An age old problem, since the invention of the cd, faced by music artists and the record labels that carry them has been piracy. Piracy is defined by Dictionary.com as the unauthorized reproduction or use of a copyrighted recording or any other form of copyrighted material. As most are aware, the industry has lost billions of dollars in CD sales because people illegally download music and share the files. However, recently a new form of access to the new/current music has been rising- streaming. Can streaming music be the industry's solution to piracy? Only time will tell, but until then let us look at the facts.
When you stream music, you are not downloading and sharing files.You are simply listening to a mix of curret songs. Since dowloading is not involved you do not need to save tons of music to your computer or phone that will just be out of date in a few mere weeks. Game changers in the streaming world are sites such as Pandora Radio, Slacker Radio and Spotify. According to an article on the Billboard.biz, studies were conducted in Norway that show the impressive results that have come about from those that streamed music.
"The survey, conducted by Norstat, found that 33% of Norwegians have streamed music. Of those who have streamed music, 60% say they feel more up to date with current music, 68% listen to more music, 72% say they discovery new music using a streaming service and 54% say they no longer illegally download music because of streaming services. "
Another report according to Torrentfreak.com stated that in Sweden there has been a 25% drop since 2009 in the the people that pirate music (over the last year alone dropping by 9%). The decrease in music piracy may be due to "improved legal services " such as the likes of Spotify. Some of the highlights to using an online streaming source instead of downloading, are the availibility of music, its simplicity and the fact that its cheaper . The key to hooking a person to streaming music is its diversity.In the survey conducted in Sweden, 40% attribute their loyalty to streaming music is due to its wide range of songs.
Spotify has been credited with being the end to music piracy. On it's site it encourages music junkies, "Just help yourself to whatever you want, whenever you want it." This may be jumping the gun too quickly though. Some people are still going to want to download tracks; streaminig services just don't offer that and if they do, its at an additional cost. Some extreme junkies may also want access to leaked content which streaming sites will not have either. So maybe streaming may be putting a dent in music piracy, but definitely not an end.