Downloading has never prevented me from buying something I want. I have, on the other hand, often discovered new artists I would have never known if I was unable to download their music. This led to me buy some of their music the next time I was purchasing some songs. This earned them some money they never would have had otherwise. A study in Norway showed that users of p2p software buy as much as ten times more music than those who do not use p2p software. This would mean that most p2p users only download as a sample. They want to hear the music of an unknown band before paying for it, but they do, in fact, pay for it in the end.



Article: The Pirates are the Best Customers


The study discussed in this article has shown that those who download for music for free tend to spend almost ten times as much money downloading music from pay digital distribution sites, such as iTunes. The study suggests that while these downloaders tend to own only about a third of their music, they are also the biggest customers of the record industry. The study also suggests that the downloaders tended only to buy from sites that were just as easy or easier than getting it for free. Adding both a purchase price and some extra steps often drove away potential buyers, who know it would be both easier and cheaper to shop elsewhere.