Music piracy: number of tracks illegally downloaded in UK falls by a third

JasonJason Posts: 76,557
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I thought this might be more of an interest in GD than Music ..

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/sep/12/music-piracy-tracks-illegally-downloaded
It also showed that a hardcore of pirates – 2% of the total – was responsible for almost three-quarters of all online copyright infringement. Those who breached copyright said they would be encouraged to stop by cheaper legal alternatives and if all the content they wanted was available legally

I think it'll be interesting to see these figures in a year's time because if the drop continues, then it certainly shows that something is working, which is probably in no small part due to this ..
Ofcom said that awareness of legal streaming services – including Netflix, Google Play and Tesco's Blinkbox – "rose significantly" between March and May, compared to the previous quarter, providing further hope for the creative industries
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Comments

  • and101and101 Posts: 2,688
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    There isn't much worth downloading nowadays.
  • AsmoAsmo Posts: 15,327
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    and101 wrote: »
    There isn't much worth downloading nowadays.


    This.

    Hoarders have probably got everything they want by now.
  • JasonJason Posts: 76,557
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    and101 wrote: »
    There isn't much worth downloading nowadays.

    Entirely subjective ..

    I think part of the problem is that certain people want content now so will inevitably resort to ripping the audio from YouTube or Soundcloud or somewhere like that.

    But then it's a model that labels use to "build buzz". They'll release a song to radio weeks in advance to try and get people interested in it and for fans of the artist in question, they'll invariably not want to wait.
  • stud u likestud u like Posts: 42,100
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    People have moved onto Youtube and Spotify.
  • TheTruth1983TheTruth1983 Posts: 13,462
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    This is because of a plethora of legal services that offer, in my opinion, reasonably priced downloads but it won't stop the entertainment industries attributing it to the blocking of torrent websites.

    Dying dinosaurs are so predictable.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 578
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    Ive been spotify premium for years, if they stream every artist ill never buy music or dl it either again.
    Sometimes you just want to listen to the beatles or something and Spotify says no, so you have to you tube it or D/L :S
  • Serial LurkerSerial Lurker Posts: 10,763
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    All it ever needed was there to be reasonable legal alternatives to what the illegal sites offered. There still isn't anything as comprehensive as some certain torrent sites, but it's a lot better now. The film industry should take note.

    Also, like someone said - Youtube.
  • TheTruth1983TheTruth1983 Posts: 13,462
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    Ive been spotify premium for years, if they stream every artist ill never buy music or dl it either again.
    Sometimes you just want to listen to the beatles or something and Spotify says no, so you have to you tube it or D/L :S

    I await the inevitable comments about how Spotify pay artists a pittance :rolleyes:

    That's so predictable too.
  • JusticarJusticar Posts: 1,620
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    No artist serious about making money would bother with Spotify. Rhapsody pays a bit more. Better to release your stuff on iTunes or Bandcamp. Personally I buy CDs, I prefer to have the physical product with the artwork etc.
  • Fred E StarFred E Star Posts: 1,693
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    What a strange comment!

    Of course there is.

    There's millions of albums, TV shows, Movies and books etc available.

    This week alone I've dubiously downloaded new albums from Janelle Monae, VV Brown, Chvrches, Katie Melua and Grouplove (last three not released yet) with four of them in FLAC format, the latest episode of Dexter in HD, Four seasons of Breaking Bad in HD, The Bling Ring and I Spit On Your Grave 2 (both not out yet), the latest issue of The Walking Dead and books from Lynda LaPlante and Luke Delaney.

    I do still pay for the occasional MP3 download and CD and also have an extensive Blu Ray collection of TV Shows and Movies. I also purchase hardcover comic collections like DC and Marvel Omnibuses so creators do get a few quid from me down the line but there's plenty around for the casual downloader to grab in this day and age!


    and101 wrote: »
    There isn't much worth downloading nowadays.
  • JasonJason Posts: 76,557
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    This is because of a plethora of legal services that offer, in my opinion, reasonably priced downloads but it won't stop the entertainment industries attributing it to the blocking of torrent websites.

    Dying dinosaurs are so predictable.

    Exactly. The money they throw at getting worthless court orders could be better spent in more promotion for legal alternatives and also in securing more content to give people even less of a reason to search out and illegally download hard to find songs.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 578
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    I still buy some Cd's by good bands - Porcupine tree etc but spotify is useful to find single tracks by someone from the past - slow by my bloody valentine was one I got last week on it.
  • KIIS102KIIS102 Posts: 8,538
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    and101 wrote: »
    There isn't much worth downloading nowadays.

    I agree too.
  • NX-74205NX-74205 Posts: 4,691
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    The vast majority of the legal service offer nothing but shitty quality mp3s though. If I'm paying for my music then I want the full baked beans, not the tasteless tat with reduced sugar and salt. So, until they do offer full lossless downloads of the music I want I'll continue to fly the Jolly Roger.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 11,471
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    People have moved onto Youtube and Spotify.

    I agree. To me this shows people have moved o. To streaming sights rather then downloading. I listen to a lot of music but rarely download anything as I use YouTube and spotify
  • TheTruth1983TheTruth1983 Posts: 13,462
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    Justicar wrote: »
    No artist serious about making money would bother with Spotify. Rhapsody pays a bit more. Better to release your stuff on iTunes or Bandcamp. Personally I buy CDs, I prefer to have the physical product with the artwork etc.

    Spotify is an excellent promotional tool and considering it's popularity, artists would be totally stupid to ignore it.
  • flagpoleflagpole Posts: 44,641
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    Also said that pirates download the most legitimate content too.
  • JusticarJusticar Posts: 1,620
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    Spotify is an excellent promotional tool and considering it's popularity, artists would be totally stupid to ignore it.

    But the earnings are pitiful. 200,000 plays earned one artist $800. Woo! Big money. She made 25 grand from Bandcamp, a website many people haven't even heard of. Spotify might have limited use as a promotional tool, but as a source of earnings it's a joke.
  • AneechikAneechik Posts: 20,208
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    The Ofcom report also states that the most prolific illegal downloaders are also the highest spenders on legal downloads.
  • UKMikeyUKMikey Posts: 28,728
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    Tried downloading some albums from Bandcamp the other day. They were reasonably priced, FLAC formatted and DRM free. That's really all we were asking for.

    Cloud based services really aren't for me.
  • JusticarJusticar Posts: 1,620
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    UKMikey wrote: »
    Tried downloading some albums from Bandcamp the other day. They were reasonably priced, FLAC formatted and DRM free. That's really all we were asking for.

    Cloud based services really aren't for me.

    Bandcamp is great, I wish more people knew about it. Usually a choice of formats available for a fair price, and the artist gets a decent chunk of the sales.
  • Ancient IDTVAncient IDTV Posts: 10,126
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    Maybe a lot of people have now downloaded all the music they wanted. Not as if there's much new music that's good to listen to.
  • FMKKFMKK Posts: 32,074
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    Asmo wrote: »
    This.

    Hoarders have probably got everything they want by now.

    Singles sales are actually at an all time high (or at least are very close) at this point.
  • TheTruth1983TheTruth1983 Posts: 13,462
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    Justicar wrote: »
    But the earnings are pitiful. 200,000 plays earned one artist $800. Woo! Big money. She made 25 grand from Bandcamp, a website many people haven't even heard of. Spotify might have limited use as a promotional tool, but as a source of earnings it's a joke.

    You are assuming that Spotify is the only source of revenue for an artist. It isn't even the only streaming service from which artists earn revenue. In this day and age there are a great many ways for an artist to make money.

    Also, Spotify don't actually pay artists directly, they pay over 70% of their revenue to rights holders (most commonly record labels), which for a loss making company is a lot.
  • LandisLandis Posts: 14,849
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    Asmo wrote: »
    Hoarders have probably got everything they want by now.

    Let's hope they are not downloading books. If I challenged you to name a best seller from the past 20 years which cannot be found - for free - for your Kindle within 2 minutes, you would fail the challenge.
    When this was discussed before on GD a couple of posters insisted that readers have a bond with authors and that this loyalty will save the Book industry.
    I hope they are correct, because, of course, the alternative is that Amazon have delivered a slow death to Authors.
    Musicians have dealt with Piracy by switching their main income source to touring.:)
    I very much doubt that writers can make a living from speaking to 4 people and a dog in their local Waterstones.....:mad:
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