Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew H.
I've acknowledged that there can be multiple causes for the decline in recorded music sales.
But what you, and several other posters are doing, is adamantly refusing to accept that the huge, unprecedented decline in music shown on that chart - ten year drop that coincides pretty well with the widespread availability of pirated music - might, just might, be due to piracy.
Instead, you keep harping on the fact that no one can say exactly what the loss caused by piracy is - as if the fact that people can't say exactly what the loss is means that there is no loss. That's just magical thinking.
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What I am saying is that there are multiple reasons, all of them valid, for the drop in sales. They have occured in the same time window. So which, and how much did each individual reason cause? That is a perfectly valid concept to explore, with no preconceptions. Let me give you one example...
Since 2000, single track sales have soared relative to full CD sales. Both are sales, both are legitimate. Yet the net revenue drops and full CD sales drops because of legitimate substitution. I buy 3 track of an CD instead of a CD, and 1/4 the total price. (And I don't buy the CD that I otherwise would have had to buy to get those 3 tracks.) Doesn't this cause sales drop in CDs? Even the RIAA admits this is going on and is increasing. They could even provide statisical information showing the trend equivalent.
But all I hear is piracy is all the problem. Factor out such things as track substitution from the numbers before you ascribe the losses to piracy. You might find the number aren't as large as the Industry wants to make out...