Lust, Lust, Lust
There’s a new study that suggests that teens are moving away from illegally downloading music. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean that teens are turning to iTunes (or whatever) en masse, but rather is a reflection of the way the Web works in 2009. Music blogs, streaming sites like Imeem and YouTube (note: not all streaming on YouTube is 100 percent legal), applications like Spotify, etc. are increasingly the destination for teens today.
The numbers, put together by Music Alley, say that only 26 percent of 14-to-18 year olds have admitted to illegally downloading music in the past year. That number was 42 percent the previous year. Of course, it’s one thing to “admit” to downloading music, and another thing to actually download music, but you’d have to assume that the study had all those question marks built into it.
Here’s what some music fan told the Guardian, who conveniently lies outside the age range of the above quoted number:
I didn’t even realise it was illegal for a long time, until I heard that the government were trying to stop it. That did put me off, but one of the big reasons I stopped doing it was because I would get viruses, more pop ups on my computer. While I was at uni I started listening to streamed music using MySpace. Bands would be friends with other bands and it was a great way of discovering new music. I don’t really feel the need to own all that music, I know it’s always there.
Yes dear, “the government” is going to smash into your house, smack your mother around, etc. etc. Well at least the RIAA’s tactics are working.
I guess it’s good news, though. I still insist that What.cd is better than anything else out there, and it’s not just the music available. The community will be really hard to replicate elsewhere, I think.
As I write this, I’m listening to The Raveonettes (that’s them up there) on Spotify. The more you know, right?