A few days ago Home Theater Magazine came with the news that not downloading, but copying, is the main reason behind declining music-industry revenues. A survey from the University of Hertfordshire that was commisioned by the BMR, British Music Rights, showed this. BMR is an organisation that represents several people from the music industry, like composers and songwriters. The survey was done by 1,158 people (18-24 years old) and gave a new insight on the subject.
According to the survey 95% of the respondents took part in some kind of copying. Some copy at least five CDs per month (65%), and 85% uses their friends' hard drive to do this. Besides high-tech copying, some still copy from the radio. Former lead singer with The Undertones, Feargal Sharkey, said he knew this was happening, but he was shocked that 95% of the people are copying at home. "For somebody who has spent 30 years in the music industry, you instinctively know this stuff is going on. But when you actually sit looking at your computer and see a number that says 95 percent of people are copying music at home, you suddenly go, 'Bloody hell'...." Sharkey believes this will make some artists stop making CDs.
Currently the former lead singer is chief executive at BMR and he wants the United Kingdom to have an 'EU kind of law'. With almost half of every MP3 collection not being paid for I can understand, since this is about $1,500 of lost revenues per home. Sharkey hopes that the British government will allow some copying but in tandem with some compensation to the composers.
