The best things in life are free--at least, music fans think they are
It’s been a long, slow slog as legitimate music
sites have tried to build a case for why consumers should pay for online
music. And while Apple Computer Inc.’s iPod.com and Roxio
Inc.’s Napster.com have hosted a significant number of enthusiastic
music buyers, anybody who thinks the battle to get consumers to pay got a
rude wake-up call last month. A Harris Interactive survey of 2,306 adult
Americans reported that 75% agree with the statement: “downloading
music for personal use is an innocent act and should not be
prohibited.”
The percentage of adults who believe that music
downloading does not break the law coincides almost exactly with the
percentage of teens who believe that.
The survey asked respondents whether they agreed with
the statement: “Downloading and then selling the music is piracy and
should be prohibited, but downloading for personal use is an innocent act
and should not be prohibited.”
Respondents justify the downloading of music by citing
the high prices of CDs. 70% agree with the statement: “If the price
of CDs was a lot lower, there would be a lot less downloading of music off
the Internet.”
Harris also notes that the music industry may have to
undertake an educational campaign to get consumers to understand the
ramifications of their actions. In spite of their belief that downloading
music is an innocent act, 64% agree that “musicians and recording
companies should get the full financial benefit of their work.”
“There is a lack of education on this
issue,” says Brad Dewey, president of Napster. “It reminds of
the days when people got cable for free. The cable industry undertook an
education campaign to tell people that it was illegal and they started
prosecuting people. There are similar activities getting started
here.”
Napster has recently entered into licensing agreements
with Penn State and the University of Rochester to offer Napster to all
students at those schools. Dewey says that part of Napster’s strategy
in those arrangements is to educate students that they need to pay for
music from the Internet. “By providing a legal alternative to free
downloading, we’re educating students,” he says.
Part of Napster’s education strategy will be to
have artists endorse Napster as a way for consumers to understand that the
artists suffer when music fans download their music for free.
Harris reports that beliefs about downloading music are
held equally no matter the respondent’s political orientation:
“Agreement with the three statements is at virtually identical levels
among Republicans and Democrats, and liberals and conservatives,”
Harris reports.
54% of respondents agree that downloading music for
free from the Internet is no different from buying a used CD or borrowing a
recording from a friend.
“All of this suggests that the music industry is
fighting an uphill battle in winning the hearts and minds of Americans to
support prohibitions against downloading. Their opportunity is to make the
as-yet-unmade link in the public’s consciousness between downloading
and its financial impact on musicians and recording companies,” the
Harris report says.
