Study finds pirates 10 times more likely to buy music

Study finds hardcore music fans 10 times more likely to pirate music.

I haven't bit torrented any music or movies in a long time. Last week I really wanted to see the sequel to a documentary I had just viewed on Youtube. Its not available on Youtube, so I went to find it for purchase online. Its not on iTunes or anywhere else for purchase.<p>Bit torrent really is often the most convenient way to get music/movies. I want to pay to download this movie, but I can't.

The original article, an autotranslation, was actually more informative than this, and included the gem of a detail that the survey used deliberately avoided wording that suggested "illegal" downloading.<p>In other words, this survey uncovered the shocking fact that people who had downloaded music were 10x more likely to pay to download music than people who never downloaded at all.

This isn't really news. There have been reports like this since Napster. The Recording Industry ignores them and the media soon forgets.

How is causation shown? Isn't it most likely that those most into music both download more music and buy more of it on physical media?

&#62; Researchers found that those who downloaded "free" music – whether from lawful or seedy sources – were also 10 times more likely to pay for music.<p>So if you download the iTunes free track of the week, you're 10 times more likely to pay for music.

Note: better coverage of the same (I think) study on Ars:<p><a href="http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/04/study-pirates-buy-tons-more-music-than-average-folks.ars" rel="nofollow">http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/04/study-pirates-buy-...</a>

Of course your 10 times more likely to buy music, because your looking for it. But I find it hard to believe that if you pirate music you are more likely to buy the album. I understand the "try before you buy" thought. But there are easier ways to preview music than just pirating it. There is Itunes, Amazon, and a ton of other music services you could use.

&#62; Researchers found that those who downloaded "free" music – whether from lawful or seedy sources – were also 10 times more likely to pay for music.<p>10 times more likely to pay for music they've acquired, or 10 times more likely to buy music, period? More explicit data is needed. Example: The pirates acquire 10000 songs; pay for 100 of them (1%). The non-pirates acquire 10 songs, pay for 10 (100%). "The pirates have paid for ten times as many as the non pirates."<p>But the results can swing the other way: Example: The pirates acquire 100 songs, pay for 1 of them (same 1%). Non-pirates acquire 10, pay for 10 (same 100%). Suddenly: "The non-pirates have paid for ten times as many as the pirates."<p>So, simply by getting more pirate respondents to participate in your study, you can manipulate the result increasingly in favour of piracy.<p>We need to see the data to be able to determine whether they really corroborate the conclusion.

Damn, I thought they were talking about 'real pirates'. Arrrr, matey...

Study finds `most people who are likely to buy music want to download it quickly, too' or perhaps `people who don't know how to download music aren't likely to do anything with the music at all'<p>The set of people buying music often, and people downloading are too much overlapped just because of the vast popularity of both buying and downloading to find any meaningful correlation between the sets. IMnsHO.

&#62; Wisely, the study did not rely on music pirates' honesty. Researchers asked music buyers to prove that they had proof of purchase.<p>I haven't read exactly how this study was conducted, but it might be worth noting that some pirates would feel they have something to prove, and be more likely to comply with the request for proof.

they're also 10 times more likely to say "shiver me timbers" when prompted.<p>actually I have downloaded music a lot in the past, from allofmp3.com and mp3sparks.com, and if I like it enough I do buy the actual CD because I want the complete package. Some music I purchased online through the Apple iTunes music store was so bad I wished I could return it. But no returns. Every CD store I know of will at least give you store credit.