads have an effect on sales which is statistically indistinguishable from zero, despite rather precise estimates. Moreover, these estimates are of moderate economic significance and are inconsistent with claims that file sharing is the primary reason for the recent decline in music sales.
As Dan Gillmor points out, the more likely reason music sales are slagging is lousy music and the cartelization of record distribution and radio airplay.
Posted by bug to Intellectual Property at March 30, 2004 11:37 AM | TrackBackThe rise of the DVD is probably another reason that music sales are slumping. I knew relatively few people who were into collecting VHS cassettes, but it seems like everyone I know owns at least a couple DVDs and some friends own hundreds. I can only imagine that some of the disposable income that used to go to CDs and now turned to DVDs. I would imagine that this is especially true for gifts; why buy a $15+ CD when you can get a $10- DVD as a gift for someone?