Nine percent of Internet users download music

At least that is what the NPD is saying: http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20046136-261.html

I call bullshit. Nine percent? Really? That's what they want you to think. Imagine all the songs being downloaded at one university alone; then, think of other services, maybe not even P2P, such as BitTorrent or something. This article even states that Frostwire use increased as Limewire was closed down. Then there's all the underground sites in which statistics do not exist. And then, think of all the Internet users (think: people over 40) who don't know how the hell to do it or have never cared to learn or try. Finally, think of the drastic jump in Internet users from 2007 to 2010. More users means the overall percentage would drop no matter what, that is just cause and effect.

I feel like this story, among others, doesn't really tell the whole story. It sounds like a PR move by the recording industry that doesn't really strike a chord. Interesting, though.

 

So you're saying nine percent is high? I woulda thought it'd be higher than that. And I don't think it's necessarily so that more overall users would make the percentage go down. Some of those people are getting online specifically to download music.

 

Yes. Why would the people who invented the Internet have any idea how to use it?

 

Yes, but 100% of those who download music are Internet users.

Two sides to every coin.

 

Most music "sharing" is done from file-hosting services now. It's really no longer a peer-to-peer exchange. Movies and TV shows (because of their larger file sizes) are the ones driving torrent and other p2p traffic.

 

The mass influx of new internet people in recent years is mostly older people who are getting it real internet for the first time because it is how people stay in touch. People who are 40+ are a lot less likely to download music thus dropping the percentage.

 

I think nine percent is pretty accurate. File sharing was rampant when I was in college in the early 2000s, but once iTunes came out and you could buy a song for $1, the majority of my friends went legal. Then, also realize that the pool of Internet users is expanding everyday, and you have a slew of devices that aren't primarily used for music either.

I imagine why we have a different perception is that there are superusers hording every single piece of music ever made. If you go on Soulseek, you will see digital packrats offering tetrabytes worth of music, everything from Celine Dion to Megadeath to Local H to Bieber. It's clear the goal for some of them is just completion and thoroughness, and not actually listening to music.

 

No, I'm saying it's low. I would have thought something like 30 percent, at least. Think of every person under 21 who downloads, and that's just a portion. That's why I'm surprised.

 

The article says it's nine percent who download via p2p. It's not counting the "illegal" downloading from non p2p sources.