File sharing

Duelling file sharing reports

I've long been suspecting that for every report published there is a report that counters it. This is certainly the case when it comes to report about file sharing usage in light of the RIAA's sue the world campaign: The Pew Internet & American Life Project Survey report says that file sharing has dropped significantly, and the The NPD Group report shows that file sharing has risen since the RIAA started its campaign:

In a separate, bimonthly survey, 12 million individuals reported getting music on the free networks in November, up from 11 million in September, NPD said.

. . .

Russ Crupnick, vice president of The NPD Group, speculated the apparent increase in music file-sharing could merely be seasonal, as new album releases before the holidays heightened demand. He also said less media coverage of the recording industry's lawsuit campaign could have figured into the increase.

There were no details given on how this survey was conducted, but they did give a margin of error. I tend to believe the NPD group report more, since anytime you make a big stink about something, people will want to see what it's all about. Thus causing a rise in file sharing activities.

Posted by Mayhem at January 18, 2004 12:09 PM