Wishbone: That's easy: less than they do now. You see, what happens is that P2P works as free advertising for the music industry. Most people want to support the artists, they just don't want to pay for something they may not like. Of course, I'm not saying they buy everything they like, but because of the wide selection available on P2P, they get exposed to much more music than they would otherwise, and thence to more they want to buy.
El_Caz: I don't agree with the first part of that but do with the second. I've met lots of people who don't bother paying for something they already have for free, be it games or songs, and they couldn't care less about the singers or developers since in their eyes, those guys are already rich. Not everyone has the sort of high morals for using P2P acquired songs as demos only.
True. That picture I painted there was a bit too rosy for comfort. Naturally, lots of people just download stuff and never pay for any of it. But then, they probably wouldn't have payed for it anyway, so it doesn't really count as a loss to me.
El_Caz: In that regard, I figure P2P actually helps the starting bands and singers trying to make a name for themselves without much support from the big record companies.
Indeed. While the digital distribution model means that people buy more single songs and less albums, it also means that they buy music from many more different artists than they did before. And P2P helps a lot there. People wouldn't necessarily buy a CD with a band they'd never heard of, but they'd download one for free, no problem. Then, once heard, they may buy it if they like it. Since people don't have unlimited money, this likely means less sales for big established artists, but more sales for new unestablished ones. And of course, there are always people who won't buy music no matter what.
El_Caz: When I see people ilegally selling movies or music on the street, the buyers aren't exactly people who would have bought the originals anyway.
At this point, my gaze drifted to your name, and the country beneath it. Sometimes I forget that not the entire world works as Denmark does. The situation you're describing would be unthinkable here.
El_Caz: That's where I think whatever numbers they conjure up as losses are flawed. Not every downloaded song would have been a sale had the song not been available on the web.
Exactly. Are songs pirated? Yes, of course. Does piracy equal lost sales? No, it doesn't. If a pirate wouldn't have bought it anyway, then nothing is lost, per se. If a pirate would have bought it, then he most likely will at a later date. And he'll most likely buy more than that too, because he's had access to a much wider selection.
