Thread: When Will It End?

Originally Posted by Mario92

The bit with the would have is the problem, but I'm not among that problem.

Indeed it is the problem, and as I mentioned above, my informal observation leads me to believe that it is the rule rather than the exception--your own testimony notwithstanding.

Originally Posted by Mario92

But, in the case of the music industry, it isn't a problem at all. It's a benefit. Studies show that pirates buy more albums than non-pirates. There may be some loss, but in the end, it's net gain. I don't see why something like this can't be taken advantage of.

Here's why: you're assuming that the link between buying and pirating is a direct causal one. It seems entirely plausible to me that the people who illegally download more also buy more, as you suggested, but this is easily explained by the fact that these are the people who really love music--there is no evidence that increased pirating causes increased buying or vice versa. Let's say Joe Music-Lover consumes X volume of music in some fashion or other. He's going to consume X regardless, but with the option of pirating, he can now do so at a reduced cost. That's a net loss for the would-be seller.

In other words, there is no evidence of a "net gain" for the recording industry unless we assume that the primary causal driver of buying music is having previously pirated music (i.e., if Joe Music-Lover pirates half of his music and buys the other half, the bought half is because of the pirated half), which I think is an untenable assumption.