Yet Another Study Suggests File Sharers Are Frustrated Buyers

Studies

from the but-is-it-true? dept

We’ve seen plenty of studies like this one in the past, but here’s yet another in a long list (this one from Australia) suggesting that people who are file sharing unauthorized files are really frustrated consumers, who would pay if there was an actual reason to. That is, it suggests the reason they go to file sharing sites is because they’re easier and more convenient, not just because it’s free. While I’m sure that’s true of some people, I’m not convinced the numbers in this report are anywhere near accurate. This was done as a survey, and surveys are notoriously inaccurate when it comes to having people tell you what they would do, compared to what they actually would do. Frankly, while studies like this do point out that file sharers are often willing to buy — if given the reason — the setup of the survey actually gives the industry a false milestone to work towards. It gets them back to thinking that there really is a market for digital goods, when the economics suggest they should be looking for scarcities, not trying to price infinite goods.

Of course, even with that false hope, the industry still is confused. The response to the study from Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft was that the industry won’t “compete” with unauthorized file sharing until it goes away:

“Movie industries obviously want to make their content available online, but they can’t compete currently with a free alternative that’s perpetrated through theft. Once there is a level playing field, I think you’ll begin to see a lot more flexible, innovative business models.”

Talk about getting it backwards. The reason they have to compete is because file sharing is there. And, of course they can and do compete with free alternatives all the time, and have for ages. Saying you can’t compete with free is a lie. Providers compete on things other than price all the time. In fact, saying you can’t compete with free is a direct misunderstanding of what the survey appears to say: it’s saying that consumers are more than will to pay for greater value, but the industry refuses to provide it. Saying you won’t compete until the market changes in your favor is basically signing your own death warrant.

Filed Under: australia, buying, consumers, file sharing, study

What The IFPI Report Left Out: Its Own Study Showed That File Sharers Do Buy

Studies

from the well,-look-at-that dept

We already spent a bunch of time debunking many of the claims in the IFPI’s new “Piracy Bad!!!!” report. But the folks over at TorrentFreak have dug up a bit more info. Apparently the research for the report was put together by Forrester, and the underlying research showed that when it comes to the growth in digital music sales, those who partake of unauthorized file sharing are also the best customers of authorized digital music. No, this is not saying that file sharing automatically leads people to buy, or that all file sharers buy. Obviously, that’s not the case. But it does suggest that demonizing those people might not be the smartest thing.

But the IFPI report doesn’t mention any of that. Instead, it claims that people file share for one reason and one reason alone: because it’s free. If that were the case, though, then why would any of those who partake also buy? And why would they be the industry’s best customers for digital sales? It seems like the IFPI should be embracing them to see how it can get them to choose to buy more — but instead, it totally ignores what its own researchers found, insists that it’s just because content is free, and then spends most of the report demonizing its best customers and asking governments of the world to kick those people offline.

Filed Under: buyers, digital music, file sharing, ifpi, study
Companies: ifpi

Study Shows Counterfeit Buyers Frequently Buy Real Products Later

Studies

from the acta-what-now? dept

As the negotiations over the ACTA treaty continue in secret, one of the more frustrating aspects is how defenders of ACTA repeatedly conflate “counterfeit goods” with “copyright infringement.” Witness Senator Evan Bayh’s nonsensical response to being asked about ACTA, where it becomes clear quite quickly that he’s unfamiliar with the most basic information on the subject. He switches back and forth between counterfeiting and copyright as if they’re the same thing, and seems to think that any treaty on the matter must be good.

But, an even more annoying part of all this is the use of fear mongering over “counterfeit goods” as some huge problem that has to be solved, when the evidence increasingly suggests otherwise. The copyright lobbyists are using the cover of some mythical massive counterfeiting problem to push for unnecessary and potentially dangerous copyright law changes, but even the counterfeiting claims are suspect. In the past, we’ve noted that both the GAO and the OECD have noted that the “problem” of counterfeiting has been massively inflated by lobbyists.

And, a new study suggests that even the counterfeit goods that do get sold aren’t really a huge problem to the original manufacturers (thanks to Dave Barnes for sending this in) — if there a problem at all. In a study that was actually carried out by a former brand manager at LVMH, it was discovered that people don’t view counterfeit goods as a substitute to the real goods. People aren’t being tricked — they know they’re buying counterfeits, and others know that they have counterfeit goods as well:

“Consumers are a lot smarter than we may give them credit for — just because you’ve got a nice fake doesn’t mean you’re going to get away with it.”

But, even more importantly, it looks like counterfeit products often act as a stepping stone to get people to go forward and buy the original version:

“The counterfeit actually served as a placebo for brand attachment,” she said. “People were becoming increasingly attached to the real brand even though they never possessed it at all.”

Forty-six percent of the counterfeit-bag owners bought the authentic products within two and a half years, she said. Shoppers were willing to pay $786 for a real luxury bag….

So, for all the reports of “harm” done by counterfeit products, here’s a study suggesting that it actually helps build brand loyalty, and appears to often lead to the counterfeit buyer later buying a massively expensive real offering in a relatively short time frame. As some are noting, this suggests that the counterfeit goods act as advertising for the real goods. These are the sorts of things that would probably be useful to discuss with those negotiating ACTA. If only those discussions weren’t all happening behind closed doors due to “national security” issues.

Filed Under: counterfeit, promotion, study

Study Says DRM Pushes Users To Illegal Downloads

Studies

from the thought-we'd-been-over-this dept

A new study from a Cambridge law professor says that DRM doesn’t stop piracy, but rather prompts users to illegally download DRM-free pirated content (via Boing Boing). In short, the study found that users get frustrated by the restrictions put on legally purchased content by DRM and copy-protection technologies. Instead of rolling over and accepting this, they often change their behavior — choosing to download unrestricted, illegal content in the future. This goes along with what’s been pretty clear for a long time. DRM doesn’t work at stopping piracy, it makes products less valuable and less attractive to users, and in turn leads them to look elsewhere for unrestricted content and products they can use how they best see fit.

Filed Under: downloads, drm, study

UK Gov't Report Recognizes That 'Protecting The Children' Can 'Hurt The Children'

Studies

from the protecting-the-children? dept

Politicians absolutely love to come out with laws saying that they’re “protecting the children” as it plays well during election time. The problem, though, is that many of these laws do exactly the opposite. What they end up doing is actually preventing children from actually being able to learn necessary skills and how to deal with situations they will almost certainly face later in life. Yes, children can be much more vulnerable, but the answer isn’t to hide them away from everything, but to teach them how to better deal with situations they may face. However, that tends not to be politically popular — which is why it’s that much more surprising to hear of a new report, requested by the UK Prime Minister pointing out just how problematic the rush to “protect the children” can be. As Slashdot points out, the key line from the exec summary is worth repeating:

“Children and young people need to be empowered to keep themselves safe — this isn’t just about a top-down approach. Children will be children — pushing boundaries and taking risks. At a public swimming pool we have gates, put up signs, have lifeguards and shallow ends, but we also teach children how to swim.”

This reminds me, too, of a line used last year by famed judge (and IP expert, to boot) Richard Posner in striking down an anti-video game law:

“Violence has always been and remains a central interest of humankind and a recurrent, even obsessive theme of culture both high and low … It engages the interest of children from an early age, as anyone familiar with the classic fairy tales collected by Grimm, Andersen, and Perrault are aware. To shield children right up to the age of 18 from exposure to violent descriptions and images would not only be quixotic, but deforming; it would leave them unequipped to cope with the world as we know it.”

If only more people would recognize such things.

Filed Under: nanny state, parenting, protect the children, study, uk