"The Avengers," "Dark Knight Rises," "The Walking Dead" Among 2012's Most-Pirated

[Phil Clark]

Oh yes, really.

How the HELL can you possibly say that pirates are consumers? Where is your proof? What is your line of thinking even that suggests that a thief is a consumer who puts money into the pockets of the studios?

This should be interesting...

[Addams]

So you are just going to ignore his comments about reduced albums sales and that becuase it is hard to quantify, people just shrug it off?

No, you know what ? I'm going to complain about something i can't even prove like you guys. Sounds fun !!

[SephirothDZX]

So you are just going to ignore his comments about reduced albums sales and that becuase it is hard to quantify, people just shrug it off? You are doing exactly what he said people do.

Get your head out of the sand (or other dark place it is located) and open your mind to the idea that just because it is hard to quantify exact numbers (which is what you seem to be wanting) doesn't mean that it isn't having an adverse affect on the industry.

To be fair there are a lot of other factors that could contribute to reduced album sales, like totally subjective things like people thinking modern music sucks. (This actually has some merit too, highest grossing concerns in the last decade have been mostly dominated by music relics from the past instead of modern artists).

[Addams]

How the HELL can you possibly say that pirates are consumers?

Cause we all know at the very least a couple of people who download thing here and then. And, prepare yourself to be amazed, they do also buy dvds, blu rays and they even go to watch movies in theaters sometimes.

I don't know how you picture these people in your head, and i don't really want to know more about it, but truth is that in most case they just are your very regular and very average joe and jane.

[Vibranium]

also porn - which typically weathers any financial hardships - has been gutted by the internet

the ceo of Vivid was on CNBC a couple months ago talking about it

[Plawsky]

Any REAL proves of that ? Numbers, something tangible ? Cause i heard that a lot this past decade but in the end the music industry sure doesn't seem to me to be in a worst shape at all.

Nothing was more pirated than cassettes. And it was before Internet. Didn't hear that much whining about piracy back then.

A few things:

1) I said that there's no way to quantify piracy's exact effect on the music industry. But it's tough to deny that music sales across the board have gone down steadily for a decade. Granted, I think they've gone back up a bit for the past year or two, but they're still down overall.

2) You state "nothing was more pirated than cassettes." Where is your "REAL proof of that?"

3) There were four movies this year downloaded over 8 million times, according to the article. Do you really think that cassette tapes were pirated more than that? Forget the numbers though, just use logic. Within the next 24 hours, I could easily download a hundred albums. It would take me around ten minutes to download the torrents, and then I'd just wait while they downloaded. If I wanted to do that with cassette tapes, it would take around 67 hours, assuming a 40 minute average run time, and that doesn't include all the time changing and prepping tapes, etc. Not to mention having to buy and borrow 100 tapes as well. That's 10 minutes of work and zero cost versus 67 hours and the cost of 100 tapes. And the former could be completed by everyone at the same time.

[Addams]

I said that there's no way to quantify piracy's exact effect on the music industry.

Exactly my point. No way to tell if really piracy has a big impact or not on this industry. If any really worth talking about.

[The Green Condom]

truth is that in most case they just are your very regular and very average joe and jane.

One of the main reason why piracy is so big. Everyone can have a taste of it.

And the taste can be dangerously sweet.

[Plawsky]

Exactly my point. No way to tell if really piracy has a big impact or not on this industry. If any really worth talking about.

So how do you explain the big drop in sales over the past decade? Taylor Swift's Red, the #2 album of 2012, wouldn't have even cracked the top 10 in 2001. The lack of quantifiable data does not mean there's a lack of evidence.

And I'm still curious about your claim that tapes led to more piracy than the internet.

[Arthur72]

I don't see how people can still say piracy doesn't hurt any industries. The music industry has been noticeably affected by it. Sure, a lot of the past decade's change also has to do with iTunes, iPods and smart phones, but to say that piracy doesn't have an affect is outright wrong. It might not have a big effect on major artists, because people are always going to buy their records. But I have personal friends who went from selling 5,000 albums to selling 1,000 because of filesharing. I know that's just anecdotal evidence, but that's part of the problem; there's no way to quantify piracy's effect, so people just shrug it off.

My sister works for a newspaper company and has been employed there for over 30 years. Before the internet it was flourishing and the perks and pay was great. Now it has been downsized greatly and the perks are no longer there. Morale is low, the working environment horrible. But hey, free news online! You can't beat that!

A lot of people are affected by the internet and what it can offer. Everyone has to adapt with the times.

[Arthur72]

So how do you explain the big drop in sales over the past decade? Taylor Swift's Red, the #2 album of 2012, wouldn't have even cracked the top 10 in 2001. The lack of quantifiable data does not mean there's a lack of evidence.

1. Lack of good music available
2. Drop in disposable spending money(aren't we in a financial crisis worldwide?)
3. Competition for entertainment dollar is fierce
4. Internet has allowed people to listen to more music free(youtube, more radio stations)

[Vibranium]

1. Lack of good music available

entirely subjective and invalid to a discussion about copyright law

2. Drop in disposable spending money(aren't we in a financial crisis worldwide?)

even in the worst of times, entertainment revenue tends to do well

3. Competition for entertainment dollar is fierce
4. Internet has allowed people to listen to more music free(youtube, more radio stations)

..and you just answered your own question

[SephirothDZX]

entirely subjective and invalid to a discussion about copyright law

It is subjective, but it's also a cause for why sales have dipped. As I pointed out earlier, go look up revenue for concerts/tours for the last 10 years or so. It's almost entirely dominated by artists from the past and not the present. It's obviously not a clear cut indicator but its a decent reflection on the public's opinion of modern music.

[Shikidum]

also porn - which typically weathers any financial hardships - has been gutted by the internet

the ceo of Vivid was on CNBC a couple months ago talking about it

Serious movies won't end up like porn because people have a much higher apreciation for those.

[Plawsky]

It is subjective, but it's also a cause for why sales have dipped. As I pointed out earlier, go look up revenue for concerts/tours for the last 10 years or so. It's almost entirely dominated by artists from the past and not the present. It's obviously not a clear cut indicator but its a decent reflection on the public's opinion of modern music.

Anyone who claims there's no good modern music isn't looking. If pop music isn't to your taste, there are still a TON of great bands out there that I'm sure you'd like. It's also no different now than what it was in the past. The 40 year old who's mad about today's pop music not being like the 90s is no different than the 40 year old who hated the Beatles.

As to why past artists dominate concert revenue, a lot of that is because they have several decades worth of followers all over the world. And they can charge a lot more per ticket.