Video and Software Downloads Overtaking Music

Trigun writes "The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is reporting that movie and software downloads have outpaced music downloads. Music accounted for 48.6 percent of files shared online, compared with 62.5 percent in 2002, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The article says that 1 in 4 internet users have downloaded at least one movie, and attributes the proliferation to access to broadband. Maybe we've just downloaded all the good music already?"

Comments

Global coverage

[SIGALRM]

Across the OECD's 30 industrialized member countries, music accounted for 48.6 percent of files shared online, compared with 62.5 percent in 2002, according to excerpts of the report seen by The Associated Press.

Interesting. I wonder if the fact that Hollywood tends to distribute movies in the US first--coupled with the storm of global entertainment coverage--contributes to this? If I lived in Germany, for example, awaiting the release of Spider-Man 2 I might want to see what all the hype was about and download the movie.

Re:Global coverage

[Dark Kenshin]

Actually, I think this is due to the fact that the recent quality of music being released isn't that high. This gives movies and programs more focus for people to spend time downloading.

But that's just my opinion, so whatever ...

Re:Global coverage

[DrEldarion]

I'd attribute it more to the combination of more people getting broadband (they can now download huge files in a matter of hours), many legal threats (while the RIAA lawsuits may not have affected downloading, I'm sure many people don't share as much music anymore), and a bunch of legal MP3 download services popping up (if people are buying them legally, there's no point in sharing them on P2P networks).

Remember, just because YOU don't like the music they put out nowadays doesn't mean that there aren't hundreds of millions of people who do.

Re:Global coverage

[superpulpsicle]

Man I so agree. The numbers aren't that obvious. You download a movie, it's 600 megs. It messed up at 300 megs. You recontinued to P2P session, does that count as 2 files now?

It's goes on and on. I can't stand research like this anymore. They are just giving organizations like RIAA fuel to sue by miscalculating left and right.

Re:Global coverage

[Mad Martigan]

That's a good point, considering the article addresses the number of files downloaded. I wonder what things would look like if the numbers reflected the size of the files downloaded.

Also, if they did scan specifically for movies, software, etc, I wonder how porn messes things up. I mean, seriously, how many movie movies have you downloaded compared to how many porno clips/movies?

It's too bad there isn't a better discussion of the methodolgy in the article.

Bah

[Anonymous Coward]

They probably calculated it by megabytes.

its faster..

[cRueLio]

its faster and easier for me to DL a movie off of IRC than to haul my ass to the movie theatre, stand in line, and sit cramped in a shitty chair with no elbow room next to some annoying little kids. i just dl from irc, burn on a cdrw (vcd/svcd) pop it in the vcd player and watch it.

Re:its faster..

[vxvxvxvx]

Sure, but when you go to a movie theater

• The screen doesn't shake
• The audio doesn't remind you of AM talk
• You can actually see who is talking rather than "the white blob"
• Your girlfriend doesn't leave 10 minutes in after calling you a loser

All in all, I'd go to the theater.

Re:its faster..

[neonstz]

I saw Spider-Man 2 with 6 friends yesterday. Ordeded the tickets online two days in advance on the internet (paid with VISA). I didn't have to stand in line, I just went straight to the counter to pick up the tickets 5 minutes before the movie started. Before the movie a few of us got something to eat, and after the movie we went out to have a couple of beers/coke. Watching a movie at the cinema isn't just the movie, it's also about getting out and doing stuff with friends.

What do they call movies

[Mik3D]

Sure if you include Quicktime trailers, and short films. But I seriously doubt 1 in 4 have downloaded a feature film... cause guess what, no where near 1 in 4 users has broadband

RIAA spin

[carlos_benj]

Great. I'm sure RIAA will see this as vindication of their sue the customer policies. "See, they've moved on to other media since we started..."

Surprise, surprise...

[stienman]

What the RIAA is doing is having a chilling effect on online music trading, like it or not. I don't think the MPAA will have any recourse but to pursue the same tactics, but with much larger penalties.

It would be nice to see the full stats, though, to see if music has plateaued (as would be expected) while movies climb as broadband proliferates.
br. -Adam

Re:Same old story

[Neil Blender]

infringing on our rights as citizens

Downloading stuff is not a right. It's a privilege.

oh the humanity!

[kgarcia]

*sigh* So, one in four internet users worldwide have downloaded movies online.

oh wait, no it was only in Eight Countires...

oh, and only broadband users were polled.

ooh! and I almost forgot, of those that answered, one in four said they had downloaded at least one (YES, ONE) movie...

nothing to see here... just FUD and paranoia...

This is jacked in so many ways

[Unnngh!]

Seriously, this is the most poorly written article I have ever read. Check out these gems:

Video accounted for 27 percent, up from 25.2 percent, the study will say.

So, movie downloads didn't really increase much.

The OECD report does not give separate numbers for pirated downloads and those that do not infringe copyright

I'm not even going to start on this one.

The biggest growth in downloading last year was in "other files" - neither music nor film - which almost doubled their share to about a quarter of all downloads. The category includes software and pornography, but the report gives no breakdown between the two.

Basically, they're saying they have a lot of data and it seems to indicate something, but they can't really say what, so they just threw out some numbers. Nice work, OECD.

From the article:

[Kozar_The_Malignant]

The OECD report does not give separate numbers for pirated downloads and those that do not infringe copyright. Despite a growing number of paid-for services like Apple's music site iTunes, however, experts say the vast majority of file swaps are still unauthorized.

The biggest growth in downloading last year was in "other files" - neither music nor film - which almost doubled their share to about a quarter of all downloads. The category includes software and pornography, but the report gives no breakdown between the two.

So, no breakdown of how much is actually illegal, just "experts say." I wonder how much of "other files" is accounted for by bloated Microsoft critical updates, service releases and patches? How much is tasteful internet erotica? How about digital video of my daughter's college graduation sent to relatives?

Blame broadband?

[bigberk]

Broadband definitely makes it easier to download large amounts of data... but when I recall my own history, I was downloading a heluvalot more music in the days when 56 kbps modems first appeared. Back then it was an exploration of all the good music that's out there and that I had never heard before. Suddenly it all became available, waiting only 15 minutes or so for a download. For years I have felt that I have all the 'classics' in my private MP3 collection, and I don't often seek new music. When it comes to mainstream pop I certainly have 'heard it all before' and crave nothing.

So if "the industry" doesn't produce any new music that is worth craving, people don't download or buy it.