

Former Google CIO: LimeWire Pirates Were iTunes’ Best Customers - jamesbritt
http://torrentfreak.com/former-google-cio-limewire-pirates-were-itunes-best-customers-110726/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Torrentfreak+%28Torrentfreak%29

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wccrawford
There's a balance to be had.

On one hand, you need to get your song in front of as many people as possible.

On the other hand, you need to get as many of those people to pay for the song
as possible.

Making it clear that taking the song without paying is bad is necessary, but
at the same time you want to encourage people to try new songs risk-free. The
radio used to do that. (And still does, to an extent... For the most promoted
artists.)

I think a constant campaign of artists talking about about supporting them by
buying their music would work much better than lawsuits. Everyone thinks the
lawsuit won't get them. Many more people will react to an emotional call to
action.

But that's my opinion, and isn't based on any facts that I can prove.

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jmilloy
While I think it's likely that many file-sharers are in the "try-before-you-
buy" camp, I also expect this is mostly just a correlation. I spend more than
most of my friends on media, and I also download/share more for free than most
of them. If I couldn't download (or stream... thanks spotify!), I would
certainly spend more, rather than less.

~~~
wccrawford
I would spend more as well... In the short term. But I know from experience
that I would eventually become jaded and purchase a lot less.

Story time - Back in college, there was a song on the radio that I really
liked. I listened to it so much that I bought the CD. When the CD finally
arrived (via mail) I listen to it. Every song on the CD was crap. Even the one
I loved so much on the radio! Yes, there was apparently a radio version that
was different from the CD version.

After being burned like that, I didn't buy CDs for a long, long time. It
wasn't even the first... It was just so unfair that I decided I'd rather not
take the chance any more. Ever again.

Movies, games, books... They've all done this to me in some form. I would have
just given up and quit buying.

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watty
I'm sorry but this "study" doesn't exist because it isn't true. The best
purchasers and moviegoers may also be pirates, but overall the movie and music
industry would be making more money if it weren't for rampant pirating.

I read a thread in Reddit the other day about this topic and there were a few
people who thought pirating has caused them to make extra purchases (try
before you buy). However, many more of the responses were opposite and some
had completely stopped buying CDs, renting DVDs and going to the theater. So
if one person rents a DVD every week and now pirates, there would have to be
someone who rented 50 MORE DVDs (or purchased) than they would have had there
been no pirating options.

I agree there probably is a correlation between people who pirate heavily and
people who purchase (because they're probably fanatics). However, I don't
believe that they're heavy purchasers BECAUSE of pirating but would probably
purchase even more if they didn't have the option to pirate.

~~~
roc
> _"overall the movie and music industry would be making more money if it
> weren't for rampant pirating."_

That's as unsupported an assertion as "pirates are their best customers".

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watty
I guess that's my point. My study is off of Reddit (and common sense) while
their study which has unexpected results isn't being published.

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ethank
I love how logical fallacies get promoted as fact as a method of self
justification.

