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iPod Owners Not Thieves

An anonymous reader writes "Remember last year when Microsoft head Steve Ballmer said iPod owners were music thieves and their iPods were full of stolen music? It turns out they're actually less likely to download music using filesharing software than owners of other MP3 players. A lot less likely." From the article: "A survey of US and UK music buyers reveals that although 25 per cent of people admit to downloading music from file-sharing services, only seven per cent of iPod owners do so. Proving that iPod users are either scrupulously honest or more paranoid they'll get sued by RIAA than owners of lesser music players."

26 of 470 comments (clear)

  1. "Lesser music players..." -- ??? by eldavojohn · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Proving that iPod users are either scrupulously honest or more paranoid they'll get sued by RIAA than owners of lesser music players."
    Sounds like flamebait to me. Calling every other music player "lesser." Yeah, no other music player holds up to an iPod.

    In my opinion, I think there is some competition to consider before making that bold statement.
    --
    My work here is dung.
  2. Big news? by rjung2k · · Score: 5, Funny

    So Steve Ballmer is an idiot. This is news?

    1. Re:Big news? by dbIII · · Score: 4, Funny
      So Steve Ballmer is an idiot. This is news?
      I think we should listen to Steve on this one - he's got the chair.
  3. Could be that iPod owners have more... by SIGFPE · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...disposable income to spend on legal downloads than owner of lesser^H^H expensive mp3 players.

    --
    -- SIGFPE
  4. Convenience by vijayiyer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    People who have iPods have demonstrated a willingness to pay for ease of use and simplicity. That they would spend money at the iTunes Music Store to easily download music rather than go through the hassle of downloading it from a p2p network should not be surprising.

    1. Re:Convenience by the+MaD+HuNGaRIaN · · Score: 4, Informative

      Since I am already a member of the Apple Fanboy List I can reply without fear of reprocussions.

      I can honestly say that this is exactly why I use ITMS rather than P2P.
      My time is more valuable than the .99 cents it takes to click a couple buttons and have the song right there in my iPod--and the quality is always the same.

      Quite honestly, I don't have time to hunt a P2P network for some obsure ass thing and then find out that it's 128bit and has a couple CD skipping noises in the middle of it. No thanks.

  5. Good News by 2names · · Score: 5, Funny
    Dear RIAA,

    For the record, I own an iPod, so you can put me on the "Do Not Sue" list.

    Sincerely,

    Me

    --
    "I'm just here to regulate funkiness."
    1. Re:Good News by Savage-Rabbit · · Score: 5, Funny

      Dear Me,

      While we cannot remove you from our "Will Sue" list (We sue everybody on principle) we are however pleased to inform you that we have recalled the team of ex-deltaforce commandos we contracted to assassinate you a week ago.

      In the hope this E-Mail finds you still alive, sincerely,

      RIAA

      --
      Only to idiots, are orders laws.
      -- Henning von Tresckow
  6. Or.... by irw · · Score: 4, Funny

    Third option - iPod owners are liars

    *ducks*

  7. Or another possibility by TWX · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Proving that iPod users are either scrupulously honest or more paranoid they'll get sued by RIAA than owners of lesser music players."

    Or, that since they have a legal, inexpensive way to obtain the specific music that they want to play, they are more inclined to actually spend $5.00 to get five songs from five different bands instead of $16 for twelve songs from one band, with only one song that they actually want.

    Or still, that the people who bought iPods coincidentally are also the same people who already have large CD collections, so they were inclined to rip and encode their music specifically so that they could play it on the iPod, rather than having to resort to scavenging the Internet for music because they were too cheap to pay for it...

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
  8. Microsoft just doesn't get it ... by orangeguru · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Stever Job once correctly stated that the iTunes store has to compete with P2P services / pirating. They succeded - and it is bloody convinient too.

    The iTunes store offers so far the best online music store and player combination (software and portable). So far none of the other companies have succeded in offering a better combo. The winner takes it all ...

  9. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  10. I disagree with the conclusions. by XorNand · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Proving that iPod users are either scrupulously honest or more paranoid they'll get sued by RIAA than owners of lesser music players.
    Option C:) Apple has successfully eliminated the incentive to "steal" music by making it cheaper to buy iTunes tracks than to use alternative backchannels. We all make time/money trade-offs everyday: eating out vs. cooking our own food, changing our own oil vs. paying someone else $25 to do it, buying a Roomba or vacuuming our place more often. Buying music isn't any different. iTunes with an iPod can't get any easier and therefore saves a lot of people valuable time.

    I'm no Apple fanboy, but I give them major kudos to pull off what the RIAA and the major labels are too stupid to understand. This was a technological and economical war from the beginning. Damn them for perverting it into a legal one as well.
    --
    Entrepreneur : (noun), French for "unemployed"
  11. Is that the only conclusion? by jeffmeden · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "A survey of US and UK music buyers reveals that although 25 per cent of people admit to downloading music from file-sharing services, only seven per cent of iPod owners do so. Proving that iPod users are either scrupulously honest or more paranoid they'll get sued by RIAA than owners of lesser music players."

    Another option is that Ipod owners are scrupulously DIShonest, making their numbers a lot lower. Come on, this is like a survey of inner city people who regularly J-walk. You have three categories, the ones that do and admit it, the ones that don't and are proud of it, and the ones that do but say they don't because they are too self conscious.

  12. Re:iPod wrapper says "Don't Steal Music" by FidelCatsro · · Score: 4, Funny

    I noticed that , so I said to my iPod "I promise I wont steal music , I will copyright infringe it instead"

    --
    The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
  13. Obvious explanation by Jimmy_B · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The iPod is closely associated with iTunes, which makes getting music legally more convenient than downloading. Also, iPod owners are likely to have more money to spend on music than owners of less expensive mp3 players.

  14. Are you sure it isn't about price? by khasim · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Proving that iPod users are either scrupulously honest or more paranoid they'll get sued by RIAA than owners of lesser music players.
    Personally, I think it is just like we saw with the advent of cheap VHS tapes. When the moves were $100+, most people rented them and copied them. When the price dropped to $20, people buy them instead.

    Once you bring the price down to a certain point, the average person will pay for a legal copy.
  15. My guess by Cro+Magnon · · Score: 5, Funny

    If you have an iPod, it's safer to get songs legally. If you play songs on a PC, it's safer to download questionable content from known criminals than it is to insert a legal Sony CD.

    --
    Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
  16. not thieves? by revery · · Score: 5, Funny

    iPod Owners Not Thieves

    Well then, maybe someone would like to explain to me why my iPod is engraved with the following:

    To my dearest Helen, I'm sorry I gave you the clap, Gerald

  17. I thought iPod was the lesser player... by SoCalChris · · Score: 5, Funny

    Not to mention that ipod has no wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.

  18. Paranoid? by plover · · Score: 4, Insightful
    "Proving that iPod users are either scrupulously honest or more paranoid they'll get sued by RIAA than owners of lesser music players."

    Paranoid? How about "three times more likely to lie to a potential RIAA lawyer that they download music?" Or "three times less stupid?" Perhaps, less inflammatorily, we could say "iPod owners are three times more informed about the rapacious RIAA barrators."

    I don't think it counts as paranoia when they're publicly taking down 8-year-old girls and 72-year-old grandmas. It's self preservation.

    --
    John
  19. Submitter Wears Bias Proudly by nathanh · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Proving that iPod users are either scrupulously honest or more paranoid they'll get sued by RIAA than owners of lesser music players."

    Or that iPod users are dishonest and will lie about where they got their MP3s.

    Or that iPod users are lazy and tend towards the convenience of iTunes.

    Or that iPod users are technically incompetent and can't figure out P2P.

    Or that the statistical sampling and analysis was flawed.

    There are so many possible reasons. Why did the submitter need to state a false dichotomy?

    lesser music players

    Oh, now I see why.

  20. Re:Could be that iPod owners... by SimplexO · · Score: 4, Insightful

    are more enticed to use the bundled iTunes legal purchasing software that works well with their computer, their iPod, and the fact that they really don't understand computers? Isn't this software Darwinism? Build good software and they will come, right?

    My brother got a nano and he got my dad to buy some music from iTMS, even though he had previously gotten them for free off of peer networks. He could have gotten those songs for free, but since his iPod came with iTunes, he used the included software to get some music. Songs at a reasonable price, found using software he can use. It all makes sense to me.

  21. NEWS FLASH! by CODiNE · · Score: 5, Funny

    BMW owners found less likely to siphon gas than Ford owners.

    --
    Cwm, fjord-bank glyphs vext quiz
  22. In other news, by commodoresloat · · Score: 4, Funny

    Steve Ballmer is also bald. Film at 11.

  23. bad survey - useless data by geekee · · Score: 4, Informative

    They surveyed people who bought music online, not a random sample of mp3 player owners. This doesn't take into account people who only copy music illegally.

    --
    Vote for Pedro