Music piracy unaffected by legal threats

Music piracy unaffected by legal threats

Music piracy is unaffected by legal threats, this is not too surprising but a recent study has found this to be true.

After almost twenty years of threats surrounding the illegal download of music, music piracy continues to thrive.

The music industry managed to harness the benefits of sites such as Spotify, Soundcloud, and YouTube. These sites previously posed a threat to the sale of music but since this is where a large portion of the modern audience finds themselves, the music industry had no choice but to concede.

Streaming is clearly the future of music consumption and the music business has reportedly had its best year since 2006.

The Study

In this study carried out by the University of East Anglia, Lancaster University, and Newcastle University the researchers found that people didn’t fear the law when it came to music piracy.

People perceived that the risks of music piracy are low in comparison to the benefits of getting music for free.

What has also stood the test of time is the virility and skills of torrent sites and how hard it has been to shut them down.

READ: Kickass Torrents founder arrested in Poland

The study centred on the habits of people who illegally download music and books. The survey questions tried to get to the underlying reasons why people download digital media without paying for it.

The main reasons that music piracy exists is because it’s free, easy, and good quality.

Anyway, they don’t care about financially denting any of the industries affected and they are into the instant gratification that a fast download of something cool can offer as entertainment.

The study breaks down the human psychology behind the thrill of music piracy…

“Behaviours are more readily predicted by their capacity to deliver pleasurable experience rather than their level of risk. This is especially true for behaviours engaged in for the purpose of receiving pleasure, such as unprotected sex, rather than behaviours for avoiding harm, such as using a seatbelt.”

See the full study on book and music piracy.