A considerable number of blog posts here have been muses about the futility of trying to completely extinguish all illegal sharing of music in the form of digital files. In my view, the main labels in the music production industry are so obsessed with cutting out and impeding networks that allow for exchange of files that they are completely ignoring the people who purchase music or other digital entertainment content. Bill Oremus states in this blog post on Slate Magazine that a leaked document suggest that an organization representing the music industry has found out that most music piracy happens offline. The implication is therefore that even if all illegal downloads were taken out, it would hardly make as much difference.
To my mind, this suggestion is difficult to confirm but irrespective of its veracity, it still supports my strong hunch that the industry is concentrating on the wrong thing. Music sales are not going down because of piracy as much as is claimed. The enormous effort being applied to stopping sites and suing site owners is legitimate but is not connected to ensuring that sales will recover. As a supporter of entrepreneurs, I am at a loss that the industry is more interested in symbolic shows of strong law enforcement without asking whether this is the correct answer to the business problem that they face. Clearly, the music industry is barking up the wrong tree.
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