EU Piracy Estimates — Just How Inaccurate?

Last week we discussed news that a US government report questioned the reliability of piracy statistics from the media industry. Reader superapecommando sends in a follow-up written by Glyn Moody that examines a similar problem in Europe. Quoting: "As far as I know, no similar analysis has been carried out for European reports. So I thought it might be interesting to look at one particular European report on the subject — not least because I've heard that its findings influenced some of the MPs voting on the Digital Economy Act. ... the net result of this 68-page report, with all of its tables and detailed methodology, is that four out of the top five markets used for calculating the overall piracy loss in Europe draw on figures supplied by the recording industry itself. Those apparently terrifying new figures detailing the supposed loss of money and jobs due to piracy in Europe turn out to be little more than a re-statement of the industry's previous claims in a slightly different form. As a result, as little credence can be placed in the report as in those criticised by the US GAO."

Comments

Re:I still blame Metallica

[Anonymous Coward]

Fuck you, that was our best album ever. Those pirate fucks ruined it.

Re:I still blame Metallica

[Pojut]

Yeah, but...Jackson's nipple is still awesome, unlike Metallica.

No corroborating evidence.

[fahrbot-bot]

Those apparently terrifying new figures detailing the supposed loss of money and jobs due to piracy in Europe turn out to be little more than a re-statement of the industry's previous claims in a slightly different form.

Apparently, the report writers noted that the sale of eye-patches and peg-legs didn't correlate with industry claims of piracy...

Re:I still blame Metallica

[Anonymous Coward]

When Load didn't sell jack because it was the worst album they ever put out

No way, St. Anger makes Load look like a masterpiece.

Re:Completely inaccurate

[WrongSizeGlass]

When are these people going to face the music?

They claim they can't because someone pirated it.

hmmm...

[charliemopps11]

I wonder if they considered repeat downloads? As is, I download all my favorite movies and songs, then get a virus from all the downloads, have to format my harddrive... AGAIN... and then redownload them all over again. I think all of piracy might just be a couple of hundred people like me stuck in a nightmarish Download-Virus-Format loop.

Re:Science by the Pound

[gman003]

Hell, I ignore any study of the Internet that involves humans. Half of the researchers don't understand it, half already wrote their conclusion, and half are so out-of-date that they're still bracing for Y2K.

Re:I still blame Metallica

[mwvdlee]

Wow!
I've heard stories about your existence, but I thought them myths.
I must say it is truely an honor to speak to the one person in the world that actually does what millions of downloaders merely claim to do.
Are you also the guy that downloads only Linux CD's using bittorrent?

Re:I still blame Metallica

[Anonymous Coward]

Who is Metallica?

Re:I still blame Metallica

[ryantmer]

iTunes lacks a proper platform, and does not give a physical hugable media nor does it deliver full quality flaq.

FLAQ - Free Lossless Audio Quoi?

Re:I find one flaw in all these arguments

[mwvdlee]

Note that all these numbers were pulled out of my ass, same as all numbers.

Just for saying something like that, I'm going to have to punish you
1273, 18, 9762381, 44.2
Ha! Take that.
8, -273, 4, 91827364E23
And now for one that'll really hurt:
Pi