Good Times Are Coming for the Music Industry, Survey Says
The Entertainment Media Research conducted a study which shows that record labels may increase revenues from digital sales in the course of a crackdown on illegal downloads and file-sharing. A recent Digital Music Survey, (now in its fifth year), indicates that the industry should use new prospects and benefit from the growth of online music to recover the so-cried-over losses in CD sales
"Despite the ubiquity of free music, there's a real willingness by consumers to pay for music products if the package is right," said Alexander Ross, music partner at the media law firm Wiggin, which co-authored the research. These latest results look quite different from those brought up by the last year's study, which projected a very pessimistic image for future of the industry as a result of a subsequent further increase of illegal file sharing.
According to the survey – a poll of 1,500 British consumers – online piracy dropped 10% in 2008. This was to a certain extent seen as the result of a more insistent attitude from ISPs, which signed up for sending warning letters to alleged illegal file sharers.
Another conclusion of the survey addresses the enormous growth in popularity music videos on YouTube have gained and the fact that it can serve for an extension of the online music selling. YouTube intends to present e-commerce opportunities aiming at allowing users to purchase music directly after they’ve watch videos.
It took some time for them to spot this “breaking” but now that they did it remains to be seen how well will they put it into practice:"The music video is now more influential than ever and has become the industry's trump card for engaging consumers and creating that long-term emotional connection required for monetisation," commented Russell Hart, chief executive of Entertainment Media Research. "It is now the vital component in music marketing."
