TORONTO, October 5, 2004 -- Music downloaders are not being deterred by the fear of lawsuits or criminal prosecution, according to the findings of a new, four-year consumer study carried out by Markus Giesler, an Assistant Professor of Marketing at York University’s Schulich School of Business and an expert in entertainment marketing.
“People who download music and swap files do not believe they are at risk,” says Giesler, a former successful music label owner who left the recording industry following the rise of music file-sharing. “There is a growing sense of strength in numbers. The greater the number of people who engage in the practice, the less likely they are to feel at risk of being sued or prosecuted.”
In addition, many downloaders – typically teens and adults in their early 20s – do not believe it is unethical or illegal to download music, according to Giesler. “This is a generation that has grown up believing that digital information available on the Internet is free.” Giesler says his extensive findings on “collective consumer risk” and file-sharing behaviour should serve as a wake-up call to the music industry. Only last week, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) announced it has sued an additional 762 consumers over file-sharing.
His four-year investigation examined risk-taking behaviour among members of Europe’s “Hotline” file-sharing community, but the study’s findings also apply to other peer-to-peer communities such as Kazaa, BearShare or LimeWire, says Giesler. The study can be found at: www.markus-giesler.com/pdf/collectiverisk.pdf
Markus Giesler is currently an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Schulich School of Business. He was previously a research fellow at the Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern University) and a visiting scholar at Stockholm University School of Business.
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