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• Piracy Arts and Humanities 100%
• Music Arts and Humanities 100%
• Psychology Psychology 100%
• Digital Arts and Humanities 30%
• Recorded music Arts and Humanities 23%
• MUSIC INDUSTRY Arts and Humanities 23%
• Research Psychology 23%
• Music listening Arts and Humanities 15%

T1 - The Psychology of Music Piracy

AU - Brown, Steven

N1 - 15/06/2015

PY - 2015/6/15

Y1 - 2015/6/15

N2 - Digital music piracy is a divisive contemporary issue which continues to dominate public debate on civil liberties, emphasising the far-reaching impact of the digital revolution on everyday music listening. To date, conventional approaches to curbing music piracy have largely failed. The collective knowledge produced by economists, criminologists, and lawyers, broadly depicts music pirates as immoral deviants who show no concern for the implications of their behaviours. Yet, there is little evidence to suggest that music piracy poses any major threats to the recorded music industry. This thesis explores the psychology of music piracy in order to gain a fuller understanding of why individuals engage in this activity, and what it means for the recorded music industry. Further to a comprehensive multidisciplinary Literature Review, eight empirical studies were conducted which adopted a suitably diverse mixed-methodological approach to match varied research questions.Findings from quantitative research find unique personality traits as predictors of pro-piracy attitudes. Results also suggest that individuals favouring music piracy are less fair than those who do not, with follow-up research failing to find that such individuals are immoral. Preference for digital music was also found to be a predictor of pro-piracy attitudes, with young males noted as principally engaged in music piracy. Findings from qualitative research centred on the justifications for engaging in music piracy, including rationalisations and neutralisations, as well as suggesting an imperfect understanding of commercial realities; such findings highlight that music piracy is easily justified in the absence of evidence to show that it poses real threats to the recorded music industry.From the perspective of the consumer, this thesis argues that music piracy has positively impacted on everyday music listening in variety of functional ways and the novel conclusions aid a reassessment of the driving forces behind digital piracy more broadly

AB - Digital music piracy is a divisive contemporary issue which continues to dominate public debate on civil liberties, emphasising the far-reaching impact of the digital revolution on everyday music listening. To date, conventional approaches to curbing music piracy have largely failed. The collective knowledge produced by economists, criminologists, and lawyers, broadly depicts music pirates as immoral deviants who show no concern for the implications of their behaviours. Yet, there is little evidence to suggest that music piracy poses any major threats to the recorded music industry. This thesis explores the psychology of music piracy in order to gain a fuller understanding of why individuals engage in this activity, and what it means for the recorded music industry. Further to a comprehensive multidisciplinary Literature Review, eight empirical studies were conducted which adopted a suitably diverse mixed-methodological approach to match varied research questions.Findings from quantitative research find unique personality traits as predictors of pro-piracy attitudes. Results also suggest that individuals favouring music piracy are less fair than those who do not, with follow-up research failing to find that such individuals are immoral. Preference for digital music was also found to be a predictor of pro-piracy attitudes, with young males noted as principally engaged in music piracy. Findings from qualitative research centred on the justifications for engaging in music piracy, including rationalisations and neutralisations, as well as suggesting an imperfect understanding of commercial realities; such findings highlight that music piracy is easily justified in the absence of evidence to show that it poses real threats to the recorded music industry.From the perspective of the consumer, this thesis argues that music piracy has positively impacted on everyday music listening in variety of functional ways and the novel conclusions aid a reassessment of the driving forces behind digital piracy more broadly

M3 - Doctoral Thesis

Harm and Intellectual Property. Music Piracy as an Example of Empirical Measurement of Damage

• First Online: 28 August 2016

Cite this chapter

• Pablo Rando Casermeiro 3  

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There is no doubt that law discussion has been enormously helped by contributions from other scientific disciplines, particularly criminology. At this stage, there is fortunately nothing new in drawing attention to that fact, which manifests itself in multiple ways; from empirical verification of the so-called “deterrent effects of the punishment” by criminology,—which without a doubt should condition to some extent the discussion on the subject of criminal law—to contributions from psychology, so as to configure the subjective elements of crime in a satisfactory way (Díez Ripollés 1990). Economics is another of these sciences when applied to criminal law. It would be sufficient to mention the economic analysis of law to digest its importance (Ortiz de Urbina Gimeno 2004). This work is intended to be a contribution more along the lines of bringing knowledge of economics to criminal law. More specifically, my objective will consist in verifying the extent to which the contributions of economics can assist the debate on criminal harm in crimes against intellectual property.

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This is precisely the grounds of the proposal by Díez Ripollés ( 2003 ) for legislative criminal rationality.

The criticisms of these studies are customary among economists, regardless of whether or not they argue that piracy damages the industry. See, for example Oberholzer-Strumpf ( 2010 ), p. 21. Neither are critical observations along the same lines in short supply in penalist doctrine. See for example Fernández Teruelo ( 2007 ), p. 97.

“It is not necessary to believe that sharing files is the only cause, or that each illegally downloaded file corresponds to a private sale, but to conclude that this sharp decline [of sales] during this precise period of time is no coincidence”; also Promusicae ( 2005 ), p. 112, while recognizing the methodological errors of the estimates of the lobbyists: “Although not everybody that buys a pirated CD in the street would be willing to buy a CD illegally, it is undoubtable that the emergence of piracy (sales on the street and on Internet) is impacting in a significant way on Spanish industry”.

See, for example, the report from the Observatorio de Piratería y Hábitos de Consumo de Contenidos Digitales 2013 (GFK 2014 ), 18, available at http://www.cedro.org/docs/default-source/textos-de-inter%C3%A9s/observatorio-pirateria2013.pdf?sfvrsn=6 (accessed 21-01-2015).

It is a question of what is called in economics the substitution effect. The copy, if it has the same or a very similar quality as the original product and is freely obtained or at a much reduced cost—for example, the price of a new CD-, will involve a reduction in the demand for original products, and consequently, a reduction in their price as well as their offer.

According to RIAA, the profits from sales rose from 7.5 billion dollars in 1990 to 14.6 billion in 1999, only to fall to 8.5 billion in 2008. The opinion of the music industry in the USA was that Napster and other p2p networks had been responsible for 25 % of the losses in the sector.

See the data on the evolution of music sales in the USA in Liebowitz ( 2005 ), p. 452, who paints the RIA figures in a less dramatic light, in so far as, when recomposing those figures, he removes sales of singles from the data and leaves only the figures for long-playing CDs, as the fall in sales of singles has a very different connotation. In any case, and with even less dramatic, the drop in sales is certainly pronounced. As the cited author says, “something unusual has to have happened over the past few years” that can explain this phenomenon; also Rob and Waldfogel ( 2006 ), p. 29 f.; Zentner ( 2005 ), p. 1 f.

The sales data in the USA are accessible, but access is very expensive. See on this Oberholzer and Strumpf ( 2010 ), pp. 41, 51. A subscription to Nielsen Sound Scan—a service that provides detailed data on music sales—for academic purposes costs around $10,000 a year.

http://www.rollingstone.es/noticias/view/una-filtracion-desvela-las-pauperrimas-ventas-de-discos-en-espana-75-ejemplares-para-entrar-en-los-mas-vendidos (last accessed 21 January 2014).

See http://lareputada.com/2013/12/24/exclusiva-asi-son-las-ventas-reales-de-albumes-en-espana-por-navidad/(last accessed 21 January 2014), for the complete list of the 100 top selling CDs.

Liebowitz ( 2005 ), pp. 456–458, also sceptical of that conclusion, in so far as over other periods, the rises in sales of video and music have concurred over time; for example, from 1991 up to 1996, sales of music and video tapes rose in a similar way in the USA; Other frequently cited factors, such as the price of CDs, do not appear to be directly related with the fall in the level of sales, given that the price appears to have remained steady up until very recent times, since when they have undergone a sudden fall.

Liebowitz ( 2005 , p. 460 ff.), seeks to demonstrate the weak influence of this parameter on the decline in sales, but in my opinion the author does so with unconvincing arguments, in so far as it is based on indirect and extremely weak indicators, such as the decline in radio audiences applied to different listener age bands. I think that the most advisable approach is to leave this point aside, as it is too subjective.

As pointed out by Zentner ( 2010 ), pp. 10, 12, the business of legal downloads represented 0.25 % of total sales of music with data from 2003. Michel ( 2006 ), p. 8, however, cites the intense volume of downloads from Internet platforms such as the Internet Underground Music Archive, inaugurated in 1993, according to whose—indirect—estimations had increased the benefits of sales in music through this channel by approximately 1 million dollars per year since 1998.

This study will not go into fine detail to assess the methodology of the studies. It is enough to say that the majority of percentages on the impact of piracy on business—whether for or against—are taken from multiple regression analyses, in which various variables are jointly taken into account that can intervene in the analysis, as well as the sale of music and illegal Internet downloads (for example: age, income level, intensity of the purchase of music, etcetera). Also, on occasions we also see some analysis of simple linear regression, in which only two variables are valued; a constant and another function with regard to the former—for example, inference on the basis of contrasting the data: “user downloads/does not download illegally from Internet” and “volume of purchases of music by the user”. This type of analysis can offer very suggestive conclusions, but these are less reliable than those obtained by multiple regression analysis. Having said as much, it does not mean leaving some methodological aspects unmentioned, when they are relevant. Anyway, the best work on a critical review of the methodology of economists when assessing these activities is without doubt Liebowitz ( 2005 ), especially as from p. 463. Also, more up-to-date, Liebowitz ( 2011 ) and Oberholzer and Strumpf ( 2010 ), although with perceptions of the activity that are practically opposed.

To do so, the authors took the 16 countries, as a reference, which represent 90 % of the digital sales volumes of CDs from all over the world: Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United States of America. See Peitz and Waelbroeck ( 2004 ), p. 73 ff. As a macroeconomic study, nothing more than a very superficial approach to the true scale of the problem, however empirical it may be, can be taken. Thus, elements such as PIB, the availability of broad band, the percentage of users that have downloaded an mp3 at least once from the Internet—without measuring the intensity with which it is done—or the data on availability by residence of such devices as DVD or CD-ROM players. The authors themselves refer to the need for subsequent microeconomic studies to verify the exact amount of sales losses (on that point p. 78). Likewise, it is meaningful that the authors leave out the study of the measurement of commercial piracy; in other words, what in Spain and in the majority of Western countries implies a crime, in so far as “it appears to have little relevance for the majority of countries in the sample” (on p. 76). This aspect already has relevance for the penalist, and will be covered later on, at the end of the present study.

It should be taken into account that the estimations by the author are based on a previous macro survey on consumption in Europe called Consumer’s Technographics, carried out by the Forrester consultancy and that, owing to its objective, covers multiple items, the majority of which are not related to our field of analysis. The study covers seven European countries that move 27.8 % of the global volume of music sales: France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. See Zentner ( 2010 ), p. 13 f. Likewise, note that although the last work by this author is cited, from 2010, it is a study originally published in 2003.

The study uses highly suggestive data that will be analysed later on.

Although on p. 11 the period of time is 1999–2003. Data from a consumer survey carried out by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics called Consumer Expenditure Survey was used, based on individual interviews covering purchasing patterns of certain consumer products among other aspects. To do so, certain “consumer units” were used (homes, university residences, etc.).

Takes into account that the interviews on which the study is based never asked about file sharing.

The possible advantages that piracy offers for the intellectual property market will be examined further on. This study shows a certain relation with another by Zentner ( 2005 ), in which inferences were established on the basis of, among other aspects, the penetration of broad band in many countries of the world and the fall in music sales. It is another indirect indicator, different from p2p file Exchange, but closely related to the study by Michel.

It should be taken into account that this period of “diffusion” of the law among the public started in June 2008, when the proposed law was presented in the French senate, although it had a complicated legislative process. In March 2009, it arrived at Congress where it was first approved and then rejected. In May 2009, an amended version of the law was once again presented, but the French Constitutional Council rejected the Project, basically because no judicial review existed in case “the third warning” was given, in other words the institution of criminal charges. Finally, the law was approved in October 2009, following compliance with the requirement from that Council, envisaging a body for judicial review. However, as of 2011, nobody has been given a “third warning”. Hence, it was decided to cover that period as a “period of impact” of the law on the general public Finally, it should be taken into account, as its authors acknowledge, that the law set in motion a series of publicity campaigns on respect for the rights of the author, such that the correct isolation of which effects are due to the application of the law and which to the success of the publicity campaign is not possible.

This counter-intuitive nature is not only given by the sales figures, which have fallen sharply since piracy has become generalized on the Internet, or by the logical proposal that a user can obtain a work at a cost of zero Euros with a minimum risk of facing negative legal consequences—arguments that are usually brought up, as we have seen, by economists. I would add that if piracy is so beneficial for business, it is not clearly understood why the main companies of the sector are so concerned to prosecute it. Are the lobbies really so short-sighted? Common sense appears to suggest otherwise. In fact, as Maffioletti and Ramello ( 2004 ), p. 85, pointed out, beginning with the reproduction of a musical work (for example, copying it on a CD) that always has a zero or close to zero cost for economists, “if the existence of technology that makes the copy so easy and so cheap were the only important fact that guided the decision to copy or not to copy, then the question that would have to be asked is why does that sector of the market exist at all”. It is evident that there are more factors at play and shallow approaches do not apply.

On this hypothesis of possible profits gained through the illegal copying and file-sharing of works protected by the rights of the author, see Peitz and Waelbroeck ( 2004 ), p. 71. Originally, it was called exposition effect, and at present it is usually called—sampling effect. See, on this, Liebowitz ( 2005 ), p. 442.

Pointing out that there is not very much empirical support for this thesis; Liebowitz ( 2003 ), p. 20.

Although affirming that, for this to happen, the copy would have to be an imperfect substitute.

See a critique of the survey method to draw conclusions on economic impact in Liebowitz ( 2003 ), pp. 12, 17 f.

See that line of argument, also used in relation to computer programmes, in Liebowitz ( 2005 ), p. 447, with references; also Maffioletti and Ramello ( 2004 ), p. 83 f.

If we look carefully, as the cited author points out, along with others, it is an effect that, in so far as it refers to music, has been traditionally sought by the radio transmission of songs. Moreover, even in the field of the radio, it appears that the studies that have been completed suggest that the broadcasting of music over the radio does not increase sales. In fact, at its beginnings, in the 20s, in the United States of America, it led to a fall in sales. Therefore, whether the exchange of files over the network promotes the aforementioned network effect at significant levels hardly appears easy to demonstrate.

On this point, Liebowitz ( 2005 ), p. 449, stated his opinion, although specifically in reference to the sale of music. The theory appears to have more support with regard to computer programmes. However, other authors, such as Wall ( 2007 ), p. 98, suggested that it is beginning to be demonstrated that mp3 downloads are contributing to the promotion of musical culture that is expanding the original capacity of this market.

For unquestionable evidence that even the most well recognized artists earn more from concerts than from the sale of CDs, see Oberholzer and Strumpf ( 2010 ), pp. 44–46, with data.

See academic support for this thesis in Martin ( 1998 ), p. 33; Oberholzer and Strumpf ( 2010 ), pp. 19 ff., 46 ff.; Dolfsma ( 2007 ), p. 91, raises objections to the disproportionate income that goes to intermediaries—approximately 80 %—and artists, noting what is more that the risk assumed by the intermediary in artistic creation does not justify such a wide profit margin. As mentioned earlier, there are no end of artists who have supported this argument, such as Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Blur and Courtney Love, who in 2000 made the following graphic statement: “Today I want to talk about piracy and music. What is piracy? Piracy is the act of stealing an artist’s work without any intention of paying for it. I’m not talking about Napster-type software. I’m talking about major label recording contracts”. Although the most widely quoted internationally by academia is that of the Spanish artist Ignacio Escolar (Escolar 2002 )—from the now defunct band Meteosat and at present a journalist with El Diario-, published on Internet under the title “Please, pirate my songs!” See subsequent references to this argument and the range of artists who promote it in Gelsthorpe ( 2010 ), p. 408; Yar ( 2007 ), p. 105 f.; Bailey ( 2000 ), p. 486 f.; also Roca Sales and Castells ( 2007 ), pp. 79, 115 ff.

It may be added that, in the end, the best proof of this is that normally academics do not charge for publishing in academic journals and at times the academic pays to do so.

But also in other products, such as for example computer programmes. As Landes and Posner ( 2003 ), p. 46, made clear: “even illegal copying of programmes, something about which the software industry complains so much, does not imply losses for the software designers. Demand may be created by the pirates for complementary products made by the manufacturer of the pirated programmes”.

Although for Landes and Posner, that idea would arise both in the possibility of a legal and an illegal copy, in so far as Liebowitz appears to make reference, through the idea of indirect appropriability, to the higher value of the product when legal copies are possible.

However, Liebowitz ( 2003 , p. 6 ff.) has defended in another place the theoretical application of indirect appropriability to the CD market, although it would take place in a situation in which the copies of CDs, as well as being prohibited, were susceptible to control; a situation which the same author recognized as reasonably unlikely. Liebowitz gives an example that is technologically outdated today, but is very enlightening. If we assume (a) that people have CD players at home but only have cassette players in the car; (b) that copying is prohibited and that people will comply with that prohibition; (c) that those users would pay 9$ for a CD from an LP and 4$ for the tape of that same LP (so as to be able to listen to music at home and in the car), then it is likely that the seller of the work would allow CDs to be sold that come with a taped copy, in exchange for rise in the price of the CD up to a maximum of 13$, without the sales being affected, while the CDs that could not be copied would continue to be sold at 9$. This situation seems to me, however, practically impossible at present. For example, although in recent times it has been quite normal to purchase a “physical” DVD that includes a digital copy, that is not due to implementation of indirect appropriability,—as the market price for those products has not increased as a result—but rather to the fact that the anticopy labels of the DVDs conflict with the aforementioned right to copy.

On the changes to the “cannons” applicable to different concepts in Spain, see De la Cueva González-Cotera ( 2014 ).

The work is by Oberholzer and Strumpf ( 2004 ). However, in subsequent years this work has been published again with some additions and corrections, as is the case of Oberholzer and Strumpf ( 2006 ), which we shall also use here.

In addition, this study was submitted to an intense and prolonged criticism by Stan Liebowitz. In general, such criticism appears well grounded to me and for that reason I also lend it the attention it deserves, although the “parallel discourse” of criticisms will be maintained in footnotes so as not to lose track of the guiding thread of the presentation.

Specifically, the p2p network, called OpenNap, allowed the technical means to access that information.

In addition, this quasi experiment begins on the basis that there are fewer downloads in the summer holidays. The concentration of sales of CDs refer on the contrary to December holidays. Further on we will enter into detail on this. The “historic” context of this study has to be borne in mind, over 10 years ago, in so far as the high-speed internet connection was available on campus, but much less in households, while Internet is almost ubiquitous today. This information explains why there were fewer downloads in summer. See Oberholzer and Strumpf ( 2006 ), p. 6.

A study of this kind would not have been possible in Spain, without access to secret information, because, as mentioned earlier, the data on music sales are neither accessible nor freely available to the public in Spain.

Although this work is not the most appropriate to delve into methodological aspects, Liebowitz has dedicated successive monographic studies that contain harsh criticism of the study by Oberholzer and Strumpf, which may be summarised as follows: (1) the positive correlation between the download of songs and the purchase of albums—the more downloads there are, the more that specific music is bought—is not sufficient in itself to explain whether, in general, downloads prejudice intellectual property; (2) the problem of simultaneity, basically reflected by the music with the highest sales also being the music with most downloads; in other words, one variable simultaneously determines the other, although this, as we have seen in the text, is likewise recognized by the authors of the study; (3) the variables chosen to mitigate the impact produced by the bias of simultaneity—for example, the duration of the songs—produced a contrary effect to that intended, in this study; they increased the correlation between pirated downloads and music sales. See Liebowitz ( 2005 ), p. 470 ff.

See Liebowitz ( 2007 ), p. 2, for a summary of the quasi-experiments.

Criticism of these premises may be seen in Liebowitz ( 2007 ), p. 5 f.,—with data—for whoever is absolutely unable to demonstrate that there are fewer downloads by Internet users in summer, which in their opinion would invalidate the conclusions upheld by Oberholzer and Strumpf.

Liebowitz ( 2007 ), pp. 7–8, presented data that express the contrary; that the decline in sales stood out far more on the East coast than on the West coast. Later criticism based on exaggeration of the “European” factor of this study may likewise be seen in Liebowitz ( 2010 ).

The data are for 2010, and were collected every Tuesday, the weekday on which the official launch of new albums in the USA takes place.

Liebowitz ( 2011 , especially p. 5 ff.). In addition, this author reworked this table making various deletions and methodological corrections which, in his opinion, would prove an even greater impact of piracy on the decline of sales. However, take into account that I have updated the aforementioned table with studies that had not been completed in 2011.

See above all, for example, and among many others, Tonry ( 2008 ), p. 279, Medina Ariza ( 2011 ), p. 47, with references.

At least, if one is in agreement with the majority doctrine, in as much as it is an objective element of the criminal definition and that, effectively, there is no need to prove the effective damage that has been inflicted, but rather the objective likelihood of the behaviour that causes the damage. See supra, note 85.

The terms “intent” and “scale” have been interpreted as practically the same, despite their different meanings. More details in Rando Casermeiro ( 2015 ).

Specifically, 37 %.

It has to be remembered that this report uses data taken from the IPFI reports.

In favour of this interpretation, see, among many others, Martínez-Buján Pérez ( 2011 ), p. 153; Díaz y García Conlledo ( 2009 ), p. 115; Rodríguez Moro ( 2012 ), p. 348; Gómez Rivero ( 2012 ), pp. 139, 145. On the contrary, Miró Liinares ( 2003 , p. 347 ff.) understands that prejudice to third parties should be interpreted as a subjective element of the crime; on the fluctuating positions of jurisprudence, see also Puente Alba ( 2008 ).

Against the option of setting amounts to define the boundaries, Gómez Rivero ( 2012 ), p. 144.

On both dimensions of the principle of proportionality, see, among others, Aguado Correa ( 2013 ), p. 123 and off; 227 ff.

Thus, for example Díaz y García Conlledo ( 2009 ), p. 97 f. For an analysis of the important debate raised around whether to protect moral rights, patrimonial rights or both, see the complete analysis of Rodríguez Moro ( 2012 ), pp. 73–153, although at present the discussion has lost interest following the Criminal Code of 1995.

I myself did so, to a certain point, in Rando Casermeiro ( 2012 ), p. 267.

This is the case of Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. See Ibidem. Although, probably, that lack of success is due to the enormous breadth with which the criminal definitions were written, which permits the incrimination of virtually any Internet user who might illegally download protected works.

An analysis of the judgment can be seen in Peguera Poch ( 2012 ), pp. 67–68, an author who qualified the calculation method as “at the least, surprising”, and the compensation as “very high”.

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Casermeiro, P.R. (2016). Harm and Intellectual Property. Music Piracy as an Example of Empirical Measurement of Damage. In: Nieto Martín, A., Muñoz de Morales Romero, M. (eds) Towards a Rational Legislative Evaluation in Criminal Law. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32895-9_10

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Brown, Steven Caldwell. "The psychology of music piracy." Thesis, Glasgow Caledonian University, 2015. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.680228.

Orr, Schyler Thomas. "Beliefs and Behaviors Regarding Illegal Music Piracy." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/229794.

Dilmperi, Athina. "Explaining consumers' music preferences in a multi-channel framework :bthe case of music piracy." Thesis, Cranfield University, 2013. http://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/8559.

Dilmperi, Athina. "Explaining consumers' music preferences in a multi-channel framework : the case of music piracy." Thesis, Cranfield University, 2013. http://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/8559.

Salmela, Markus, and Sakari Ylönen. "The New Music Industry : - Understanding the Dynamics of the New Consumer of Music." Thesis, Jönköping University, JIBS, EMM (Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Management), 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-11902.

The music industry today is undergoing a revolution with digital distribution of music taking over the traditional sales of physical CDs (Mewton, 2008). The peer-to-peer networking and illegal music piracy is a problem that lately has been widely discussed in forums of ethics, legal issues and economical aspects, followed by a music industry trying to solve the situation with new business models enhancing digital sales, e.g. the tip jar model (Hiatt & Serpick, 2007). The tip jar model embodies the problem the industry is facing since it allows the consumer to choose whether to pay or not. Therefore the question of what leads the consumer to pay instead of download or pirate music has been researched in many aspects. However it has been made to a lesser extent in theory of loyalty and liking and their implications on the new business models’ success and the new consumer of music.

Previous research within music piracy has mainly explored demographics, macro- and micro economical perspectives such as artist and record company loss of welfare and consumer surplus (Coyle et al., 2008). We find it of interest to instead further explore the impacts of theories about consumer liking, loyalty and attitudes (Wells & Prensky, 1996; Shiffman & Kanuk, 1987; Solomon et al., 2002) as an addition to this existing knowledge to enhance the understanding about the new consumer of music. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze artist liking, artist loyalty and attitudinal factors’ impact on consumers’ music piracy intentions. The study is an explanatory study based on quantitative data collected in the region of Jönköping where the collection of data has been conducted by using two questionnaires; one among students at the School of Education and Communication (Jönköping University) and one at the A6 shopping-center. This data has been summarized to create independent variables used in a multiple regression analysis to calculate their impacts on piracy to confirm or reject the from theory deduced hypotheses.

The results from the multiple regression analysis show that the attitudinal factors do not have a direct impact on piracy intentions; however the other two independent variables, measuring the artist loyalty and artist liking have a larger impact. Surprisingly, a higher level of loyalty increases the intentions to pirate music while, as anticipated from theory (Solomon et al., 2002; Shiffman & Kanuk, 1987), higher liking decreases intentions. The conclusion is that the artist liking variable and artist loyalty variable are resulting in a bridge over piracy where the pillars are built of liking and the bridge itself is built of loyalty, stressing the importance of maintaining high levels of liking to maintain purchasing behavior online.

Mott, Andrew. "File Sharing & Music Piracy: How the Internet is Changing the Tune." Miami University Honors Theses / OhioLINK, 2004. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=muhonors1111683024.

Jinkerson, Jeremy. "DOES MUSIC PIRACY INFLUENCE PURCHASE INTENTION?: ADAPTING AJZEN'S THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR MODEL." MSSTATE, 2008. http://sun.library.msstate.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06202008-234405/.

BARROS, MONIQUE PEREIRA IBITINGA DE. "ANALYSIS OF THE BRAZILIAN PHONOGRAPHIC INDUSTRYNULLS FUTURE FACING THE THREAT OF PIRACY AND DIGITAL MUSIC." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2003. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=4820@1.

Bielas, Ilan. "The Rise and Fall of Record Labels." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2013. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/703.

Ebel, Marc. "Digital music consumption on the Internet : consumer behaviour in the light of digital piracy, legal alternatives and ethical considerations." Thesis, University of South Wales, 2014. https://pure.southwales.ac.uk/en/studentthesis/digital-music-consumption-on-the-internet(a351c4f6-b984-4383-8e41-4b9a3c2c988a).html.

Musundwa, Sibongile C. "Discursive practices around film and music piracy in selected newspaper articles and radio broadcasts in South Africa." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13765.

Jesse, Timo. "FACTORS DETERMINING THE INTENTION TO OBTAIN MUSIC LEGALLY : A quantitative research approaching the contemporary behaviour of consumers toward the legal acquisition of music in Sweden." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för marknadsföring (MF), 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-43874.

Fisk, Nathan W. "Social learning theory as a model for illegitimate peer-to-peer use and the effects of implementing a legal music downloading service on peer-to-peer music piracy /." Online version of thesis, 2006. https://ritdml.rit.edu/dspace/handle/1850/2737.

Hope, Stuart. "An investigation of the effect that the availability of legitimate channels for acquiring digital music has on piracy in South Africa." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13180.

Urbanová, Renáta. "Analýza prodeje digitální hudby ve spojení s mobilními operátory na českém trhu a v zahraničí." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2009. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-15924.

Bazarsky, Jason. "The effect of illegal music downloading and iTunes Store on CD collection size." Diss., Connect to the thesis, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10066/1569.

Pang, Sam I. "The rhythm of everyday life : a study on the impact of illegal music downloading and the life of adult women in Macau." Thesis, University of Macau, 2006. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b1874193.

Steedman, Sam, and sam steedman@gmail com. "Change and Growth of Australian Music Value Chains." RMIT University. Architecture and Design, 2009. http://adt.lib.rmit.edu.au/adt/public/adt-VIT20091029.161558.

Cortez, Igor Siqueira. "Uma análise empírica do consumo de música na Universidade de São Paulo." Universidade de São Paulo, 2010. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/12/12138/tde-04112010-164142/.

Kubešová, Eliška. "Aktuální právní otázky využití a zneužití záznamů hudebního díla." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2013. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-197997.

Latson, Christopher Craig. "Contemporary Pirates: An Examination of the Perceptions and Attitudes Toward the Technology, Progression, and Battles that Surround Modern Day Music Piracy in Colleges and Universities." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2004. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4595/.

Viotti, Leonardo Teixeira. "Pirateando o caminho para o show business: os efeitos da pirataria sobre o mercado de apresentações ao vivo." Universidade de São Paulo, 2016. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/12/12138/tde-05042016-162140/.

Canuday, Jose Jowel. "Music, dances, and videos : identity making and the cosmopolitan imagination in the southern Philippines." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:ad25b3dd-8d0c-4c9a-8b0a-c85eb3255dd3.

Paiva, Ellen Caroline Vieira de. "ARTE, TÉCNICA E MERCADO: ressonâncias da indústria fonográfica entre as descontinuidades da cibercultura." Universidade Federal do Maranhão, 2012. http://tedebc.ufma.br:8080/jspui/handle/tede/22.

Pazooki, Parham, and Andreas Tauber. "Ungdomars musikvanor : En studie i hur och var svenska ungdomar upptäcker och konsumerar musik ur ett mottagarperspektiv." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för samhällsvetenskaper, SV, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-13387.

Sá, Claudio Alessandro Diniz de. "Indústria fonográfica brasileira: novos movimentos no mercado musical no início do século XXI." Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, 2009. http://tede2.pucsp.br/handle/handle/2882.

Labská, Julie. "Vliv technologií na hudební průmysl z hlediska distribuce hudby." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2012. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-162616.

Wallin, Hageving Andreas. "IFPI : A Postcolonial Critique of the Trade Body’s Organisational Structure and Ideology." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för musik och bild (MB), 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-94723.

Pulda, Michal. "Vícevrstvý systém distribuce audiovizuálního obsahu." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2010. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-75004.

Lundström, Justus, Jonas Widriksson, and Viktor Zaunders. "Changes in media consumption and file sharing : The impact of legislation and new digital media services." Thesis, Jönköping University, JIBS, Business Informatics, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-12534.

In this study we investigate how the attitude and behaviour concerning illegal file shar-ing have changed among the young population in Sweden. The study will analyze the impact of the IPRED law that was introduced in April 2008 and new digital media ser-vices that have emerged in the last couple of years. It is also evaluated which of these have had the most impact on the attitude and behaviour of the selected population.

The main part of our research consists of a quantitative survey handed out to a sample population among high school students (ages 16-20) in Jönköping, Sweden. This pri-mary data is later compared to secondary data from a similar study that was done on the same demographics two years prior to this research in order to measure the change in behaviour and attitude. The previous study was conducted prior to the IPRED law im-plementation by one of the authors. We also used prior research within this subject and related fields to further understand and interpret our data.

What we have discovered through our research is that there has been a decrease in ille-gal file sharing, especially when considering music, however this decrease is much more an effect of the adopting of new media services then it can be attributed to the IPRED law. Furthermore, the attitudes towards file sharing have remained unchanged and a large number of young adults do not feel that file sharing should be illegal.

It is also concluded that good legal alternatives to file sharing have a large market po-tential if these services can fulfil consumers demand on availability and price. Addition-ally we have found that good legal alternatives are important if the public is to refrain from returning to their old file sharing habits once the initial scare from new legislation has worn off.

Rytinki, M. (Markus). "Musiikkialan tekijänoikeuksien kesto, ansaintalogiikat ja digitaalisen aineiston saatavuus internetissä." Doctoral thesis, Oulun yliopisto, 2018. http://urn.fi/urn:isbn:9789526221182.

Ebadi, Solmaz, and Mirja Johansson. "Music File Sharing : Genius Technology or Copyright Infringement?" Thesis, Jönköping University, JIBS, Commercial Law, 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-7598.

Today’s technology of music file sharing in peer-to-peer networks is genius. Peer-to-peer are networks composed of several computers enabling files to be shared among users. A substantial part of the files shared constitute unlawful copies; uploading and downloading of such files infringes copyright legislation. File sharing through peer-to-peer networks is therefore both a genius technology and a copyright infringement.

Peer-to-peer technology has been subject to heavy debate in media, both nationally and internationally. The issue of illegal downloads of music is an international dilemma since music is a global commodity. Sweden has been accused of being file sharers’ haven by organisations such as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Internet access and broadband capacity is very high in Sweden, which is a reason why many Swedes engage in file sharing. The Swedish company, The Pirate Bay, is the creator of one of the most popular file sharing websites in the world, using the BitTorrent application. The website offers free downloading of inter alia music, films and software. Like most peer-to-peer networks the Pirate Bay website includes copyrighted material, which often is published without the consent of copyright holders. As a result The Pirate Bay is facing a lawsuit on behalf of numerous organisations and companies in the music and film industry.

The Pirate Bay is accused of contributory infringement and of preparation to commit a copyright infringement according to the Swedish Copyright Act (SwCA).  Contrary to the American copyright legislation, the SwCA does not contain any explicit provisions regarding contributory infringement. The SwCA refers to the Swedish Criminal Code, which states that preparation to copyright infringement and contributing to such infringement is illegal and punishable. There is currently a lack of Swedish case law regarding copyright infringement and there are no cases concerning contributory infringement. One reason is that the field of law is constantly changing; the copyright legislation is adjusted to the technological developments. The lack of case law causes unpredictability of the SwCA, which may be harmful to the rule of law. International organisations, such as the RIAA, consider the SwCA to be somewhat ineffective and that it needs to be amended in order to uphold the fundamental purpose of copyright.

Copyright is a partly harmonised area of law from a global perspective. However, since the Internet and file sharing through peer-to-peer networks is an international phenomenon, copyright legislation needs further harmonisation internationally. At the time there is an ongoing process of implementing the European Union (EU) Enforcement Directive into the SwCA, which grants greater rights to copyright holders. The Directive contains provisions that simplify the process of taking action against an alleged infringer, which may in the long run increase the amount of case law in Sweden. At the same time the implementation of the Enforcement Directive has been criticised as being too far reaching and intruding people’s privacy.

File sharing through peer-to-peer networks benefits consumers by offering easy access to a wide range of music for a low cost, at the same time enabling artists to reach out to a larger audience. Consumers are vital for the music industry, since they purchase the music. However, the fundamental aim of copyright is to reward copyright holders and function as an incentive to encourage creativity. Consequently, without economic rights the incentive to create is forfeit and music production might decrease. Even if the justification of copyright is primarily to protect creators of a work, it is also essential to emphasise the consumer aspect. Therefore it is of importance to balance the interests of all parties involved.

In order to uphold the purpose of copyright and interests of the general public, it is necessary to promote and develop more legal file sharing alternatives. Music in digital formats has to some extent replaced the traditional Compact Disc (CD) format. Therefore the music industry must cooperate with among others Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in order to embrace the digital developments of music and offer better solutions to consumers. Simultaneously, there is a lack of knowledge of copyright among the Swedish population, which is why more education is required. In conclusion, advertisement and education could decrease illegal file sharing and enhance all the parties’ interests.

Dagens fildelningsteknologi i peer-to-peer nätverk är genial. Peer-to-peer är nätverk bestående av flera sammankopplade datorer som möjliggör fildelning mellan användare. En betydande mängd av de delade filerna utgör dock olagliga kopior; uppladdning och nedladdning av sådana filer bryter mot upphovsrättslagstiftningen. Fildelning genom peer-to-peer nätverk är därför både genial teknologi och upphovsrättsintrång.

Peer-to-peer teknologin har väckt stor debatt i media, både nationellt och internationellt. Frågan kring illegal nedladdning av musik är ett internationellt dilemma eftersom musik är en global handelsvara. Sverige har kritiserats av organisationer som Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) för att vara en frizon för fildelare. Tillgången till internet och bredband är väldigt hög i Sverige, vilket är en anledning till varför många svenskar fildelar. Det svenska företaget The Pirate Bay som använder sig av BitTorrent protokollet, är skapare till en av världens populäraste fildelningssajter. Webbsidan erbjuder gratis nedladdning av bland annat musik, film och programvara. I likhet med de flesta peer-to-peer nätverk innehåller The Pirate Bay’s hemsida upphovsrättsskyddat material som ofta har blivit tillgängliggjort utan upphovsrättshavarens medgivande. Till följd av detta har ett flertal organisationer och företag inom musik- och filmindustrin ingett en stämningsansökan mot The Pirate Bay.        

The Pirate Bay är åtalade för medhjälp och förberedelse till brott mot upphovsrättslagen. I motsats till den amerikanska lagen om upphovsrätt innehåller inte den svenska upphovsrättslagen några uttryckliga bestämmelser rörande medhjälp till brott mot upphovsrätt. Upphovsrättslagen hänvisar istället till brottsbalken som stadgar att förberedelse och medverkan till brott är olagligt och straffbart. I dagsläget finns endast ett fåtal svenska rättsfall angående upphovsrättsintrång men inga fall kring medhjälp till upphovsrättsintrång. En bidragande faktor kan vara att rättsområdet ständigt ändras; upphovsrättslagstiftningen anpassas kontinuerligt till den tekniska utvecklingen. Bristen på svenska rättsfall leder till att upphovsrättslagens tillämpning blir oförutsägbar, vilket kan vara skadligt för rättsäkerheten. Internationella organisationer som exempelvis RIAA anser att den svenska upphovsrättslagen är ineffektiv och att ändringar behöver göras för att upprätthålla upphovsrättens grundläggande syfte.      

Upphovsrätten är till viss del en harmoniserad lagstiftning ur ett globalt perspektiv. Eftersom internet och fildelning genom peer-to-peer nätverk är ett internationellt fenomen behöver upphovsrättslagen ytterligare harmonisering på ett internationellt plan. I dagsläget pågår en implementering av Europeiska Unionens (EU:s) sanktionsdirektiv som tillerkänner större rättigheter till upphovsrättshavare. Direktivet innehåller bestämmelser som förenklar möjligheten för rättighetshavare att vidta åtgärder mot personer som begår upphovsrättsintrång, vilket på sikt kan komma att bidra till en ökad mängd rättsfall. Sanktionsdirektivet har samtidigt kritiserats för att vara alltför långtgående och inskränker människors rätt till privatliv.

Fildelning genom peer-to-peer nätverk är förmånligt för konsumenter genom att utbudet av musik är stort, lättillgängligt och till en låg kostnad; samtidigt ger nätverken artister möjligheten att nå ut till en bredare publik. Konsumenter är nödvändiga för musikindustrin eftersom de inhandlar musiken. Dock är det viktigt att upprätthålla det fundamentala syftet med upphovsrätt, vilket är att ersätta upphovsrättshavaren för sitt verk och fungera som ett incitament till att stimulera skapade. Utan de ekonomiska rättigheterna skulle uppmuntran att skapa nya alster gå förlorad, och musikproduktionen skulle minska. Trots att upphovsrätten rättfärdigas genom att skydda rättighetshavare så är det även angeläget att understryka värdet av konsumenterna. Det är därför av stor vikt att balansera samtliga parters intressen.

Det är nödvändigt att marknadsföra och utveckla fler lagliga fildelningsalternativ för att upprätthålla upphovsrättens syfte och samhällets intresse. Digital musik har till viss del ersatt det traditionella Compact Disc (CD) formatet. Musikindustrin måste därför samarbeta med bland annat internetleverantörer för att ta till sig den digitala utvecklingen av musik och erbjuda bättre lösningar till konsumenter. För närvarade har den svenska befolkningen otillräckliga kunskaper inom upphovsrätt, varför mer utbildning behövs. Avslutningsvis, skulle marknadsföring och utbildning kunna bidra till en minskning av den illegala fildelningen och gynna alla parters intressen.       

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Digital Commons @ USF > Honors College > Honors Theses > 162

USF St. Petersburg campus Honors Program Theses (Undergraduate)

Looting on the digital sea: an economic analysis of music piracy.

Jesse S. Daw

First Advisor

Suzanne Dieringer, M.A. in Economics, Visiting Professor, College of Business

University of South Florida St. Petersburg

Document Type

Date available, publication date, date issued.

The development of the internet has brought about a profound shift in the music industry for both record labels and the artists they represent. This shift has come as a result of modem capabilities for music to be hosted online and available to be downloaded by consumers over the internet. These innovations have allowed record labels and independent musicians to sell their music through a new and convenient medium, and services provided by companies such as ITunes and Amazon have introduced more options for consumers purchasing music. However, the ability to access music over the internet has created a new type of criminal who can easily steal or "pirate" music that has been openly shared by others on online file sharing networks. The purpose of this study is to identify variables that affect consumer demand for illegally downloaded music. In pursuit of this goal, a logit regression model will be used with maximum likelihood estimation to test multiple variables that are expected to affect demand. The variables that will be tested are: age, gender, grade point average, race, annual income bracket, use of streaming services, convenience of illegal downloads, perceived moral obligations, price of music relative to income, and low perceived risk of legal ramifications. By using a logit model to determine how these variables affect the likelihood that consumers will download music illegally, it will become clear how each variable weighs into the consumer decision making process and affects their demand for illegal music downloads.

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the University Honors Program, University of South Florida St. Petersburg.

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Recommended Citation

Daw, Jesse S., "Looting on the Digital Sea: An Economic Analysis of Music Piracy" (2014). USF St. Petersburg campus Honors Program Theses (Undergraduate). https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/honorstheses/162

Since June 30, 2017

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Home > RETRO_ETDS > 1186

Archived Theses and Dissertations

Intellectual theft, advertising infringements & music piracy.

Reem M Hamza , The American University in Cairo AUC

School of Global Affairs and Public Policy

Journalism & Mass Communication Department

Degree Name

MA in Journalism & Mass Communication

Date of Award

Online submission date, first advisor.

Dr. Hussien Amin

Second Advisor

Dr. Richard Boylan

Third Advisor

Dr. Ibrahim Hegazy

Document Type

Library of congress subject heading 1.

Piracy (Copyright)

Library of Congress Subject Heading 2

Copyright infringement

The American University in Cairo grants authors of theses and dissertations a maximum embargo period of two years from the date of submission, upon request. After the embargo elapses, these documents are made available publicly. If you are the author of this thesis or dissertation, and would like to request an exceptional extension of the embargo period, please write to [email protected]

Photocopy restricted until June 1998 unless renewal of restriction has been applied for and granted.

Recommended Citation

Apa citation.

Hamza, R. (1996). Intellectual theft, advertising infringements & music piracy [Thesis, the American University in Cairo]. AUC Knowledge Fountain. https://fount.aucegypt.edu/retro_etds/1186

MLA Citation

Hamza, Reem M. Intellectual theft, advertising infringements & music piracy . 1996. American University in Cairo, Thesis. AUC Knowledge Fountain . https://fount.aucegypt.edu/retro_etds/1186

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Call Number

Thesis 1996/ 1198

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