A report into consumer attitudes towards digital content suggests that music fans are coming around to the idea that piracy will result in Internet suspension.
The Ipsos MORI report, entitled ‘Monetising Digital Content: Where Is The Market Today?’ reveals that 53% of those questioned agreed that it was acceptable for ISPs to slow down connections and 52% agreed that it was fair to suspend the accounts of persistent offenders.
The report also indicated that popular streaming sites such as Spotify are pushing people away from illegal file sharing sites, with 18% of those questioned admitting that they would have downloaded tracks illegally if the music they were looking for wasn’t available on streaming sites. In what seems to be a mixed message to the industry regarding this issue, 9% of respondents also stated that they would have bought a cd if the same content was not available on streaming sites.
This is the first major study into the attitudes of the public towards digital content since the Digital Economy Act (DEA) became law earlier in the year.
The much discussed DEA was the result of the 2009 ‘Digital Britain’ report and contains many recommendations, including a ‘graduated response’ scheme to combat digital piracy, which will see copyright infringers having their Internet connections cut off following persistent evidence and warnings. This is also regularly referred to as the ‘3 Strikes’ rule.
Generate debate: Are the controversial ‘technical measures’ of the DEA, including the graduated response of 3 strikes becoming more acceptable to the public? Has the DEA already discouraged people from illegally downloading? What will the long term impact of streaming sites be, to both music sales and piracy? Is any of this good news for the retail sector?
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