A month after download law, consumers spending less on music: survey

[EzikialRage]

Is this evidence that that the notion that illegal downloads represent lost sales is simply false?


http://www.japantoday.com/category/n...n-music-survey

TOKYO —

On Oct 1, knowingly downloading copyrighted music and video in Japan became punishable by up to two years in prison and a 2 million yen penalty.

The law was passed in June after the Japanese music industry, the second largest in the world after the U.S., reported continued financial losses, with analysts suggesting that just one in 10 downloads were legal.

Since the law came into effect, there have certainly been some changes, and many Internet users have become reluctant to click that download button for fear of receiving a hefty fine, meaning that the law has been a success in a way.

According to a recent statistical survey, however, since the law was passed, sales of music in Japan have continued to fall and consumers are actually showing less interest in music than ever before.

Livedoor News reported that the results of a consumer survey show that more than 68% of respondents spend “0 yen” on music in an average month; the highest the figure has been in almost 10 years.

The multiple choice survey asks consumers, “How much do you spend on music in an average month?” with answers ranging from “0-500 yen” to “over 10,000 yen.” “0 yen” has risen significantly since 2004, while numbers of every other response have decreased each time since 2007.

Is this the effect of the new download restrictions? Has Japan’s new draconian law actually had a negative effect on music sales? Or has the Japanese government simply noticed that music sales continue to fall and mistakenly pinpointed illegal downloads as the cause?

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2012/11/0...ever-on-music/

[wirama]

I download illegally to hear if the music is worth to buy or not. if it's good, I always buy the original CD. it's just that simple! either they will buy the original or not everyone, pirated music, games, movies, to see if it's worth their money.

you can't judge good music, games, and movies if you didn't feel in your own sense.

[TravelingWind]

When will draconian gov's learn? Restricting liberties in order to combat another problem not how you solve a problem ,Tsk Tsk.

[cattz]

200,000-500,000 + seeds on Share and the like the day after everything from movies to anime to hentai is released still...

But yeah, it made "such a difference" I'm sure, heh..

[hhsquall]

I'm not from Japan, and I came to know about Japanese product (Anime, JRPG, JMusic, etc.) as well as Japanese culture because I could download their product (illegally, of course as there were lots of restrictions where I used to live). And on top of that, I got many of my friends and family members around me interested in Japan's history and culture; I even took Japanese classes up to intermediate level...
So, it is always my argument: Now I can afford some of their product, and I am buying them (mostly Games, and some Anime) - I even bought some old titles I had downloaded previously, as I enjoyed them immensely! If I didn't have access to them in the first place, with my background, and in my old country, I would have never become infatuated with their products! So, in the long run, I became one of their consumer!
It is true that there are people who always look for a way of getting out of paying for what they use (which with no amount of restrictions or legal mumbo-jumbos they would consider "Oh! I am doing wrong here, my eyes are open now! and I will pay you from now on" !!! ), but they are not the majority. This group will either stop using that line of product, or look for a workaround!

IMHO, the best strategy that they can use is to advertise about all the hard work that is put into putting out a title, i.e. a manga artist who is paid for about $10/hour for the tedious artistic work he/she puts into drawing every single page, or the financial challenges of a company in a very 'easy-to-understand' way for a regular users...

I personally love Japanese franchise, but I never ever go about buying an anime, music, game, unless I make sure that I will enjoy it, and since I know that "if I don't pay for this product that I find so enjoyable, I am going to put a block on the future of such product..." so I buy it even if I had it downloaded in the first place (of course as much as my wallet allows). For a similar reason, I completely stopped watching/listening to anything from Hollywood, as they have been trying to use their power/influence to pass a law on online traffic control! and have sent countless court orders/settlement request to individuals in north America who shared their "art!!" online...

BTW, thanks Akiba-online members and staff for maintaining this great site

Peace out

[camlost245]

hmm... I don't like the law, but I do think one month might be too quick to determine it's effect on the industry.

[prophetomega]

People who wish to support the artist they like will always buy, but those who just want to experience/hear the music of a particular singer, would always hesitate and thus they download it for free/illegally to know if its really worth it.

[janklodvandam]

Originally Posted by prophetomega

People who wish to support the artist they like will always buy, but those who just want to experience/hear the music of a particular singer, would always hesitate and thus they download it for free/illegally to know if its really worth it.

For most of people it's become a habit - not to pay for that content

[Ceewan]

Originally Posted by janklodvandam

For most of people it's become a habit - not to pay for that content

It would be hard, if not imposssible, to ever convince the music and movie industries, that giving away a product is good business. These industries support political campaigns with the sole desire to have their interests looked after. As long as the candidates they support are elected, no matter the country, laws are going to be made that support their outlook and view. Political campaigns cost money.

I used to spend a good amount of money on movies, music cds and video games. When I had the money to spend, which I no longer do. When times got financial challenging for me I looked for alternative methods and free...well that is a hard price to beat. So if I start making money would I go back to spending it on buying stuff I can get for free? Fuck no. I will spend the money on other forms of entertainment and just dowload less.

These types of laws are not going to force me to buy more media. I had gotten sick of the outrageous prices they were charging before I stopped buying these "products" which we label as media and I am not going back to paying these leeches. Apparently, I am not the only one.

Let these media corporations come up with some innovative ideas and stop milking the public, including me, for all they are worth and then...only then, well I consider supporting the people that actually deserve my support: the artists and creators behind the product and not the distribution companies that are as outdated as the copyright laws they seek to protect.

[Glassjaw]

I download more music and thus goto more gigs which supports the artist directly. Though, Spotify is how I listen to most music these days.