The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, a global association of music publishers, says that the piracy of songs is sharply undermining the rise of digital song and album sales. According to the FT, “The IFPI said physical music sales, such as CDs, fell 16 per cent to $11.6bn, with digital sales growth slowing to 12 per cent to reach $4.2bn” for 2009.
Sales of almost all things digital have been rising rapidly for a decade, but the music industry is bedeveled by pirates and file-sharers.
The music business will be a bad business forever. Customers are replacing the purchase of CDs with digital downloads. Digital music is put on file-sharing services. People’s Apple (AAPL) iPods are overflowing with music their owners did not pay for.
The legal authorities in many nations have tried to shut file sharing operations with some success. But, as one service is closed in the US another opens in Russia. The services operate globally over the internet, so they can be based on small, hard-to-find islands well out at sea.
Even if all the file sharing services were destroyed, people are forever taking music that they paid for and giving it to dozens of friends. One song bought at iTunes for $1.99 may end up on another ten iPods without an additional nickel going to Apple or the artist who created the song.
Some advocates of sharing music, which should by law be paid for, say that “content wants to be free.” That has a price. The best musicians may end up on bread lines.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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