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Video and Software Downloads Overtaking Music

Posted by michael on from the leaching-for-fun-and-profit dept.

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?"

18 of 234 comments (clear)

  1. Global coverage by SIGALRM · · Score: 4, Insightful
    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.
    --
    Sigs cause cancer.
    1. Re:Global coverage by Dark+Kenshin · · Score: 4, Insightful

      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 ...

      --
      "I only know 2 things: The love for me, and the fear of me."
    2. Re:Global coverage by WatertonMan · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I honestly wonder how they calculate this? I daresay that the majority of people using P2P networks share their music shares which probably are around 1000 files or more. I just have a hard time seeing that most are sharing that many movies and pieces of software. i.e. those sharing movies almost certainly are also sharing songs.

      What I suspect they did is just scanned for not music files. They then end up with all these small files - sometimes the content of you system directory - that dumbnits share or people trying to get a certain GB shared limit share. Yet if they count each .ini file and other such thing as a different software file, of course the number of files will outnumber music. But is that a real accurate count of movies and software shared?

      i.e. shouldn't they count software packages and movies shared rather than *files* shared?

      Perhaps they aren't making this mistake. But given their statistics something just smells fishy. I'd like to see their methadology.

    3. Re:Global coverage by DrEldarion · · Score: 4, Insightful

      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.

  2. its faster.. by cRueLio · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

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    Investing forum
    1. Re:its faster.. by neonstz · · Score: 4, Insightful

      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.

  3. Its the RIAAs secret plan by AuMatar · · Score: 5, Funny

    Keep coming out with music so shitty noone wants to download it! And its working already!

    On a serious note- do they separate legal from illegal downloads? Lots of movies/software is legal to download.

    --
    I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
  4. Of course... by UnixRawks · · Score: 4, Funny

    Pr0n baby pr0n. It's much better than pr0ngroove mp3's.

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    I
    1. Re:Of course... by Mind+Booster+Noori · · Score: 4, Informative
      I don't really know what was your intention when you posted this, but I've seen this moderated as Score:0 and Score:2...

      You have a point here: probably the most kind of downloaded "movies" (which I suppose they call to everything with certain extensions, like .avi, .mpeg, ...) is porn, and with the expansion of p2p file-sharing networks and broadband, more and more people probably download porn stuff there, I even imagine lot's of teens using p2p software only for that purpose...

      --
      Mind Booster Noori
  5. Maybe if by size... by Xshare · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Are they counting by size of file? Or maybe they are including all the .r00, .r01, .r02 files as SEPERATE files, but I don't see this as completely right.

  6. RIAA spin by carlos_benj · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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..."

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    --

    As a matter of fact, I am a lawyer. But I play an actor on TV.

  7. Surprise, surprise... by stienman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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

  8. MPAA not exactly impartial by NachoDaddy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    A separate global study published Thursday by the Motion Pictures Association found that about one in four Internet users had already downloaded a movie. Most said they would pirate more if they took less time to download.

    The problem is right there.

  9. oh the humanity! by kgarcia · · Score: 5, Insightful

    *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...

  10. This is jacked in so many ways by Unnngh! · · Score: 5, Insightful
    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.

  11. funny thing is.... by thegoogler · · Score: 5, Funny

    my MOTHER got me started on downloading movies, she said "o is that new denzel washington movie, ya the the man on fire one out yet?" and i said no. so then she said "well i one of my friends said there kids are downloading movies, you have whatchamacallit broadband couldnt you do that" she pestered me untill i burned her a vcd. good job mom. set an example, on how to GET ME IN JAIL!

  12. Re:In-theater cameras by RyLaN · · Score: 4, Informative

    Yes, there is an extremely nice (not noticeably different from a dvd, except for faded colors) rip of Spider-Man 2 going around. *cough*friend got it*cough*.

    What's more interesting to me is the fact that thousands of people have grabbed this file from BitTorrent sites like this one that require a registration, valid email et all to join. They literally signed up, and had their IP addy registered into a database of 'trusted ips', so that they could download Spider-Man 2. Simply Astonishing. I've seen 4 or 5 of these sites that appear to be using the same code, it wouldn't take the MPAA more than 30 seconds to start another one and start nabbing people IN THE ACT. Not to mention the fact that all the connected IP Addresses are visible from the tracker page..

    --
    At least the war on the environment is going well
  13. Blame broadband? by bigberk · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.