How piracy hurts artist?

Question

I'm doing a debate for a class and my position whether I agree with it or not is how piracy (downloading songs online) hurts the artist.

And im having a difficult time finding information online. I am trying to find statistics about it but am having no luck.

Answer 1

Try wikipedia? And I'm sure there are tons of news articles about it so search CNN and BBC News and the New York Times. Your bound to find something! Good luck!

Answer 2

Well i think it hurts the record label companies moreso than the artists , which is the only reason its even a hot topic .

Something to think about there ...

I agree with what others said how without the free music such as say hearing it from your friend or myspace music for instance , i would never have stumbled across many artists whom i now support buying thier products and seeing them in concert . Therefore the benefits of what some consider
" piracy " outweigh the hurt .

Anyway that is not really piracy listening to myspace or a friends music , selling illegal bootlegs is . Does true piracy hurt the artists , indeed it does a bit but any good artist who tours and puts in thier dues will make it and be succesful over the years therefore its no matter . Again it does hurt the greedy record labels and fly by night mostly talentless american karaoke idol performers who make a million's off one hit wonders .

Oh no the poor millionaires boo hoo , making to me this a silly topic for a class but fun .

Here is a funny video in the link below about piracy .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LkWKvMCzqA

OH yeha the one guy said that when people get bootlegs they wont go out and buy the real merchandise , now while that is mostly true not always . Alot of times people will buy the authetic version to get the pretty cover and extra material .

Answer 3

I can't think of statistics, but here are some ways that downloading does hurt the artist.

Sometimes, the album will be "leaked" before the official date. This can damage the amount of sales by a quite a bit. (Example: Fall out boy)
When people download music, there is no need to go and buy the cd. Only a percentage of the money earned from cd sales actually goes to the artist, so in reality, bands do need to sell a large amount of albums to acquire a decent amount of money.
CD's are very expenisve- ranging from $15.99+. It's much more convenient for the fan to go and download the album for free from limewire or another downloading site. Not only is it more time efficient, it costs nothing. But that means less money is going to the artist.
Others buy CDs intentionally to support the artist. They value music and believe that buying the cd will help the artist and is a much more respectful than downloading. They realize how difficult it may have been for an artist to even get signed for a label.

Answer 4

It only hurts them if they are only in it for the money.(Metallica) A singer songwriter who is in it because they actually heve something to say should be appreciative of people wanting to spread the tunes around so more people can hear them and come to the concert. I would have never heard of Jack Johnson if I didn't bootleg him and now he is my favorite live show to see. same with G. Love and Special sauce. Some bands only get heard because people pass around the music. If they really make a difference then it will show over time.

Answer 5

Artist today do it for the money not for their singing or writing skills.

Answer 6

There may be something useful for you in this article:
http://www.riaa.com/issues/piracy/default.asp

Answer 7

It hurts them because they're money-hungry jerks.