New survey says 43% have illegally downloaded music, and that social networking sites are an increasingly popular method of discovering new music.Entertainment Media Research, a London-based entertainment research consultancy serving film, music, broadcast and advertising industries in the UK, has released its 2007 Digital Media Survey which claims that the increasing popularity of social networking sites such as MySpace and BeBo is helping to "democratize" the music industry as more people discover new music online instead of via the radio or TV. The research hardly seems unbiased however, as it was conducted in conjunction with Olswang, a huge law firm known for its work in media, entertainment, and technology cases in representing major record companies, trade bodies, and royalty collection groups. According to the survey of some 1700 people, 43% of respondents said that they have engaged in illegal music downloading, which is up considerably from 36% last year, and 40% in 2005, and more of them are also less concerned with criminal prosecution than ever before. Even more amazing is the fact that piracy is expected to increase, with 18% of pirates saying that they intend to illegally download music in the future, compared to just 6% in 2005 and only 8% in 2006. At the same time of increasing music downloads, there has also been a dramatic slowdown in the growth of legal music downloads, with the number of legal downloaders increasing by by just 15% this year, compared to 40% in 2006. Though despite this slowed percentage of growth, the number of legal downloaders did rise form 35% in 2005 to 50% in 2006 and now some 58% in 2007. The survey also discussed the role that social networking sites have come to play in the lives of music fans, and how for many they have replaced traditional mediums like radio and TV as a source for discovering new music. It revealed that the popularity of sites like MySpace and BeBo have helped to "democratize" the music industry. "Social networks are fundamentally changing the way we discover, purchase and use music," said Russell Hart, chief executive of Entertainment Media Research. "The dynamics of democratization, word of mouth recommendation and instant purchase challenge the established order and offer huge opportunities to forward-thinking businesses." Music has a massive importance in social networks, particularly in MySpace and Bebo. It is used to reflect a users personality and is a virtual short-cut to understanding the personality of people you meet on such sites. People express themselves via music, and they often make friends on the basis of shared music tastes and preferences. Thus, once again technology has made record labels irrelevant, for now promotion and discovery, once done in conjunction with record stores and radio stations, are now more likely to be done informally by social network users who increasingly claim that using such sites has had a “massive”or “big" impact on the way they purchase music. For those under 35, MySpace is clearly the most important site for music but its importance is correlated with age. People over 35 are more likely to say YouTube is the most important site for music.
Overall usage of social networking sites increased from 74% in 2006 to 86% in 2007, with a breakdown of sites used as follows:
Usage among teenagers aged 13-17 is remarkably high:
What this survey really means in my opinion is what many of us have already known for some time - sharing digital music with others helps people discover new artists. There's just way too much music out there to sort through, and so whether it be simple streaming, like embedded songs on a persons MySpace page, or outright file-sharing with family friends, people need a more concise and effective means of finding new music. The RIAA left the building a long time ago and so it seems that social networks have filled the void as a method for finding new music. Looking for more stuff to watch or download?
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