This report is very interesting as it clearly shows that organisations such as the IFPI are misleading many politicians with talk of increasing online piracy when in fact their own figures show a different story.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5281272.stmThe analysis of Europe's online music market shows that more than 7% of Europeans own and use a portable music player. In 2004 that figure stood at 2%.
The report notes that since 2001 the total European market for recorded music has lost 22% of its value but it warned against blaming piracy for this decline.
It referred to figures from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry which show that the number of pirated files in circulation online had declined substantially between 2003 and 2005.
Said the report: "the fact that the decline in physical music sales corresponds to the boom in DVD sales begins to look less like a coincidence and more like a cause
This report suggests that the market will rise back to its "average level" by 2010, this then gives the recording Cartels plenty of time to run down the traditional music delivery methods on physical media as they have been allowing to happen.
What worries me about reading a report like this on the BBC is the incorrect use of the word "Sales" to describe what is in fact a licensing arrangement as in most cases you are purchasing merely the right to play the music back on a set device and nothing more, using the "Sale" or "Sold" words implies to most folks that you are taking ownership of something and reading through many of the licencing agreements from the Cartels licenced outlets shows you own nothing, not even the right in most cases to transfer your music to another playback device or sell your paid for content to a friend, it seem you are just purchasing hot air in my opinion, and poor quality 128 bit hot air at that.
