On the heels of the New Jersey judge throwing out almost 1000 subpeonas in the Century Media illegal downloading trial, comes a new survey which shows that people who download music illegally are actually more likely to purchase music legally.
It's an eternal debate. Sure, people are downloading for free, but in the end, that's free promo for the band. The listener is sampling the music, and can theoretically turn into a life-long fan, buying tickets, CDs and other merchandise throughout their lives. Here is what the study showed:
Joe Karaganis of the American Assembly says: “P2P users have larger music collection than non-P2P users – roughly 37% more. Most of the difference comes from higher levels of downloading for free and copying from friends.
“But some of it also comes from significantly higher legal purchases of digital music: around 30% higher among P2P users.
“Our data is quite clear on this point and lines up with other studies: the biggest music pirates are also the biggest spenders.”
The RIAA does not back this survey, although I don't really see where the holes are. Time to weigh in on the subject. Do you download music illegally/participate in file-sharing? If so, do you then go out and buy the music you like? We're all friends here, just trying to get some truths.
Update: Digital Music News has a pretty scathing rebuttal to this study worth reading.
[via MetalSucks, Classic Rock Magazine]
