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Easier Streaming Services Put Dent in Illegal Downloading (bbc.com)

Posted by msmash on from the where-we-are dept.

Music piracy is falling out of favour as streaming services become more widespread, new figures show. From a report: One in 10 people in the UK use illegal downloads, down from 18% in 2013, according to YouGov's Music Report. The trend looks set to continue -- with 22% of those who get their music illegitimately saying they do not expect to be doing so in five years. "It is now easier to stream music than to pirate it," said one survey participant. Another respondent said: "Spotify has everything from new releases to old songs, it filled the vacuum, there was no longer a need for using unverified sources."

11 of 133 comments (clear)

  1. No shit. by Qbertino · · Score: 4, Insightful

    No news here. We've known this at least ever since Steve jobs pointed out that the biggest competition to digital music isn't other outlets but digital "piracy". iTunes was the first viable option that showed you could do it better. And they did make a huge step forward.

    --
    We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
  2. Keep renting! by DogDude · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Keep renting, good little Spotify/Google/Amazon drones! Keep renting! You must contribute to the Mothership's recurring revenue! Ownership is bad. Renting is good! Convenience is more valuable than anything!

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    1. Re:Keep renting! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Being a hoarder does not make you better than the people who use these services. Licensing media on a plastic disc isn't even really ownership.

    2. Re:Keep renting! by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 5, Insightful

      How many times are you really going to listen to that same song?

      Just as I've done all my life: as many times as I freaking want to, without worrying about whether I have a network connection and without getting billed for it each and every time, thanks very much.

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    3. Re:Keep renting! by Junta · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Of course, digital music is a rare place of relative sanity in the realm of digital entertainment, where *if* you do actually choose to 'buy' a song, odds are it is drm free and not outrageously expensive.

      Movies and books have download editions that are frequently *more* expensive than getting a physical copy of the same data, and are encumbered by drm on top of that.

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    4. Re: Keep renting! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This. You can still own the music you want to own. But now you can also listen to and discover a shit ton of different stuff without having to pay thousands of dollars a year... or, you know. Pirating.

    5. Re:Keep renting! by saltydogdesign · · Score: 5, Insightful

      IMO, ownership isn't the answer to everything. When I was a kid, I could scrape together the $8 or $9 bucks to buy an album (this was a long time ago, obv.) maybe six times a year. Off to the record store. Hours spent looking at the covers of hundreds of records, hoping to God I could figure out which one was worth my paltry allowance simply by looking at the cover art. Album purchased. Go home, listen to ten songs until the needle wears a hole in the record, or, just as likely, regret that I just bought an album I didn't like very much.

      Today, I pay $15 a month (in today's money) for a family Spotify account. Me, my wife, and my two kids probably listen to at least a hundred bucks worth of new albums (in 1984 dollars) each month. I can go back and sample a half dozen albums from an artist I like without having to shell out only to discover that I've wasted my money. I can introduce my kids to entire genres without breaking the bank. My daughter can hear six versions of the piano piece she's studying. That's not mere convenience. It's musical wealth, for cheap.

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      // This is not a sig.
    6. Re:Keep renting! by JackieBrown · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You can still buy the albums. This is just another choice.

      For someone like me who is musically clueless, this is a great service. No commercials and I don't have to know what I like beforehand.

    7. Re:Keep renting! by mwvdlee · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yeah! I bought one Milli Vanilli gramaphone record back in the 90's and I've been listening to it ever since,
      You and me, Zontar, WE are the REAL cool kids!

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    8. Re:Keep renting! by AlanBDee · · Score: 5, Insightful

      But it's not all crap. Yes, most the pop music is crap but when was that not the case? There are music gems of all genres for all times; including now.

      I found that when I was buying music I was spending more money and listening to less "new" stuff, e.g. music I had not heard before. For example in the last couple weeks I discovered Green Day's When September Ends, came out in 2005 but because I was limiting myself to what I had in my library I didn't fall in love with that song until now. By using a streaming service I'm able to introduce myself to more music without having to buy it, yet I know/assume that the artists that I listen to frequently get paid more then those that I listen to only a couple times.

      If you want to buy all your music that's fine. All that really matters to me is that the content creators get paid for what they produce. But there are valid reasons to prefer streaming over purchasing.

  3. No thanks. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I'll stick to Pirate Bay.