Proves that despite the music industry’s best education efforts and scare tactics, illegal file-sharing among kids is here to stay.
There’s a new study out that was conducted by market research firm NPD on the music downloading habits of “tweens,” youths aged 9 – 14, and it paints an interesting picture of what the future holds for the music industry.
It notes that despite years of education and millions squandered on lawsuits and litigation, piracy still persists amongst almost a third of America’s youth.
According to “Kids & Digital Content,” 70 percent of kids in the “tween” age are downloading digital music in an average month. While most are using legal music downloading sites like Apple’s iTunes to acquire music, NPD noted that high levels of illegal P2P file sharing are occurring as well.
Used by nearly 49% of tweens who download music, iTunes is the most popular legal digital music download service. However, the second most popular source for digital music among this age group is Limewire, the illegal music file-sharing service, which was used by 26% of them. MySpace was the third most popular site for music sharing, and it was used by a reported 16%. .
“It’s encouraging that so many young consumers are acquiring digital music the legal way — by paying for it,” according to Russ Crupnick, vice president and entertainment industry analyst for The NPD Group. “On the other hand, it’s surprising how unsupervised they are. The music industry hoped that litigation and education might encourage parents to keep better tabs on their kids’ digital music activities, but the truth is many kids continue to share music via P2P.”
Two thirds of tweens who use the Internet reported that they are allowed to access the Web themselves, without adult supervision. When asked who helps them download music from the Web, 59% reported doing it all by themselves. NPD also reported that 76% of tweens who got free digital content were required to register an email address to download content. Nearly half (47%) reported they first had to download standalone software from the Web, in order to download content from online music stores and P2P file sharing services.
“The recording industry has focused on high-profile litigation programs as a deterrent, and education initiatives to communicate alternatives to illegal music file sharing,” said Crupnick. “Findings in this report suggest that the industry can still do more to promote specific ways children can obtain digital music legally, through pre-paid accounts and gift cards. Another potential way to reach kids is through industry-sanctioned ad-supported Web destinations where kids can obtain digital music safely and legally.“
The survey was conducted via e-mails submitted to a “nationally representative sample” of parents with kids age 2 to 14 living in the household. The report is based on 3,376 completed surveys from qualified respondents. The final survey data is weighted to represent the U.S. population of kids age 2 to 14. Information included in this press release focuses on “tweens” — children between the ages of 9 and 14.
Though the study seemingly laments the way that tweens still illegally download music, it fails to take into consideration that may of these tweens who do so may lack the financial means to acquire music legally. For not only are 9 to 14yo not legally allowed to work they may also be in a household where the parents simply can’t afford the luxury of ensuring that little Billy’s iPod is fully stocked with the latest and greatest from the Billboard Top 10.
Until the music industry realizes this fact and creates a destination where tweens can acquire music for free as part of some sort of ad-supported business model the problem of illegal file-sharing amongst this age group will continue to persist. It’s either that, the status quo, or filing idiotic lawsuits against 6th graders.
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Related
- Microsoft Piracy Study: 54% of UK Kids are File-Sharers
- Study: More Teens Not Buying CDs
- STUDY: 55% of 16-24yo Believe P2P Should Be Legal
- Study: legal music far outweighs P2P on portable music players
- Iowa Couple Sued For Kids’ Illegal Downloads
