At least in the Netherlands, the overall effects of P2P media sharing are actually good for the economy, a government-commissioned study found.
On behalf of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, research company TNO found that when people don't spend money to download music, movies and games, that money gets spent on other things. Because individual consumers benefit more from the extra cash than the media industry loses, the net effect on the economy is positive.
That conclusion isn't likely to gain the good graces of movie studios, record labels or video game publishers, as it ultimately comes at their expense. It's also somewhat of a no-brainer.
It's important to note that the study doesn't describe "unpaid downloads" as piracy, partly because it's only illegal to upload copyrighted material in the Netherlands and partly to account for free promotional content.
Still, the dynamic of free vs. paid in the Netherlands seems similar to what it is elsewhere. The Dutch acquire roughly 7.5 free songs for every one that's purchased. That's 88 percent -- not much different than the 95 percent worldwide piracy estimate that's been talked about lately. And this study came to the oft-heard conclusion that there's little correlation between freeloading and lost revenue.
If free downloads are so great for society and they don't likely hurt sales, what's the solution for media companies? It's a long shot, but experimenting with new revenue aside from sales is probably a good start.
